Black History Month

Black History Month 2008 will feature a spectacular free entrance event this year to be held from 11am - 6pm at Channel View Leisure Centre, Grangetown, Cardiff on Saturday 1st November.

Coordinated by BVSNW and a partnership process comprised of several voluntary organisations, community representatives and Cardiff Council. The event will feature; food from Africa, Caribbean and Arabia, presentations, performance, feature film and shorts, displays, exhibitions, arts, crafts cultural and information stalls. Workshops will be aimed at motivating youth, black history, elders reminiscence, health, and arts  

The event will be launched with a traditional African ceremony at 11.15am followed by welcome introductions from Judith Woodman, Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of the Arts Council for Wales and a representative from the Welsh Assembly. Linda Mitchell will be the compare and drum call announcements will be made throughout the day. Special guest celebrities  will include Nigel Walker and Steve Robinson and a full programme brochure will be available at the event information stall.

The event is strategically focussed on six key areas: Cultural Heritage, Continuing Professional Development, Partnerships, Education, Enterprise and Legacy. The programme will portray many aspects of black cultural heritage in Wales and is targeted as an educational, informative, entertaining, and enlightening cultural experience.   

 A series of specialised workshops aimed at children, young people and women are taking place for the first time throughout Wales with participants being brought to the Cardiff event to give individual group presentations. The focus of this years celebration, heritage and sharing is intending to attract a widely diverse audience from across Wales.

 A Brief History

Black History Month is the month in which the progress, richness and diversity of African Asian and Caribbean people is celebrated.

Such celebrations are owed to Dr Carter G Woodson, an American black scholar, who noticed from his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population.

After establishing the Association for the study of Negro Life and History and founding the journal of Negro History, Woodson launched Negro History Week in 1926. This aimed to bring national attention to the contributions of black people through American History. This history week was chosen to be the second week in February by Woodson as it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly impacted the American black population: Frederick Douglas an American abolitionist who worked to end slavery and Abraham Lincoln, the American President who freed slaves during the civil war.

In the UK BHM emerged as part of the African Jubilee Year for Marcus Garvey Centenary celebrations in America. Since then it has been celebrated across the UK every October with activities such as lectures, conferences, concerts and specialist activities in the community, schools and libraries which highlight and celebrate the achievements and contributions the Black and Asian men and women have made to the development of British society, technology, economy and culture.

Useful links...