What do we do?

Norfolk Black History Month is made up of volunteers and we simply do what we can! Our mission is to provide and curate events for and by the Black community, to celebrate being Black; all year round, with some extra special events in October. We want to remove the barriers that have historically prevented Black people in Norfolk feeling welcome, included, protected, supported and respected. We want to ensure Norfolk’s young people flourish and Norfolk’s Black community thrives.

Our aims

Our aim is to improve the lives and experiences of Black people living, working, studying and visiting Norfolk. According to Jeffrey Boakye, Black History Month is three component parts:

Celebrating black culture(s)

Recognising marginalised narratives

Addressing oppression & resistance

and we agree with him that all three are needed for it to have any real impact. We are here to inspire, educate, co-create and celebrate everything to do with being Black in Norfolk; inviting the wider community to experience it with us. We aim that at least 50% of the committee, ambassadors and event contributors identify as being from Ethnically Diverse Communities. How do we celebrate Black History Month in Norfolk? We believe we need to look back to move forward. We take the national theme and invite organisations to contribute to 4 family events, held in key locations across the county. There will also be satellite events including online and hybrid events, to increase accessibility. We engage with the community, aiming that groups historically marginalised are heard and curate a menu of educational, fun, social, sports and arts activities. Our priority is that people who identify as Black African, Black Caribbean, belonging to the Black African diaspora, or of Black mixed-race heritage in Norfolk are at the centre of all that takes place.

We explore the barriers of engagement and work hard to remove these. We expect all our events to promote the Boakye principles of: celebrating black culture(s), recognising marginalised narratives and addressing oppression & resistance and want all our events to happen in spaces where everyone feels comfortable.