Black History Month is for everyone!

October is Black History Month (BHM) in Britain, which, since 1987, has given ‘everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of Black heritage and culture on Britain’. While BHM is for everyone, for many years it remained under the radar for most Britons, and was invariably celebrated by those of African and African Caribbean heritage. Though, with the reemergence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, as a result of George Floyd’s murder that same year, it is now virtually impossible to avoid BHM in many big UK cities, as supermarkets, banks, coffee shops, libraries etc., promote the many talks, walks and musical events linked to this celebration.

History reveals that in its first decade in Britain, the month largely focused on Revd Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the US civil rights movement, and the Transatlantic Slave Trade and its connections to the Caribbean and Africa. However, over the last decade and a half there has been a shift in emphasis onto ‘Black’ British history, in which the many and varied contributions of Black ‘Britons’ to this country are now celebrated. This change coincided with the publication of groundbreaking books exploring the Black presence in the Tudor, Georgian and Victorian eras, as well as scholarly studies of those Black servicemen and women who travelled to this country to fight in the two World Wars. Similarly, Black heritage organisations began using the anniversaries connected to the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush (the former warship that brought hundreds of Caribbean people to Britain in 1948) as a way of highlighting the ongoing influence that Black people have made on post-war Britain.

It would be true to say that British churches were initially tardy to celebrate BHM; many were concerned that the ‘Black’ in BHM could appear divisive and imply that Christians were not ‘all one in Christ’ because of race/ethnicity. Likewise, BHM traditionally concentrated on the lives and activities of politicians, campaigners, freedom fighters, sports stars and entertainers, but rarely religious figures. Even when a person was religious, the attention tended to be on their other attributes or achievements rather than their Christian credentials. A good case in point was Dr Harold Moody, a Jamaican-born physician who practised medicine in southeast London in the 1930s and 40s. Initially, he was remembered as the founder of the ‘League of Coloured Peoples’ rather than a church leader of some renown. Thankfully, the tendency to exclude Black Majority Churches (BMCs) and Black Christians from BHM is passé, allowing them to elucidate on their amazing stories of struggle, steadfastness and success.

Anyone interested in these stories should read seminal research from Black British scholars and writers, such as Mark Sturge, Marcia Dixon, Dr Israel Olafinjana and Dr R. David Muir, who reveal that the waves of Black people who followed the arrival of the Windrush to these shores brought with them a Christian faith that helped to revitalise the spiritual climate in this country. As such, over the last 70 years these Christians have dynamically transformed the historic denominations, like the Church of England (CofE), and overseen the inexorable rise of Black-led Pentecostal churches, which are some of the fastest growing congregations in the country. Indeed, these writers show that BMCs are the Black community’s success story in Britain, being its most coherent and purposeful expression.

Consequently, BMCs and BHM are no longer strange bedfellows, but fellow travellers on a history-related journey. Each year, Keep the Faith magazine, which regards itself as a voice for Black British Christians, has a special BHM edition of its publication, and CofE’s report into racism, From Lament to Action, recommended that all its churches celebrate BHM.

The history of the racial justice movement in Britain is also now a key facet of BHM, and the Black, Asian and White women and men who have championed equality, diversity and inclusion within the Church (and society), are the subjects of studies, events and activities. What is more, many BHM brochures and booklets include events that are church-related, even though there is still a tendency to limit this inclusion to Black Gospel-related music. The ultimate recognition of the Black Christian contribution to Black British history occurred when the pioneering publication, 100 Great Black Britons, featured a number of key church-based campaigners and advocates.

Although BMCs in Britain and Ireland have much to celebrate, it would be remiss to sidestep the racism that sadly shadows their story. And while much has been written about the lukewarm welcome Black Christians received from the historic churches during the Windrush era and beyond, less is said about the effect this had on those impacted by these actions. Again, research by Sturge et al reveals that some walked away from the church forever, while others decided to establish their own congregations. (It would be wrong to suggest that Black-led churches in Britain were a direct result of racism; there were other spiritual, social and emotional phenomena for their establishment, but racism was also a factor.)

Part of the challenge with special months like BHM in October, and special Sundays such as Racial Justice Sunday (on the second Sunday in February), is that akin to birthdays, they can be marked for a finite time and then forgotten. While BHM was initially the preserve of Britain’s Black communities, it has now been mainstreamed, and should be considered everyone’s history because it explores British history and the contributions of Black Britons in those stories and events. What is more, when it comes to Christianity, it explores how the Christian faith inspired Black men, women and children to make such invaluable contributions to these shores over the many generations.

With that being the case, the simple question is, ‘What’s not to like?’ Moreover, why not use this month to find out more about the stories and accounts of those who made these shores their home!

Richard Reddie, Director of Justice and Inclusion, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland