Black History Month 2023

Over 200 people joined us along with Gravesham Borough Council, Gifted Young Generation and Kent Adult Education to celebrate Black History Month 2023 with a range of free dance, craft and culture workshops and an opportunity to meet with the community safety teams from Kent Fire and Rescue Service and Kent Police, followed by a special evening of GYG performances, special guests and Community Champion Awards.

The evening celebration was expertly hosted by Kofi Amo-Agyei from GYG and guests were treated to statements from Deputy Lieutenant Dr Vasudaven DL, KCC Chairman Gary Cooke and Dr Lauren Sullivan Portfolio Holder for Communities in Gravesham in addition to special videos sent from content creators Flex and Culture Cams and Joel Beyer, founder Cheeky Sport, one of the most successful sports platforms in the UK. 

Former professional Footballer Anton Ferdinand reflected on his journey as a descendant of the Windrush Generation and BBC commentator and founder of the ESP Foundation Cllr Eartha Pond, Premier League and St Lucia international Footballer and first Black woman on the FA Women’s Football Board sent her best wishes to Gravesham with an inspiring message to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black women.

Hollywood movie trailer and voice actor Redd Pepper also joined the celebrations as he reflected on his life and delivered an inspirational speech about the importance of identity and positive attitudes.

The event culminated in the presentation of three awards to local unsung SHEroes who have all provided exceptional services to the local community. Our Community Champion Award Winners 2023 are; Rosanna Dyett, Sandra Toppin and Cllr Lorna Cross.

Founder of North Kent Caribbean Network Michelle Bramble stated that Black History Month should not be seen as an exclusive period of time for one group of people. It’s an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations, to educate ourselves about the experiences and contributions of individuals.

During her speech where she reflected on the outstanding contribution of the Windrush Generation who were recently honoured with a Pride of Britain Award she encouraged everyone to use this month to celebrate all cultures and recognise that it’s our collective experiences, perspectives, and talents that make our communities truly great.

Our Black History Month 2022 events were launched with a month long exhibition "Unity in the Community" at the St Georges Arts Centre in Gravesend.  The exhibit saw the return of an even bigger "Windrush Front Room" and the addition of information about one of Kent's first interracial football clubs and local history makers and inspirational people.  Feedback from the exhibit was extremely positive and we even received a visit from royalty!

We also hosted an event in partnership with Cohesion Plus at Dartford Central Library where our seniors group were able to speak to Leader Jeremy Kite and view the "Our Shared History" exhibition.

Once again, we were delighted to host our annual Black History Month celebrations in Gravesham with a spectacular programme of performances, films, speeches and presentations on Thursday 20th October. 

Organised by North Kent Caribbean Network in partnership with Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Cohesion Plus, the event was attended by local residents, community groups and civic guests and was funded by Involve Kent and Arts Council England.

Civic guests included Deputy Lieutenant Dr Bhargawa Vasudaven, Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Peter Scollard, KCC Chair Cllr Lesley Game and Chief Constable Tim Smith all of whom spoke about the significant contributions Black communities had made to the UK past and present.

There were musical performances from young local talent Kofi from GYG at The Gr@nd as well as a poignant  film about domestic abuse produced by GTown Talent.  

NHS Diversity and Inclusion Lead and Chair of Gravesham Pride Helanna Irvine delivered a fantastic presentation and film highlighting the positive impact that Black people have made on the NHS both pre and post-war.

Community awards were awarded to local heroes, Genny Jones, GTown Talents, Mina Smith, Medway Culture Club and Dr Vasudaven DL. Each award winner was recognised for the positive contribution and impact that they made through their community initiatives, artistic offerings, service to the community and volunteering.

We were delighted to take part in a number of Black History Month events in 2021.  

The premiere of our new exhibition “The Windrush Front Room” produced and curated by the North Kent Caribbean Network encapsulates the quintessential living space of the classic family room opened at the Blake Gallery on the 4th of October. The exhibition was incredibly well attended and received high praise for its authenticity and pride in its heritage. 

We also took part in a project with Kent Adult Education to create community artwork and a film produced by Cohesion Plus which discussed what Black History Month has meant in the past and how celebrations and discussions could evolve in the future. 

At our annual event in Gravesend we were joined by People Dem Collective who showcased their short films around social justice and the impact of art on minority communities and artists and our keynote speaker, Chief Constable Alan Pughsley QPM was spoke about the importance of Kent Police reflecting the communities it serves as well as his dedication to diversity and inclusion.

Our month long celebrations culminated in the screening of cult classic ‘Babylon’ at the Gulbenkian Theatre on the 28th October. The film was originally released in 1980 and still resonates with audiences to this day. It focuses on the experience of racism and police brutality experienced by young black men of Caribbean decent against the backdrop of an ever diversifying London. The film was then followed by a Q&A panel with an original cast member and fostered discussions around culture, modern day policing and ways to forge forward positively. The screening was a huge success and the evening climaxed with dance and drinks with music provided by a DJ’s Steve and Flate from North Kent.

Michelle Bramble, Chair of the North Kent Caribbean Network commented, “What an absolute joy Black History Month 2021 has been. It’s taken a lot of hard work and effort to be able to organise an entire month’s worth of activity, celebrating the vast contributions of our black and brown communities here in Kent as well as taking much needed time to reflect on the past and discuss ways to forge ahead toward real, sustainable, systemic change. 

I am so grateful to the partnership of Cohesion Plus and People Dem Collective, whose collaborative spirit and efforts have made these celebrations possible. The key thing to note is that our individual organisations do this work all year round, which also feeds into the belief that Black history, is British history and takes place every single month. That being said, I am so proud of what we have been able to achieve and offer to the diverse communities of Kent who all put just as much stock in the celebrations as we do. We look forward to future celebrations which can only get bigger and better from here on.”