What does Black History Month mean to you?
For me, Black History Month is a time for this country celebrate the history of Black people in Britain. I choose to celebrate my history daily, but I think it's important that the nation has chosen to allocate a month where, surely, we acknowledge the eventful past of Black Britons. The fact that there is such a thing as Black History Month acts as testament, not only to the struggles faced by Black people in Britain, but also to their major contributions to the country.
My youngest brother is 14. His school, which has quite a lot of Black students, has chosen not to celebrate Black History Month, and I don't understand this decision. When I about the same age, Black History Month was acknowledged by a history lesson on the slave trade that was neither memorable nor inspiring. This singular history lesson was the extent of my secondary school's celebration of Black Britain. No mention was made of Windrush migration, the significance of Carnival, the Brixton Riots, or anything that I might be able to relate to. No, Black History Month was celebrated by a boring, statistic-based re-telling of the horrors of slavery. And because it was so boring, I did not feel compelled to question and explore my history until I was much older.
For my History GCSE, we were taught about the Civil Rights Movement in America. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X were part of the curriculum, but why were we taught NOTHING about Black Britain? Indeed, we are taught about ancient history that bears little significance on the present, but not our own? Our history is vast! It is interesting, it is important, it is essential. If we do not know our own history, if we are not educated properly, how are we meant to progress? Why is Black British history left out of the curriculum? Everything I learnt about the history of Black people in Britain came from my parents and my own research. I was lucky enough to base a lot of my MA assignments around Black history, but why is this information not more readily accessible for younger people?
In celebration of Black History Month, I have seen various inspirational facts and figures about African Americans who invented fire extinguishers and traffic lights, became millionaires, and so on. I have seen powerful quotes from key African American figures such as Maya Angelou and Stokely Carmichael. Inspiring as it is, what about Black Britons? What do you know about Paul Gilroy, Olaudah Equiano, Stuart Hall? Why is Black British history less accessible? What don't they want you to know? I believe that acknowledging and understanding our history is a pivotal part of shaping our identities. And as a Black woman, I find it absurd that I was taught so little at such an impressionable age. By under-educating Black youths, by depriving them of Black British history in the curriculum, we continue to feed into the cycle that sees generation after generation misunderstand their position in Britain. And if we are unable to understand our position in Britain, we remain unable to negotiate it and surpass expectation.
These are just thoughts, musings. I raise more questions than I will ever be able to answer.
