Black History Month is an annual event that has been running in America since 1969. This event was adopted by the United Kingdom in 1987 after Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, a project officer for the ‘Greater London Council’, had visited the United States during the 1970s.

At Park House School we have been marking this event since GLTs arrival. Every year, as the Head of History, I have delivered assemblies in October to all year groups in line with the theme of the event as set out by the Black History Month organisation (https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/). Last year the theme was ‘Saluting our Sisters’ which was focused on highlighting and celebrating the roles of significant black women shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities. Through a House competition we had students celebrating and learning about the pioneering black women who have made remarkable contributions to literature, music, fashion, sport, business, politics, academia, social and health care. We taught students of key figures such as Claudia Jones, Olive Morris, Margaret Busby and Vanessa Kingori.

This year the theme was ‘Reclaiming Narratives.’ This theme was chosen with a focus on ensuring that Black British history is told with respect, dignity and accuracy. The theme was chosen with the hope that Black Britons are heard, have their experiences acknowledged and their contributions celebrated. During the assembly I made students aware of how the ‘Windrush generation’ are trying to reclaim the narrative of their story as many thousands of the Windrush generation were unfairly and inaccurately targeted by the Home Office as not living in the UK legally during Theresa May’s time as Prime Minister. Furthermore, I made students aware of celebrities who are attempting to reclaim the narrative. For instance, Ncuti Gatwa the actor who plays the iconic role of Doctor Who is ‘reclaiming the screen’ by challenging the traditional casting of the character to white actors. Furthermore, the actress Thandiwe Newton, has ‘reclaimed’ her name across Hollywood as for generations she has been known as Thandie due to a miss spelling in one of her first blockbuster film roles. By reclaiming her traditional Zimbabwean spelling Thandiwe hopes that others do not feel the pressure to conform to societal expectations and choose to celebrate where they are from.

In addition to the assembly, alongside many other academic and historical thinkers, as a department we have chosen to mark this important event and topic by not just covering the knowledge in one month but transforming our Year 8 & Year 9 History curriculum to decolonise and integrate multi-cultural themes into all aspects of the subject content being taught.

For example, in Year 9 we teach students about how black communities have been living in the UK for thousands of years through teaching them about the Ivory Bangle Lady and John Blanke. This is challenging the narrative that only due to the Slave Trade did black communities begin to settle in the UK. We do also cover the devastating and lasting impact of British colonialism and the Slave Trade upon West Africa and the Carribbean. Additionally, we teach students about more recent events by covering the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 and the tearing down of Edward Colston’s statue during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

By delivering both assemblies and lessons covering a wide range of Black British History this should have an everlasting impact on our students. We believe that the knowledge and understanding of Black History that our students will gain will ensure that our pupils know that Britain’s multiculturalist History is British History. As a result our students will understand how important it is to protect individuals regardless of their race, beliefs or culture.