Black History Month 2021
The Reed’s community celebrated the achievements of black people through a series of student-led projects and activities throughout Black History Month 2021.
Black History Month has been celebrated in the UK for over 30 years. It’s dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the achievements of black people throughout history and lets everyone to come together as a community to understand the importance of black culture and heritage which penetrates all areas of our society. Divorcing black history from the rest of Britain’s history is misleading and gives us inaccurate picture of the true British history. Black and ethnic minority people have contributed to all aspects of our society, from science to the arts, from mathematics to literature and from democracy to religion.
Educating our pupils about this issue is the main reason for celebrating Black History Month. We have more events planned for the future so that we can actively celebrate the many black people in the world who have influenced every part of our society. Black History is everyone’s history!
Below we share some of the activities that took place in October 2021.
“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH THROUGH DRAMA
A page was created on Firefly, our VL platform, which gave pupils from all year groups ideas on films and plays to watch that celebrate black culture as well as recommended articles on the History of Black Theatre and Current Theatre Professionals.
Pupils in the Third and Fourth Forms were asked to watch Barber Shop Chronicles, a heartwarming, hilarious and insightful new play that leaps from a barber shop in Peckham to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Accra. They were then asked to write a review of the film; here are some of the comments that were made:
‘The main similarities between the different scenes are the fact that the characters are all black men, and many scenes talk about race and the changing world. This is effective because the world is going through a racial shift where people are finally realising that black communities are equal to any other. Because we are experiencing this change now, seeing one of the characters talk about how he ignored racism and encouraged people to call him derogatory terms feels far more impactful that it would have a few decades ago.’
‘London is the only setting in the whole play where the location is predominantly populated with white people. This is where most of the racial issues are talked about which makes sense as the characters are living in a mainly white community where racism would be a possibility. It is also a good place to compare their homeland of various places in Africa to London for example, when they talk about how people are disciplined in Africa and England and conclude that a grey area between the two places would be the best. This is effective because it displays how the two cultures may merge in the future.’
‘There are 12 actors who are all black males – they all have different accents and cultural backgrounds and you learn their stories and experiences through their conversations in the barber shops. The characters touch on a whole range of issues including slavery and racism and the way abuse can be passed to fathers and sons as well as what it means to be a man and a father.’
‘The play has really dramatic scenes when they’re talking about politics and racism and family struggles, however there are also really funny moments.’
BLACK HISTORY MONTH THROUGH LITERATURE
Boys in the Second Form were asked to choose a book and some of them read Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes. This is a heartbreaking and powerful story about a black boy, Jerome, killed by a police officer, who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys. Bit by bit, Jerome begins to understand what really happened - not just to him, but to all the ghost boys.
The following is the review from Louis G, who read the book and gave his thoughts:
The book made me feel sad because I am aware that this is happening in real life in terms of racism and black boys not being treated the same as others by the police. In the book, the ghost boys are the black children who have been shot and their killers have never been brought to justice. That makes me think about what has happened to George Floyd and the BLM movement. The story also describes the difference between the life and treatment of a poor black family compared to a well-off white family.
Through the eyes of Jeremy, the protagonist, a black boy who has been shot by a police officer, I can understand the issue of racial injustice towards black people. Jeremy explains how he feels about having been in a school in a poor area compared to the private school where the police officer’s daughter goes.
That makes me feel very thankful about what I have in my school and all the facilities offered to me compared to some people who cannot get into a good school. This book has opened a lot of questions to me about race relations.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH THROUGH SPEECHES
Three students in the Sixth Form were asked to give speeches in an Assembly about a famous or influential black person who has inspired them.
LE CHEVALIER DE ST GEORGE
Will Salford chose Joseph Bologne, known as Le Chevalier de St George, a virtuoso and one of the first black colonels in the French army. The child of an enslaved woman and a plantation owner married to a French woman he became conductor of a leading symphony orchestra and Queen Marie Antoinette’s music teacher despite prejudices and racial barriers. In 1778 Mozart travelled to Paris and met Bologne. According to music experts Mozart’s first composition after his return to Austria contained similarities with an excerpt from a Bologne concerto - this style had never appeared in Mozart’s work previously. Bologne is generally known as ‘The Black Mozart’.
“I didn’t know he existed and find his story fascinating. I would like to study his work and influence for my research on Baroque music.”
Will Salford, Lower Sixth
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
Daniel Macharia decided to speak about the late actor Chadwick Boseman who was best known for his role as T’Challa in Black Panther. The movie had a majority black cast, acting as role models for black children all over the world who finally had a superhero that they could look up to and, more importantly, who looks like them. They have someone to dress up as for birthday parties or Halloween; someone that inspires them. Sadly, Chadwick Boseman had been diagnosed with colon cancer; he managed to complete the recording of the film before passing away shortly afterwards.
KATHERINE JOHNSON
Ben Routley chose Katherine Johnson, one of the first African American women to work as a NASA scientist. Born in 1918 Katherine loved to learn, particularly maths, and from a young age excelled at it. She graduated from college at 18 after studying maths and became a teacher. When she was 34, she heard that NASA was hiring African American women to solve maths problems, a match made in heaven. After her second application she was accepted and was part of the team that calculated where and when to launch the rocket for the Apollo 11 mission of 1969, which sent the first three men to the Moon. For her pioneering work in the field of space travel Katherine received many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The Congressional Gold Medal, and, most recently, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She went on to calculate and analyse the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space programme.
“I picked Katherine Johnson because it is important to recognise “unsung heroes” who do not get as much adoration as others. For all she has achieved, I believe she is a great role model to admire this month.”
Ben Routley, Upper Sixth Form
Following the aspiration of integrating the contribution of black people in British history, Reed’s held a special assembly on 11th November 2021 to celebrate the contribution of soldiers from ethnic minorities who fought for Britain during WW and WWII. More than 1 million soldiers from ethnic minority backgrounds, including Black, north African and Asian soldiers, fought for Britain in WWI and more than 2 million in WWII.
Hamza Hussein, Lower Sixth, gave a heartfelt speech in his House Assembly about his family’s involvement in both World Wars. His Great-Grandfather, Sawaria Khan, fought in the First World War. He served in a mule transport company in France helping to move supplies and ammunition along the front lines as well as fighting the enemy. There are records of troops from these companies having been present at the infamous evacuation at Dunkirk so he may have been involved with that operation. He served valiantly and was awarded a medal for gallantry after retrieving intelligence documents from a burning building. His Grandfather, Imam Din, served in the Corps of Royal Indian Engineers in World War II. He was sent by ship to Europe where he fought in the Invasion of Sicily and the subsequent liberation of Italy from Nazi control. He fought in the infamous battle of Monte Cassino, regarded as one of the most brutal engagements in the entire war. Following the independence of Pakistan on 14th August 1947, he and others who served were offered the opportunity to settle in Great Britain, however, he chose to stay in Pakistan having fought so hard to see the creation of this new nation state. Family from Hamza’s father’s side did choose to move to Britain in the early 1950s - some of the first to settle as part of the post-war wave of immigration from the sub-continent. They faced severe racism at the hands of skinhead gangs and extremist factions who opposed the new wave of immigration.
Hamza ends his speech by saying, “In the years since the end of the war there has been continued neglect of the memory of minority troops through lack of mention in services and less attention in burial sites. Thankfully, this has changed over time although more could be done to preserve the memory of these brave men. As the collective British consciousness assesses this country’s colonial past, I think the least we can do is to remember the great sacrifice of the millions of Indian troops who fought to protect this nation.”
