Author Archive
IBAR for BHM
IBAR is proud to announce our Co-Director Professor Lubaina Himid’s Memorial to Zong exhibition at the Lancaster Maritime Museum. This exhibition is the culmination of her engagement with the City of Lancaster and its slave trade history which began with the inaugural public meeting of the Slave Trade Arts Memorial Project (STAMP) in November 2003 and continued in 2007 with the display of her 100-piece overpainted ceramic dinner service, Swallow Hard: The Lancaster Dinner Service, at the Judges’ Lodgings. Due to COVID Restrictions, there is a delay to the opening of the exhibition to members of the public. However, accompanying the exhibition, during Black History Month, a series of videos and other materials will be shown on the Museum Facebook Page. These are related to the exhibition and to Co-Director Professor Alan Rice’s newly-designed Lancaster Slave Trade, Abolition and Fair Trade Trail, which is being launched to coincide with Professor Himid’s exhibition.
A 60-page catalogue, edited by Dr Andrea Sillis and Prof Alan Rice, has been produced to accompany the exhibition. It includes articles by Rice and Professor Celeste-Marie Bernier, Dr Ella Mills and Dr Anita Rupprecht. This catalogue is available for sale for £10 through the museum and IBAR. For details, please email Melanie Cookson-Carter: mcooksoncarter@lancaster.gov.uk
In another IBAR initiative for BHM, IBAR’s Jade Montserrat’s narration of the story of James Johnson can be accessed through the following link: Facebook
Best wishes from all at IBAR
Images from Lubaina Himid’s Swallow Hard: The Lancaster Dinner Service from her Turner Prize Exhibition at Ferens Gallery in Hull 2017. Photo: Bernie Velvick
Black History Month Events hosted by Grimshaw Community Centre
SUNDAY 11th Oct AT 7 PM
Is Black Hair Professional? – Black History Discussion
Online Event
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86730408209?pwd=dE1pcXcvM2dDZzAyc3V1b0dzTVVBdz09
Please contact info@grimshawcommunitycentre.co.uk for password
Join us as we tackle the stigma of black hair in the workplace.
Meet our Panelists
Laura Jeffers – fashion designer & entrepreneur
Business Owner – @AsikarabyLauraJane
Natural hair enthusiast
Thoko Chibowa – Mobile Hair Stylist Preston
Business Owner – @ladyteeslays
passionate about protective styling
Kia Curtis – Wife, mama of twin boys
Business Owner – @eden_to_eden
natural hair advocate
Grace Saka – Business Owner – @saka_luxe_beauty
All natural skincare and haircare
Abigal – Influencer – influencer – @afrohairtips
providing natural hair care tips
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2020 AT 7 PM
Getting Home Safely – What to do when stopped by police – Black History Month Discussion
Online Event
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86730408209?pwd=dE1pcXcvM2dDZzAyc3V1b0dzTVVBdz09
Please contact info@grimshawcommunitycentre.co.uk for password
What is the right response to being stopped and searched? Join the discussion.
More details to follow
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2020 AT 6:30 PM
Caribbean Cooking Class
Online Event
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86730408209?pwd=dE1pcXcvM2dDZzAyc3V1b0dzTVVBdz09
Please contact info@grimshawcommunitycentre.co.uk for password
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2020 AT 5 PM
Christian Movie Night – Streaming the film “Woodlawn”
Online Event
Online Event
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86730408209?pwd=dE1pcXcvM2dDZzAyc3V1b0dzTVVBdz09
Please contact info@grimshawcommunitycentre.co.uk for password
Streaming the Black History Film – Woodlawn based on a true story.
About the Film
A gifted high school football player must learn to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field
Watch the trailer
Salsa Line Dance and Excercise – Come and Join Uncle Phil
October 17th
https://www.facebook.com/events/1026320484475161
October 24th
https://www.facebook.com/events/971886126657274
October 31st
https://www.facebook.com/events/563839837669305
November 7th
https://www.facebook.com/events/744171806133194
November 14th
https://www.facebook.com/events/343052307045666
Salsa Northwest will be going through some fun line dances
Two sessions on the day.
