Menewsha Avatar Community - View Single Post - Heri za Kwanzaa!!!! Come join in a celebration of pride. :)

06:28 PM

wow, Black History Month's certainly celebrated differently in the U.S. sorry you all got the pooey end of the stick. here in the UK its a celebration of the achievements rather than a reminder of the tragedies. from 150,000 BC, when the first modern humans migrated from Africa, through to Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first black president of the US in 2009, the first World Cup in Africa, Malorie Blackman’s appointment as children’s laureate in 2013, Nelson Mandela's anti-apartheid revolution, Beyoncé Knowles' bestselling music, jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong, award-winning writer and poet Maya Angelou, the list of inspiring figures highlighted in our black history month goes on and on. we have ours in October, and its a time of year when the culture, history and achievements of black and ethnic minority communities take centre stage. its celebrated by all here, and even our Prime minister, David Cameron gives an official speech about Black History Month. our schools utilize a mix of lesson ideas and resources to help bring the event to life for children of all ages throughout the year. in primary schools (ages three to eleven) they look at what Black History Month is and why it’s held, introduce significant figures such as Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and Wilfred Wood, the first black bishop in the Church of England. students research and write the biography of a historical black figure of their choice, and work in groups to create a timeline showing the history of black people in Britain. they cover a wide range of topics, including the civil rights movement and heroes of sport, music and entertainment. the theme this year was 'community heroes' so students got to work in groups to find examples of black people they admire in their own communities, now or in the past. even their classrooms are dressed for the celebration. the students get some food for thought with a bit of classroom cookery, getting them to make easy Afro-Caribbean inspired recipes, or they compile a playlist of music by black artists and invite some elderly black members of the community into school to talk about their own stories. of course they also learn about racism in history, but there is more focus put on the benefits and challenges of living in a multicultural society. the education on black history continues into secondary schools (ages eleven to eighteen), but with a far more grown up theme. black and ethnic students are taught they can change their community, they don't have to escape it. next year is the 90th anniversary of Black History Month, so I'd expect something spectacular to happen ��