Why Black History Matters

Child being pursued during the Haitian Revolution

As October is Black History Month/African Heritage Month in the UK, I have been posting lots of Black history events on Nurture Success Events – even more than usual.

Of course, many of us know that every month is Black History Month.   BHM in the UK was started in the 1980s as an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of African people.  It was never intended to be the only Black History Month – just the one observed by local authorities and other statutory bodies.

Tony Warner of London Black History Walks runs events all year long, not just in October. So do Black History Studies.

I attended “What Were Black People Doing in WW1” on Saturday – an excellent presentation.  I have seen it at least three times now, and I always learn something new. Brother Tony breaks down the whole context of how Africa and its people got involved in the two World Wars.

So why does Black history matter?   For one thing, in order to know who we really are, we need to know our history.  We need historical context to understand the events of today, and to understand why Africa and African people are in the position we are in.  For example, check out my recent blog about how people are recovering from the Rwandan genocide. To understand how and why the genocide happened, we need the historical context.

That's just one of many, many examples I can give. 

In order to subdue and control our ancestors, the enslavers did everything they could to steal their cultural identity.

 

When we understand how Black people were robbed of our dignity for many generations, we can begin to see why we behave in ways that are so self-destructive. And these behaviours will continue until we undergo a profound healing process. And of course, that's what my work is all about.

You may also be interested in my recent blogs about the First World War.  More about this soon.

There are loads more Black history posts on this blog, so feel free to explore. 

Organisations such as Black History Studies and London Black History Walks are making a  crucial contribution to us as a people and this needs to be acknowledged more.  Enjoy Black History Month and please share this blog with your networks. Please leave your comments below.