Please select the time you will attend on the POLL in the event.
Beginners 12:00-13:30
Improvers 14:00-15:30
Fishwick Recreation Ground
London Road
Preston
PR1 4AP
These events are FREE to attend as they are sponsored by the Arts Council England and supported by Preston City Council, Curious Minds & UCLAN
We will start with a gentle warm-up and end with a relaxation
BRING DRINKS & SNACKS
BRING A HAND TOWEL
LIMITED TO 30 PLACES
SELECT GOING TO HOLD YOUR PLACE
DO NOT ‘DROP-IN’ WITHOUT CHECKING, AS YOU MAY INCREASE THE NUMBERS TO OVER 30
Everyone will be spaced across the field to allow for social distancing.
* There will not be any partner dancing.
* Please do not break distancing rules
*Bring something warm to put on afterwards
* The ground is predominantly flat, but please wear suitable footwear to walk across the field and exercise in.
*Please bring your own drink
Windrush Day 2020
On Monday 22nd June at 10am the newly designed Windrush Celebration flag was raised above Preston Town Hall to mark Windrush Day. The event celebrated the wide-ranging contributions of the Windrush community to the city.
The event was attended by PBHG Chair, Clinton Smith as well as many of our other friends in the Caribbean community and other Commonwealth neighbours.
Preston Mayor, Councillor David Borrow, commented “The raising of this flag on Windrush day recognises the struggle endured by the Windrush generation.
“It also marks the vast and continued contribution people from across the Commonwealth have made to Preston and the UK as a whole through music, food, business and their invaluable addition to our NHS and front line services.
“I am proud to be part of raising this flag and saying thank you to everyone who has added to the rich cultural tapestry of our city.”
Thanks to Tony Maiden for some great pictures.
Our good friend David Knight Collete Francis and Glenda Andrew The new flag over the Town Hall door Colette Francis Preston Mayor, Councillor David Borrow PBHG Chair, Clinton Smith and Seirina Johnrose join the Mayor Councillor Matthew Brown, Leader of Preston Council Clita Rathbone Zena Taylor A cheer for the Windrush Generation The mayor, the Leader of Council with Councillor Nweeda Khan Glenda Andrew, Co-Founder of Preston Windrush Generation and Descendants UK
Windrush Day 2020
To Celebrate Windrush Day 2020 we’d like to share some of the photos from our 2019 celebrations organised with IBAR (Institute for Black Atlantic Research) andf SDA Church, Grimshaw St, Preston.
Preston Black History Group and Institute for Black Atlantic Research Statement of Solidarity on the Killing of George Floyd
Preston Black History Group and the Institute for Black Atlantic Research condemn and deplore the mindless killing of George Floyd by white uniformed police officers from the Minneapolis police department on 25th May 2020. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and those who have been affected by the truly horrific images of racialised violence perpetrated by these officers. Words cannot adequately convey the sorrow that we likewise feel for the families of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the multitudes of Black men, women and children who have lost their lives at the hands of white law enforcers in America and around the world. These tragedies weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of Black communities, not least because they resonate painfully with the traumatic memory of slavery and its forceful legacy and prevailing structures of white supremacy. We stand in unequivocal, unrelenting and impassioned solidarity with those protesting against long histories of systemic racial injustice, colonialist violence and exploitation.
The coronavirus pandemic has also exposed the significant racial inequalities in global healthcare infrastructures, especially in the UK and the US, and recent reports have revealed that those from BME backgrounds are between three to four times more likely to die from COVID-19 than white Britons. These glaring realities force a necessary admission: that racism is not rooted merely in individual acts of hate and violence, but in systems, structures and institutions at the very core of our society.
