At Anti Racist Cumbria we are very clear that learning about Black history is important all year round, not just in October. Attempting to cover the entirety of Black history in a single month whilst maintaining white-washed curriculums 11 months of the year is not doing justice to the wealth of resources and stories that are available to us.
However – we are also realistic! For many, Black History Month offers an opportunity to learn, a good starting point and a celebration of the contribution of Black communities and individuals to the UK and worldwide.
To mark Black History Month this year, we’ve decided to not only share educational pieces – just like this one about Cumbria’s connections to the trade of trafficking enslaved people – but to also shift the focus onto Black futures. How can we positively impact the next generation, and ensure that the mistakes of the past do not continue to negatively impact the lives of Black young people today?
THE FELL WE CLIMB: SCREENINGS
The Fell We Climb is a powerful animated film that has been co-created with Plus3k Studios and our grass roots youth group: Animated Futures. The Fell We Climb is based on their real-life experiences, and we believe that it will inspire future generations to also become anti-racist.
Throughout October there are 45+ screenings of this spell-binding and authentic character driven story on the big screen! It will be shown before feature films in cinemas and venues across Cumbria.
For a full directory of screenings keep checking our list here.
ARC BLACK HISTORY MONTH QUIZ
Thursday 20th October, 7.30pm, on Zoom.
Join Anti Racist Cumbria for our Black History Month Quiz, with host, ‘King of the Quiz’ Nick Anderson!
We’ll be covering loads of Black History topics, you better start reading now… as you know, our website is a good place to start. Hint Hint 😜
This is no ordinary quiz, you won’t want to miss it….and don’t forget, points mean prizes!!
Entry will be £2.50 and all proceeds go towards our Grass Roots Projects.
HADRIAN’S WALL EXHIBITION
Back in July our team of 8 intrepid walkers walked more than 90 miles in just 3 days- a challenge usually completed over at least 6 days.
The core team; Niall, Sukanya, Zainab, Rob, Jo, Freya and Rob yomped, stomped, and at times practically crawled to complete the full walk – the final day more than 36 miles!
“For now I just don’t have words. That was the most amazing, stressful, scary, tough, beautiful, hardcore, mental, emotional and physical thing that I have ever done.” Zainab Houghton
2022 marks 1900 years of #HadriansWall, 1900 years of rich and diverse history. Sadly its a history which hasn’t always celebrated all the people involved and we hope we have helped highlight the many past and present contributions of Black and Brown people to the wall and communities along it such as highlighting China’s first conceptual artist Li Yuan-chia who isn’t mentioned in guides. Walking across the countryside in ARC t-shirts not only grabbed the attention of the press but more importantly sparked conversations with people about racism, anti-racism and our mission to make our county the UK’s first anti-racist one.
Later this month, Tullie House will show an exhibition of photographs documenting the ARC team’s incredible achievement. Check back here and on our socials for more information about the launch, coming soon.
RESOURCES FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH
If you’re looking for resources and to further your learning, we have multiple articles on our website – just search Black History Month and you’ll find over 30 different options, and we think they’re fascinating…we may be biased though so let us know what you think!
We’ll be sharing some more posts on our socials – and did you know we also have a youtube channel? On there is a series of 10 short videos, ideal for teachers and schools, sharing ideas and resources for Black History Month.
And last but by no means least; for our next Book Club – meeting on the 16th November via zoom – we’re reading Black and British: A Forgotten History, by David Olusoga. This book is a fantastic place to start if you’re at the beginning of your Black history learning. Why not join us to discuss what you’ve learned and also to ask us any questions you may have – there is no such thing as a stupid question at Anti Racist Cumbria.
