Black History Month takes place in October every year and is an annual commemoration of the history, achievements and contributions of Black people in the UK.
People from many different backgrounds come together during this month to celebrate the positive role of Black people in shaping our communities. This adds to ongoing efforts to promote awareness and address historical and ongoing inequities.
The aims of Black History Month are to:
- promote knowledge and understanding of Black History and culture, both nationally and in Bristol
- acknowledge and celebrate the contributions made by Black people to the cultural and economic development of the UK
At Bristol City Council, we make a difference in several ways. We follow our Equality and Inclusion Strategic Framework. We consider inequalities for racially minoritised groups and create clear steps to improve through our Equality Action Plans. We also consider the impacts of council decisions on Black, Asian, and minoritised ethnic communities.
More information on our year-round efforts can be found in our equality, diversity, and cohesion policies (bristol.gov.uk).
Events in Bristol to celebrate Black History Month 2024
This year's Black History Month theme is "Reclaiming Narratives," focusing on recognising and correcting the stories of Black history and culture.
Wednesday 16 October 6.45pm
Book Launch: Breaking the Dead Silence
M Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol BS1 4RN.
Wednesday 16 October 2.30pm
Walking Tour: Breaking the Dead Silence
M Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol BS1 4RN
A walking conversation along the Bristol harbourside to the banks of the Avon and back, hosted by three Breaking the Dead Silence authors: Rob Collin, Mark Steeds and Richard White.
Friday 18 October 7.30pm
Film Screening: Beyond the Scars- Guy Bailey's Impact on Bristol
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RL
This premiere of a new documentary about Guy Bailey, one of the heroes of the Bristol Bus Boycott.
This event will feature a screening of the film, followed by a question and answer session and a panel discussion. The discussion will include Jacqui Wilson, Dr Marie-Annick Gournet of UWE, Clive Smith ( filmmaker), and Dr Guy Bailey OBE.
Saturday 19 October to Tuesday 31 December 11am to 4pm
Bristol Photo Festival: Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah- The House is a Body
The Georgian House, 7 Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah will be living in Bristol's Georgian House Museum, creating a new body of work about the building's colonial history.
Wednesday 23 October 7pm
Black British Ballet: Island Movement
Bristol Central Library, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5TL
Island Movements is a short ballet that tells the story of Windrush. This explores the impact of this generation's experiences on their families, communities and society.
Thursday 31 October 11am
Historical Walk: Bristol Abolition
Start from M Shed Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol BS1 4RN
Discover the names and places associated with Bristol's thousand-year fight to end the city's involvement in slavery, from Saxon times to the nineteenth century on this walk.
Bristol Bus Boycott walk
A self-guided walk using the Go Jauntly app to learn about the civil rights movement, the Bristol Bus Boycott.
Bristol's Black History resources
Bristol's Black History: learn more about Black history in this city, with stories compiled by the Bristol Museums Black History Steering Group.
Black Bristol: a project by young people from Off The Record to show young black people the history of the city they live in and how this city has been shaped by black people across time and space.
Bristol and the Transatlatic Traffic in Ensalved Africans - Bristol Museums Collections: updated and improved collection of resources and information about the transatlantic traffic in enslaved Africans and Bristol's involvement.
Bristol and Transatlantic Slavery. Origins, impact and legacy: A textbook for secondary schools.
Together Bristol Museums and Bristol History teachers have supplemented the existing curriculum about Bristol's links to slavery. This so that schoolchildren in Bristol have a better chance of fully understanding this part of Bristol's story.
The origins of Black History Month
In 1926, Carter G Woodson established African Caribbean celebrations in America where Black History Month is still celebrated each February.
After visiting America in the 1970s, Ghanaian-born Akyaaba Addai Sebo, a special projects officer at the Greater London Council, founded the UK's version of Black History Month in 1987.
There are two reasons thought to be behind why Black History Month is celebrated in October in the UK:
- Traditionally, October is when African chiefs and leaders gather to settle their differences, so Akyaaba chose this month to reconnect with African roots.
- Additionally, many thought that since it was the beginning of the new academic year, October would give Black children a sense of pride and identity.
Black History Month has since grown in the UK, where over 6,000 events take place each year.