PBHG and IBAR’s Commitment to Black History and Culture and Racial Justice
Preston Black History Group was formally constituted in July 2011, following years of operating as an informal group largely designated with the task of organising and facilitating Black History Month events annually. The newly constituted group set out with the aim of ‘Researching, Preserving and Celebrating Black History and Culture, a shared history FOR ALL’. There is a widespread acceptance within Black communities that our place and contribution to mankind has not been given the credit we believe it deserves. With this in mind, the Group set out to highlight, unearth and disseminate Black history, culture and achievements. We believed that the celebration of such stories would encourage the elder generation to recognise and take pride in their contribution to Black history and culture; the younger generation to see role models who looked like them; and the wider community to learn about the contributions made by people of African origin to society.
The task is not an easy one: when we look around at present structures and in most establishments and institutions there is a distinct absence of Black representation. We have worked with a number of groups, institutions, organisations and others on educational programmes to show our history and to challenge their employment processes. This is a long, slow process, but we are not easily disheartened.
We have delivered our educational programme to various bodies including Preston City Council, the Harris Art Gallery and Museum, Preston and West Lancashire Racial Equality Council, Trade Unions, Local Housing Associations, HM Prison Service and many others. We organise outings to various places of cultural and historical interest within Lancashire and beyond. These trips are all a part of our continuous learning programme for the larger community. The Group operates all year round, but the jewel in our calendar has to be the month of October, which opens with an event titled ‘Black To The Future’. This event shines a light on Black achievers largely from the local area, with the aim of sharing the message of Black success with a mixed audience including many who make decisions about employment. We will continue to campaign for equal treatment and equality of opportunity based on skills and qualifications and not on the colour of one’s skin and we re-state our aim of Researching, Preserving and Celebrating Black History and Culture, a shared history FOR ALL.
UCLan’s Institute for Black Atlantic Research was founded in 2014 to further the study of African Atlantic literature, history and culture, and to foster dialogues with local educational and community organisations working across these areas. At the start of this year, IBAR, in conjunction with the Making Histories Visible Archive, opened its doors to Black womxn practitioners from across the country striving to create, collect, nurture, curate and offer sustainable solutions for preserving the legacies of Black womxn’s art. The event generated important conversations, amplifying the voices of Black womxn creatives, nourishing the spirit of collaboration and celebrating an indebtedness to a multimedia archive of Black art and creativity. Despite the challenges that the current pandemic poses, we hope to continue to steer many more such conversations, whether virtual or in-person, in order to further our mission. We understand, however, that we need to go further.
We recognise the systemic and structural imbalances within academia and within the cultural and creative industries. The last report issued by the Higher Education Statistics Agency revealed that fewer than 1% of university professors identify as Black. We can and must work to change this. We pledge our commitment to working with our partners and with our wider membership in order to better serve the interests of Black minority ethnic communities both locally and globally. We promise to mentor and support the work of aspiring Black scholars and creatives and, wherever possible, lend space to their vision and, above all, we promise to centre African Atlantic voices, histories and cultures within our pedagogy and our scholarship. IBAR was founded with this very mission in mind, but although anti-racist and decolonial approaches remain at the core of what we do, the fight is far from over.
When the revolutionary General Toussaint Louverture, who led a slave revolution in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) was captured by French colonial forces in 1802, he declared: ‘In overthrowing me, you have cut down in Saint-Domingue only the trunk of the tree of liberty; it will grow back from the roots, for they are deep and numerous’. Together, Preston Black History Group and the Institute for Black Atlantic Research will nurture the roots of antiracist activism in the campaign for liberty, justice and equality, and will work together to create enduring change.
” Digging Deep ” exhibition
Preston Black History Group are planning a second trip to the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield on Thursday, 27th February 2020 to visit the ” Digging Deep ” exhibition, the story of Miners of African Caribbean Heritage in England.
This exhibition runs from 21st September 2019 until 08th March 2020, and has been on display in Wakefield since September. The Curator of this exhibition is Norma Gregory who will be joining us the day of our trip to guide us around her exhibition.
