Black History Month
Black History Month takes place every October in the UK. It raises awareness of black history, and highlights the efforts and achievements of black people.
Visit the Black History Month website to find out more about it and about national events.
Events in and around Cambridge
The Black History Month website has a calendar full of events all across the UK. Find Cambridgeshire's events here.
Community event planning
Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum are offering free online training for black and minoritised ethnic (BME) groups. These events will take place between October 2024 and February 2025.
Fundraising
Wednesday 9 October to 12.30pm to 2pm
This session is designed around increasing funding diversity for community groups, covering topics like grant applications, planning for fundraising, and the different methods of fundraising that can help a group.
Resilience
Wednesday 27 November to 12.30pm to 2pm
Find out how to equip your group with the confidence and knowledge to grow and thrive even while facing challenges.
What's next?
Wednesday 12 February to 12.30pm to 2pm
After the previous 2 sessions, this meeting gives guidance on the kinds of things your group could do next. Great for newly formed groups and groups setting on a new direction.
Email ila@cecf.com or eddie@cecf.com to learn more or to register for a place.
Books
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, written in 2017, was heavily inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Starr Carter, a 16-year-old black girl, witnesses her childhood friend shot and killed by a white police officer. Her decision to speak up, as the community portrays her murdered friend as a drug dealer, brings tension from her majority-white private school friends and her mainly Black neighbourhood. While not an easy read, the book brings up real legal and media problems.
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams is a 2019 debut novel about London-based Queenie Jenkins, a Jamaican-British woman careening from one wrong choice to another. Queenie's funny narration chronicles her life as she finds herself again after breaking up with her white boyfriend. She finds herself stuck between her heritage and her white world of work.
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite isn’t a story for the faint-hearted. In Lagos, Nigeria, we follow Korede, the older sister of the beautiful Ayoola. Ayoola keeps killing her boyfriends, and Korede keeps having to clean it up. And now Ayoola’s got her sights set on Korede’s crush. A comedic, dark, and thrilling portrait of family dynamics, this is one to binge-read.
TV and Film
Michaela Coel is the British creator and actress behind Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You, which won an Emmy for its writing. Chewing Gum is a comedy about uptight virgin Tracey. I May Destroy You is a much darker plot. The show follows Arabella, a writer in the public eye who is attacked and must rebuild her life.
Jordan Peele found fame as half of the comedy sketch show duo Key and Peele. He has become most known for his focus on directing. He has directed the following films:
- Get Out (2017) is a psychological horror film that follows a young black man, Chris, who uncovers disturbing secrets when he meets the family of his white girlfriend, Rose.
- Us (2019), Lupita Nyong’o plays Adelaide, a woman who discovers doppelgangers of her whole family.
- Nope (2022), is a modern-day Western sci-fi flick about a pair of black siblings trying to get evidence of a UFO.
- Black Panther (2018) is a Marvel superhero film and one of the late Chadwick Boseman’s biggest roles. Prince of Wakanda, T’Challa, confronts villain Killmonger, who challenges T'Challa for the throne after his father dies. With a star-studded cast and massive budget, it’s become among the highest-grossing movies ever.
- Moonlight (2016) is the first LGBTQ film with an all-black cast to win Best Picture. The film follows Chiron's life as he grows up in Miami, struggling with his sexuality and identity. Supporting actor Mahershala Ali was the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar.