Thursday 8 October. 5.30-7pm. 2000 Years of British Black Music
Audio-visual assisted presentation of black music making in the British Isles over two millennia, will also show its engagement with patronage and the music industry. History consultant Kwaku at Woolwich Library, SE18 6HQ. Tel: 020 8921 5750.
http://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/listin…
Thursday 8 October. 6-8pm. Black Poppies for Black Women
Stephen Bourne presents an illustrated talk about some of the women who are included in his book Black Poppies – Britain’s Black Community and the Great War. These include the composers Amanda Ira Aldridge and Avril Coleridge-Taylor, music hall artiste Mabel Mercer, and the working-class women who lived in our seaports: Cardiff, Liverpool and London. Everyone is welcome! 160 Tooley Street,SE1 (a short walk from London Bridge). For further information contact helen.laker@southwark.gov.uk
Tuesday 13 October. 6.30-8pm 2000 Years of British Black Music
This audio-visual assisted presentation of black music making in the British Isles over two millennia, will also show its engagement with patronage and the music industry. Battersea Library, Lavender Hill, SW11 1JB.
Fri 16 October 2015 – Tuesday 16 February 2016. West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song Exhibition
British Library exhibition of literature and music – from the African empires of the Middle Ages to the cultural dynamism of West Africa today. See more at: http://www.bl.uk/events/west-africa-word-symbol-song. It includes the CD, DVD and Music Scores of Sancho’s Minuets and Optional Dances by Prof. Janise White from West Los Angeles College, USA and Director of the Afro-American Chamber Music Society Orchestra in Los Angeles, California, who is coming to London for the start of the exhibition.
Tuesday 20 October. 2pm. The forgotten war: World War I in Africa
Talk by Marika Sherwood. Working Class Movement Library, Salford.
Saturday 24 October. 1-2.30pm. Mother Country and The Motherland Calls
Stephen Bourne presents an illustrated talk about his books Mother Country and The Motherland Calls focusing on the period 1939-45. The books document the participation of Britain’s black community on the home front and in the armed services during the Second World War. Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1.
Saturday 24 October. 5-8pm British History 50:70/Is Jesus White?
Free inter-generational event consists of:
a) British History 50:70. An interactive session in which history consultant Kwaku will introduce via the main themes under the British History 50:70 strands, supported by videos plus some of the key books. Audience expected to contribute themes for discussion by highlighting some of the African British histories that fall within the 50 or 70 years time frame.
b) Is Jesus White? A audio-visual presentation on Christian iconography by Kwaku, which puts Jesus and Christianity into a historical context that links to the present. It covers religion, art, identity and impact of the usual portrayal of “whiteness” against the seldom portrayal of the “other” or “blackness” within Christian iconography.
c) Stalls. Selling books, DVDs, etc
Clapham Common Methodist Church Hall, SW4 7JR.
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/british-history-5070…
Wednesday 28 October. 6.30-9pm. Look How Far We’ve Come Community Talk/Is Jesus White?
This free, inter-generational event consists of:
a) Look… Community Talk event consisting of the screening of part 1 of the ‘Look How Far We’ve Come: Commentaries On British Society And Racism?’ DVD, followed by a facilitated discussion on racism, and other political and societal issues. Special guests will include some of the contributors to the Look… DVD and Race/Racism Primer.
b) Is Jesus White? A audio-visual presentation on Christian iconography by history consultant Kwaku, which puts Jesus and Christianity into a historical context that links to the present. It covers religion, art, identity and impact of the usual portrayal of “whiteness” against the seldom portrayal of the “other” or “blackness” within Christian iconography.
Croydon BME Forum, London Rd, CR0 3PB.
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/look-how-far-weve-co…
This clashes with my talk about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and the Croydon Music Scene in the South Norwood Arts Festival – see latest Croydon Events and News blog.
Thursday 29 October – 10.30am-7.30pm. What’s Happening in Black British History III
Convened for the Institute of Commonwealth Studies by Miranda Kaufmann and Michael Ohajuru the programme includes: Challenging the Conventional Narratives, Teaching British Black History, and New Perspectives on the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Speakers include: Catherine Johnson, Ryan Hanley, David Killingray, Martin Spafford, Dema Wonga, Robin Whitburn, Abdullah Mohamud, Ian Duffield, Jeffrey Green, Jan Marsh and Advolly Richmond. Topics range from Equiano to teaching the new GCSE, from teaching diversity to black women, from re-framing the nation to Reverend Thomas Birch Freeman. Venue: Senate House, University of London. The full programme is at http://events.sas.ac.uk/icws/events/view/18533/What%27s+Happening+in+Black+British+History+III To book a place please go to: http://goo.gl/UgGlZp
Saturday 31 October – Sunday 1 November. 10am-6pm. Black Poppies Display
A display linked to Stephen Bourne’s book Black Poppies can be viewed at the Imperial War Museum. The display has been developed with Southwark Council and funded by the Heritage Lottery First World war grant scheme. Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1.
Saturday 31 October. 1-2.30pm. Black Poppies – Britain’s Black Community and the Great War Stephen Bourne presents his illustrated talk about his most recent book Black Poppies. The book spans the First World War to 1919 and explores the military and civilian wartime experiences of black Britons. Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1.
Caribbean War Heroes
Interview with Marc Wadsworth about his film. http://www.londonlive.co.uk/news/2015-09-28/new-film-tells-untold-tale-of-caribbean-war-heroes
History & Social Action News and Events 