The details for the visit are as follows:
- Date: Thursday 27th February 2020
- Departure from Jalgos Sports and Social Club 09.30 GMT
- Return to Preston approximately 18.30-18.45
- Cost: £10.00 for your transport, entry to the Museum is free. Refreshment is not provided.
A £5.00 deposit secures your place on the trip and will be on a first come first serve basis. This should be paid directly to Clinton Smith. Places are limited, book early. Clinton can be contacted on 07583343866.
Further details about the exhibition can be found at
For further details about this and other trips planned for the summer of 2020 please contact
- Clinton Smith 07583343866
- clinton@prestonblackhistorygroup.org.uk
Digging Deep Exhibition trip: Nov 2019
In Nov 2019 we organised a trip to the National Coalmining Museum in Wakefield to see the Digging Deep – Miners of African Caribbean Heritage exhibition. A fantastic day where we were shown round by the exhibitions curator, Norma Gregory, and greeted by the new Museum’s director, Jenny Layfield. The exhibition is on until 8th March so get yourselves over to Wakefield for a great experience.
Creative Conversations: Black Women Artists Making & Doing
Influences and Inspirations of Literature and Language on Black Women’s Creativity
Organised in celebration of the many achievements of Prof. Lubaina Himid, CBE, RA: 35 years of art making, curating and creating conversations, and the first black woman to win the Turner Prize (2017).
16th January 11:00-17.30, Media Factory (ME 414): Artists talking about their own practices and processes of making, with presentations by Christine Eyene, Prof. Lubaina Himid, Evan Ifekoya, Claudette Johnson, Jade Montserrat, Dr Ingrid Pollard and Marlene Smith, plus an artist roundtable discussion.
17th January 10:00-16:30, Scholars Restaurant, Foster Building: art historian/curator/archivist talks on black women’s creativity, including Ego Ahaiwe, Dr. Anna Arabinden-Kesson, Prof. Celeste-Marie Bernier, Dr Catherine Grant, Dr Ella S. Mills, Prof. Griselda Pollock, Prof. Dot Price, Prof. Alan Rice and Dr Zoe Whitley.
Plus: slideshow of works by Joy Labinjo, ROOT-ed zine stand and visit to the Making Histories Visible Archive.
Booking essential at: www.ticketsource.co.uk/institute-for-black-atlantic-research
*****
Also on 16th January 18:00-21:00: In Conversation with Lubaina Himid and Jackie Kay
Booking required separately through Eventbrite. Please email IbarUCLan@uclan.ac.uk to obtain a booking link for this event, and for any other queries about the Symposium. See also https://ibaruclan.com
BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
Friday 10th Jan – Dr Runoko Rashidi : Black and Beautiful in the Ancient World. Lecture at ACFA (WIOCC), 74 Carmoor Rd, Manchester, M13 0FB
Tickets: £7 from jus-tickets.com or £10 on the door. Food on sale from House of Hasheba
DR. RUNOKO RASHIDI, Scholar, Historian, Author and Lecturer, the man on a global journey in search of THE AFRICAN PRESENCE will be giving a lecture and promoting his latest book, BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL IN THE ANCIENT WORLD, in MANCHESTER on 10th January 2020!
He is the author or editor of eighteen books, including BLACK STAR: THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN EARLY EUROPE and THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN EARLY ASIA.
As a traveller and researcher Dr. Rashidi has visited 120 countries, and lectured/presented in 65 of those countries.
Dr. Rashidi has worked with and under some of the most distinguished scholars of our generation, including IVAN VAN SERTIMA, JOHN HENRIK CLARKE, and YOSEF BEN-JOCHANNAN (Dr. BEN).
As a TOUR LEADER, he has taken groups to FIVE CONTINENTS, and he is the official Traveling Ambassador for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and the African Communities League.
Dr. Rashidi is currently pursuing a major work on THE AFRICAN PRESENCE IN THE MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD.
Dr. Rashidi will be delivering a lecture entitled ‘BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL IN THE ANCIENT WORLD’.
