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 Equity 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 2025
Bristol Bus Boycott X
You are invited to a bold, immersive pop-up exhibition marking 60 years of the Race Relations Act 1965. Step into a living tribute to resistance and legacy, honouring the local heroes and sheroes who helped shape history.
Date and location:
- The Vestibules, City Hall, College Green: 6 to 17 October
- Sparks, Broadmead: 22 October to 8 November
Easton Community Centre
Film screening of Babylon followed by a discussion
Date: Thursday 16 October, 6.30pm to 10pm
Price: £5 per person, book tickets on the Headfirst website
Location: Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street, Bristol, BS5 6AW
Felix Road Adventure Playground
Ventures and Vibes
Date: Sunday 19 October, 1pm onwards
Location: Felix Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 0JW
Afro-Caribbean family fun day with arts, crafts, music, dance, food and culture in an adventure playground.
All families are welcome. Children under 8 must be with an adult.
Free, no need to book.
Adventures in Beautiful Jamaica by Winnifred Reid
Special literature event celebrating Jamaican landscapes and culture.
Date: 21 October 2025, 6.30pm to 8.30pm
Location: St Pauls Learning centre, 94 Grosvenor Rd, St Paul's, Bristol BS2 8XJ
Price: Free
Find out more on the St Paul's Learning Centre website.
Triangle of Unity
An unmissable celebration of Black Bristol culture through music, film and conversation. Special guests including Roni Size.
Date: 24 October, 6pm until late
Location: Watershed, 1 Canon's Road Bristol BS1 5TX
Book your ticket on EventBrite.
Black Beauty Exhibition
Local legend Jennie Cave presents a local collection of new photo montages celebrating black beauty culture and community.
Dates and times:
- Friday 24 October, 7pm to 10pm
- Saturday 25 October, 12pm to 5pm
- Sunday 26 October, 12pm to 5pm
Location: The Island Gallery, Bridewell Street, Bristol, BS1 2QD
Free, no need to book.
Somali week festival
A night of Somali music, dance and celebration.
Date: 25 October, 7pm to 10pm
Location: City Academy, Russell Town Avenue, Bristol BS5 9JH
Price: £11.55 per person, book your ticket on EventBrite
Selma, under the stars: Outdoor film screening
Enjoy an open-air screening of Selma (12A), alongside live performances and short films.
Date: 26 October, 6.30pm
Location: We The Curious
Book your free ticket on the Headfirst Bristol website.
Bristol Libraries
St Pauls Community Centre Exhibition
Date: 13 to 31 October
Free, no need to book.
Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music: Bristol Library Service
This panel display at St Paul's Library documents 500 years of Black music in Britain and explores the people, places and genres that have formed a British soundtrack.
Special Collections Sunday: Fugitives in the Archive
Date: Sunday 12 October, 2pm
Free, no need to book.
This exhibition showcases 13 adverts for runaway enslaved people from 18th century Bristol newspapers. The curator will introduce the exhibition on Special Collections Sunday.
It includes original newspapers, maps, and writings by Black authors from the 18th and 19th centuries, exploring the possible lives of these individuals before they escaped.
More information is available on the Bristol Libraries events page.
Central Library Exhibition: Fugitives in the Archives
Date: 14 October to 30 November
Free, no need to book.
Bristol Museums
Learning events for schools
Date: 6, 13 and 20 October
Free online assemblies and webinars on the Ancient Kingdom of Benin and Brilliant Black Bristolians.
Home Educator workshop: M Shed
Date: 15 October, 2pm to 3.30pm
Price: £10 per learner, book tickets on the Museums website.
Bristol's involvement in the Transatlantic traffic in enslaved Africans lasted a relatively short time in the city's history as a trading port, but its impact remains evident today.
This workshop is only available to home educating families and suitable for children aged 12 to 17.
Voices of Resilience: rap and poetry workshop: M Shed
Date: 18 October
Two workshops are running at the following times:
- 11am to 12.45pm
- 1.30pm to 3.15pm
Price: £6, book tickets on the Museums website
Celebrate Black History Month with a high-energy, 90-minute experience.
This unique workshop blends poetry, rap and play, rooted in Bristol's African-Caribbean heritage.
Beezer's Bristol Through the Lens
Date: 21 October, 6.30pm to 10pm
Location: M Shed
Bristol Museums are proud to celebrate the launch of Beezer's legendary documentation of Bristol's youth, music, and protest scenes in his new book, Until Now.
Price: Tickets from £7 on the Bristol Museums website
Sheroes of the Bristol Bus Boycott
Join M-shed for a powerful afternoon of film and live interviews uncovering the overlooked stories of women who helped shape the civil rights movement in Britain.
Date: 22 November 2025, 2pm to 3.15pm
Location: M Shed
Tickets are available on the Bristol Museums website.
Bristol Bus Boycott walk
Available anytime through the Go Jauntly App.
This walk takes you past historic sites in the city, pivotal in the civil rights movement which paved the way for the Race Relations Act in the 1960s.
Bristol's Black History resources
Black History Month Resource Pack 2025
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.