Blog: What Black History Month means to me
Written by student Charity Agwu
Hello! My name is Charity. I’m a Master's student here at UoB studying International Law, Ethics and Politics.
Black History Month was first celebrated in the UK in 1987 and is dedicated to humbly reflecting on the past and recognising and celebrating black people who have been an integral part of history. To me, it means that black voices are elevated and issues we face are put under a spotlight, informing people that while we are being celebrated, we must not ignore the injustices we faced and continue to face today. It also serves as a reminder to the British population of the violent history the UK has when it comes to ethnic minorities. It brings to light key individuals that were once erased, allowing us to give credit where it is due.
The theme this month, 'Saluting our Sisters', is especially inspiring and means a lot to me as a black woman. Black women have had a major impact through history and in my personal life. Growing up in Ireland, Black History Month wasn’t really talked about in school, and so I never got to learn much about black people through history and their impact. When I moved to the UK and started secondary school, I experienced the same thing. The few times black history was brought up was when it concerned colonisation, chattel slavery and horrific massacres. A lot of the time, I had to go out of my way to find information about Black people and the great things they had achieved such as Madam C.J Walker and Margaret Busby.
As Black History Month became more prominent, there was more of a celebratory aspect around it, and more and more black pioneers came to light. It is always refreshing to see black people being discussed positively with reference to better moments in history. To me, this is important, especially with the theme this month as black women often experience extreme forms of discrimination. When varying backgrounds are added, such as being part of the LGBTQ+ community, having a disability or practicing a religion, the discrimination that they experience can worsen. So, informing people about black women and their important contributions and acknowledging their backgrounds as a whole means a lot to me and many black women in the UK.
It means that we finally have people that share some of our experiences being recognised and honoured. Some examples include:
- Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie: Nigerian poet, critic and activist who was the first Nigerian with a First Class degree in BA English from the University of London.
- Margaret Busby: Britain’s first black female publisher and youngest publisher at the time as she co-founded Allison & Busby in 1967 at 23 years old.
- Joan Armatrading: The first female UK artist to be nominated for a grammy in the blues category.
- Claudia Jones: Journalist, political activist and the founder of Notting Hill Carnival.
- Dame Elizabeth Anionwu: She set up the first nurse-led sickle-cell/thalassaemia screening and counselling service in 1979.
Black History Month is taking place throughout the month of October. You can get involved in many ways, explore what events are happening at the University.