Black History Month (BHM) is a time to reflect on the history of black heritage, celebrate the contribution of black people in modern society and, educate and inspire people by sharing stories about achievements of black people who have made a profound impact all over the world.
Nationally BHM was all about ‘Reclaiming Narratives’ – marking a significant shift to towards recognising and correcting the narratives of black history and culture.
This year’s annual Black History Month Thanksgiving at Southwark Cathedral – in partnership with the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (SDBE) – was an opportunity to come together for a day of fellowship, learning and celebration, exploring this year’s theme ‘music at the heart of change.’ Read more here.
Across the diocese our diverse church communities joined together to reflect on and celebrate the rich history of African and Caribbean culture, food, music, arts, entertainment and fashion.
St Mary, Beddington
Throughout October, St Mary’s hosted a series of Monday film nights.
The first film was I am Not Your Negro by James Baldwin.
Nicola Thomas, Diocesan Secretary and The Venerable Moira Astin, Archdeacon of Reigate joined the screening following their Parish Conversations visit.
Judy Page, PCC Secretary said, “There was a huge spread of food – all provided free of charge. It was a wonderful introduction to the remainder of the month.”
Other films shown included The Queen of Katwe, I am Everything and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
Archdeacon Moira and Nicola with members of the parish.
St John, Waterloo
As part of BHM celebrations, The Revd Annie Wanjohi preached at St John’s on Bible Sunday. The church also welcomed Chine MacDonald to speak as part of its Exploring Spirit series on ‘Lament and Joy’ in the Black experience.
Revd Annie and Revd Giles.
Christ Church, Purley
The Christ Church Family welcomed visiting speaker Clare Williams, Founder of Real Questions at services on Sunday 6 October.
On Sunday 13 October, there was music by the Christ Church Gospel Choir and the choir led worship.
After the morning service on Sunday 20 October, an African and Caribbean celebration lunch took place. The lunch was an opportunity for everyone to gather as a church family and celebrate with food.
One parishioner said, “Thank you to everyone who contributed to this tasty event – a truly excellent time of sharing and fellowship.”
Another said, “Absolutely fabulous. I especially liked the goat soup, goat curry, and black bean stew. 14 out of 10!”
Clare Williams
Christ Church Gospel Choir
St Oswald, Norbury
Pointing to a map of Nigeria: Parishioners show the regions they come from.
Exploring joyful wedding celebrations in Africa and the Caribbean, St Oswald’s invited local people to learn about the traditions, special clothes, precious objects and music as part of an event called ‘Where we come from’.
Vee Benn writes:
It was a lively and informative exploration of differences in traditional weddings ‘Where we come from’ in Africa and the Caribbean. Members of the congregation shared their stories and experiences, and treated the audience to displays of beautiful bridal dresses and adornments from Eastern Nigeria, Benin and Sierra Leone. We saw an all-important mother-in-law’s outfit from Delta State, Nigeria and the magnificent agbada (traditional ceremonial robe) of a Yoruba groom.
It was particularly interesting to learn about the importance of making the right approach to the right person in order to gain support from extended families prior to marriage.
Dance group A Step in Time performed excellent line dance routines to foot-tapping music from America and Jamaica, there was a live hair-wrapping display, poetry recital and uplifting Bible readings of The Wedding at Cana and 1 Corinthians 13 on Love.
The event was very well attended, with delicious refreshments and opportunities to socialise, and it was truly inspiring to be able to learn from and appreciate the diversity of experience among our congregation. Everyone loves a good wedding celebration and we had a fantastic one at St Oswald’s.
St Stephen’s Church, Norbury and Thornton Heath
This year’s theme for Black History Month was music and at St Stephen’s we decided to organise an event celebrating the history of black British music – covering 76 years of music but also recognising the struggles that went on during this time.
We were honoured to have special guest Robin Walker with us aka ‘The Black History Man’ who hosted the evening, walking us through an informative, engaging presentation, with music and interesting videos – which also doubled as a quiz.
In his presentation, Robin chronologically explored the discography of many genres including British Soul, Blues, Ska, Rock Steady, Lovers Rock, UK Rap, Grime etc. and paired this with the historic moments that took place as each genre made its breakthrough.
During the interval of the presentation, we had a lovely spread of Caribbean snacks/refreshments available on the night provided by one of our parishioners, Kester O’Connor and music provided by Os G that really captured the essence of the event, whilst people ate and mingled.
Alongside this, there was also a delicious tea tasting experience available in another room, which featured teas from all over the Caribbean for people to try and take home. We also had beautifully crafted Afro-Caribbean dolls dressed in bright, bold patterns that were available to purchase too.
Overall, the night was a brilliant success and we look forward to putting on another event like this next year!
St Peter, Battersea
The congregation enjoyed an afternoon of live music, food and entertainment.
Revd Ian and Nat, Head of JPIC.
Still to come…
Croydon Black History Walks
Black History Walks offer walking tours, educational talks and films in London. The organisation was set up in 2007 and works with museums, schools, communities and universities to deliver a diverse and engaging programme of educational experiences for – anyone with an interest in history and learning.
Presented in association with the Diocese of Southwark, the next Croydon History Walk will take place on Saturday 9 November, from 10am–12.15pm.
Bishop Rosemarie joins walkers in Croydon.
The unique tour we will cover:
- Ancient African civilisations, the East Croydon links in your face.
- Christianity and black people, The under-recognised influence of the Black Church.
- Invisible black banks of the 1970s and their concrete legacy in 2024.
- 40 years of successful black educational establishments.
- Diabetes, sickle cell, Supacell and the Kidnap Industrial Complex.
- The house of the Moon, Asylum, the National Front/White Defenders.
- Nicki Minaj, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Stormzy and SCT.
- Black British Civil Rights, Pan Africanism and Sierra Leone.
- How to clean your clothes without water.
- Art, acting, dance and theatre as resistance; little but mighty.
- Barbados, Brutality, Bishops and the Church of England.
- What can be done with 1 billion pounds?
- Multi-nationals, East Croydon and infant mortality in Africa.
To register and join the walk for free, visit: bit.ly/3YE8OPF. The meeting point and joining instructions will be sent after booking.
Find out more about Black History Walks at: blackhistorywalks.co.uk
