This Black History Month (BHM), the People of Colour Society leaders and History Representatives came together to construct a celebration of Black voices and stories. The students all agreed that October should act as a launch pad, and not an isolated event, in the continuous awareness of and mission to combat racism and work towards a more representative and inclusive society.
SFC2 (Year 13) student, Melinah, commented:
“We felt it of the utmost importance to use the tool of Black History Month to focus our time and efforts this month on elevating Black voices and stories, to act as a baseline for every other day of the year. The reason being that the undeniable impact that Black people have made on society is often overlooked or overshadowed in dominant narratives.”
BHM kicked off with a student-led Prayers full of inspiration and education on Black British history. Students spotlighted a variety of Black British figures, past and present, including Leigh-Anne Pinnock (musician), Baroness Lawrence and John Blanke (a Black Tudor) and an in-depth look at the Mangrove Nine case of 1970. To conclude, we (tentatively) attempted to do something different for the musical element of Prayers by teaching the entire school Oh Happy Day before singing it all together at the end!
Over the last two years, the History Department has been working hard on reviewing and diversifying the curriculum in order to ensure that a wide range of events and perspectives are included. We wanted to use Black History Month to begin some in-depth conversations about the role of race in the curriculum, in our College community and in society more widely.
In our endeavour for more open and honest conversations around race and diversity, the department has hosted a series of evening lecture screenings followed by reflection and discussion. Contributions from prominent Black British historians and commentators have been very thought-provoking, with recent sessions focused on the work of David Olusoga and Reni Eddo-Lodge. Upper College and Sixth Form students have turned out in strong numbers and have shown a real desire to be advocates for anti-racism within the CLC community and in society as a whole.
We are really proud of everyone's efforts in making Black History Month 2022 such a success; we sincerely hope that these conversations and initiatives will continue to play a part in enriching our community and interactions here at College.
Melinah, SFC2 (Year 13) and Dr B Coupland, Head of History and Politics
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