OUR MISSION

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 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.

NORFOLK BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2023

OUR VALUES

 

It all started when…

United Kingdom

1822 handbill advertising a Black boxing tutor in Alnwick, Northumberland; tweeted by Northumberland Archives as part of Black History Month in 2020

In the United Kingdom, Black History Month was first celebrated in October 1987. The year of 1987, recognized as the African Jubilee, coincidentally the year of the 150th anniversary of Caribbean emancipation, the centenary of the birth of Marcus Garvey and the 25th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, an institution dedicated to advancing the progress of African states. Black History Month in the UK was organised through the leadership of Ghanaian analyst Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, who had served as a coordinator of special projects for the Greater London Council (GLC) and created a collaboration to get it underway. The first Black History Month celebration in the UK was held in London on October 1, 1987, when Dr. Maulana Karenga from the US was invited to an event by the Greater London Council about Black people's contributions to history.

Some institutions have faced criticism for supporting Black History Month with images of people from British Asian backgrounds, using the term "black" to refer to political blackness encompassing all people of color.

Our Formation

where

Norwich

WHAT TYPE OF ORGANISATION ARE WE?

Community Interest Company

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, Norfolk’s Black community thrives.

OUR AIMS

Our aim is to improve the lives and experiences of Black people living, working, studying andvisiting 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 main 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.

 

Flourish Pledge

Professionals working with children, young people and families across Norfolk have come together to form the Children and Young People Strategic Alliance. The Strategic Alliance has produced Flourishing in Norfolk as their plan for how they will work together over the next four years to help and support children, young people and their families to overcome difficulties and get to where they want to be. They want Norfolk to be a county where all children and young people can flourish. This ambition has been inspired by the things young people have told them are most important to them:

  1. Family and friends

  2. Access to learning

  3. The opportunity to lead a good life

  4. Being understood

  5. Building resilience

  6. Respect for their individuality

  7. Feeling safe

  8. Being healthy

Norfolk Black History Month wants to help make the Flourish ambition a reality so has signed up to the Flourish Pledge.

“We will involve children and young people in decision-making in our organisation and champion their voices.”

HOW WILL WE DO THIS?

“We will set up a reference group, NBHM Young Ambassadors, made up of children and young people living in Norfolk who want to make positive changes that challenge racism in Norfolk. Their voices will shape our updated vision and values and how we celebrate Black History Month and other events throughout the year. They will be invited and supported to have a safe space at our events and we will enable them to have at least one ‘CYP take-over’ during Black History Month. We will do our best to ensure at least 50% of the group are children and young people identify as being from Ethnically Diverse Communities and work hard to remove barriers to engagement.”