How To Celebrate Black History Month
Not sure what to do for Black History Month? Check out this guide for some handy hints!
1. First up...double-check you know what Black History Month is!
Black History Month is every October in the UK, and every February in the US. Celebrating it isn't quite the same as Christmas or Easter - and even though it can still be fun, it's important to know the difference. Black History Month is all about celebrating black people throughout history, and all the amazing things they've done. Sadly, the traditional way we think about history is mostly to do with what white people got up to in the past. And we think that's pretty unfair! So this month is about fixing the balance.
2. Learn some Black History!
That's the whole point of this month, right? Spend a bit of time on the internet researching some of the many black stories in history. There's plenty to choose from but you could try looking up Mary Seacole, the Bristol bus boycott, Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement, what the British Empire did in Africa - or even Henry VIII's black trumpeter!
3. Watch a Black-history themed Movie
You don't need to just read loads of books to learn about history - you can also get a good flavour of a different time through films. Hidden Figures is a great one about the Black scientists who worked for NASA and helped put humans in space. Or Queen of Katwe, a film about a Ugandan girl who becomes Chess champion.
4. Find out about different Black cultures
There are lots of different black histories connected to all sorts of places on Earth. In fact, there are as many black histories as there are black people! To find out more about this HUGE part of life on Earth, you could look up Caribbean food, or Nigerian music, or how African-American people in the USA changed life in Britain. You could even try out a recipe or listen to something new!
5. Celebrate Black people!
There are tons of inspiring black personalities out there. Are you a fan of world's fastest man Usain Bolt, or legendary scientist Neil DeGrasse Tyson? Oh, or the amazing popstar Lizzo!? Don't forget the UK's very own Stormzy though. Imagine how annoyed he'd be!
6. Black history is the future too
We're all making history right now. Remember that what's happening today will one day be the black history of the future. And although we've made lots of progress, we still have lots of work to do! So, when futuristic historians look back at us from their robotic eyes and hoverboards, we want them to remember us as the good guys!
