Black History Month:
Looking Back To Change The Future
As October draws to a close, we're taking a moment to reflect - because, for us, that's at the heart of Black History Month. It's an incredible opportunity to reflect and take stock, to celebrate incredible black figures from history, and to look to the future. And that's what we're aiming to do with this newsletter - we reflect on the achievements of some hidden figures from our past, including Una Marson, profiled in a BBC documentary last week, and we also look at where we are now, and where our future takes us.
We're struck by the words of
Joseph Harker - "
It's clearer than ever that black history is everyone's history. History isn’t about the past. More and more, it’s about the present. And black history isn’t about faraway people. It’s about our own country.
This is not about creating a separate history; it is about adding to the past we are already familiar with. A story which shows that, from the Romans onwards, Africa’s story has been intertwined with Europe’s and others around the world. It’s a story well worth knowing."
It's worth noting that whilst we broadly agree with what Harker says, we would go further than "adding to the past we are already familiar with" to a position which says we need to stop omitting huge chunks of our history, particularly when educating our children in schools.
So as we move out of Black History Month, let's keep looking for the Marsha P. Johnsons, the Paul Stephensons, the Una Marsons, and the Doreen Lawrences who have and continue to shape our present reality, let's keep amplifying black voices, celebrating black talent and recognising that the work to be done to create true equity will not be done in 1/12 of the year - we have to keep pushing forwards all year round.