Celebrating Black History Month
By Yvonne Hamilton - 12 October 2022
October means that it’s Black History Month, where we celebrate the diverse culture that we live in!
At Worth Unlimited we recognise, respect and value the differences in others, so here are a few things to think about over the course of October.
Microaggressions
“You are so articulate”
“When I look at you, I don’t see colour”
“I’m not a racist, I have several Black friends”
These phrases may be said intentionally or unintentionally but they are all slights against the Black community which can be verbal, behavioural or environmental. In order to make the world and our organisation more equal we need to make sure that we are challenging microaggressions when we come across them.
Behavioural examples include:
Anticipating emotional responses based on race or ethnicity
Mispronouncing names and setting low expectations for individuals of a particular race or background
Expecting students of any particular group to ‘represent’ the perspectives of others of their race or culture
Check out this article if you want to learn more about how to deal with microaggressions
Here are some activities that you can do with young people:
If you are looking to engage your young people and encourage learning about Black History Month then you could try a quiz:
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/black_history_quiz_for_children_002_0.pdf
https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/black_history_quiz_leader_2019.pdf
Cooking- what better way to connect with young people than by sharing recipes and teaching each other how to cook? Invite them to share their experiences with you
Watch a movie- talk about the story with them and invite discussion on the time period and issues raised in the film. Your local cinema may be rescreening titles for Black History Month, so see what you can find. Here are some examples:
Hidden Figures (pg)
Just Mercy (12)
Blackkklansman (15)
Everyone’s heard of Beyoncé, but many musicians have sung about their experiences with race, here are a few songs that you could also hear to diversify your music taste:
https://genius.com/Dave-black-lyrics
https://www.songlyrics.com/bob-marley/redemption-song-lyrics/
https://genius.com/Stormzy-mel-made-me-do-it-lyrics
