Celebrating Black History Month with Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure
Exhibitions
Black History Month Book Chat
Like reading and talking about books? Join our Book Chat for Black History Month to discuss ‘The Underground Railroad’ by Colson Whitehead.
‘The Underground Railroad’ reimagines the historical Underground Railroad escape network as a literal railway. The story follows Cora, a young, enslaved woman fleeing a Georgia plantation, as she journeys through states that reflect different facets of American society and its treatment of Black people. Pursued by the relentless slave catcher Ridgeway, Cora’s path explores themes of freedom, oppression, and identity, powerfully highlighting the brutal realities of slavery and the quest for liberation.
You can join the book chat in person at Redbridge Central Library.
Or you can join online. Please register so the online joining details can be emailed to you one week before the book chat and again on the morning of 1 October. For more information or to request a copy of the book, please email library.information@visionrcl.org.uk.
Jeanefer Jean-Charles & Associates present PATOIS
PATOIS tells a story of lost languages, longing and belonging through traditional Caribbean folk and contemporary dance, accompanied by an original music score.
Join us on a journey to rediscover hidden voices and identities that are rooted in dialects that are buried within us as we reawaken stories and generations of the past. Join these performances with Redbridge Outdoor Arts. Their shows are accessible, relaxed, take place on flat surfaces and are performed outdoors, meaning you don’t have to sit still or be quiet throughout! You can come with the family, alone or with friends, and seating is provided.
Rapid Reads Sharing Circle
Join us Tuesday October 28 For Black History Month, we’ll be discussing ‘Open Water’ by Caleb Azumah Nelson.
Caleb Azumah Nelson is a British–Ghanaian writer and photographer. ‘Open Water’ is his debut novel, and won the Costa Book Award for First Novel 2021. ‘Open Water’ is a romance novel about two Black artists from South East London and deals with themes such as race, love and masculinity.
Some other related Rapid Reads are:
- Hello Mum by Bernadine Evaristo
- Notting Hill Carnival: A West Side Story by Candice Carty-Williams
These are suggested books only, so feel free to read any other books suitable for Black History Month with fewer than 200 pages. You can then recommend your read/s to others at the sharing circle!
You can join Rapid Reads in person at Redbridge Central Library or you can join online. The online joining details will be emailed to you one week before the book chat and again on the morning of 28 October.
For more information, please email library.information@visionrcl.org.uk.
1 to 8 October
9 to 15 October
16 to 22 October
23 October to 1 November
Children Events
1-15 October
28 October – 3 November (Half Term)
Untold Histories Black people in Essex before the Windrush
A short film with Genealogist and Historian Kathy Charter which explores the untold story about Black people in Britain before the Windrush, with an emphasis on East London and Essex.
Please watch the short film below or via youtube.
Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre events
Essex to Ethiopia: Sylvia Pankhurst
During Black History Month, Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre will be highlighting Sylvia Pankhurst’s strong connections to Ethiopia through the launch of a new website .
Sylvia Pankhurst lived in Woodford from 1924 – 1956 and is best known as a suffragette and political campaigner. She fought for Ethiopian independence after it was invaded by Fascist Italy in 1935. An early supporter of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, Sylvia edited the New Times and Ethiopia News from her Woodford home for many years before moving to Ethiopia in 1956.
Memories of Windrush
Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre has made a film which explores the memories and experiences of the Windrush generation who settled in the London Borough of Redbridge. Watch the video below or via youtube.
Schools
Black History sessions for Schools at Redbridge Museum
Redbridge Museum offers education sessions for schools including ‘Suitcase Stories’ which looks at migration from the Caribbean into Redbridge from the 1960s; and ‘We Were Not Alone: Commonwealth Contributions to the Second World War’
Black History sessions for Schools at Redbridge Libraries
Reading and Resources
Digital Reading Collection (Libraries Consortium)
Libby Collections for Black History Month
For Black History Month, we’ve two collections on Libby that explore Black history and experience, and celebrate the contributions and achievements of Black people throughout the past and the present.
For more Black History Month events please visit Discover Redbridge.