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What is Black History Month?
It is a time to focus on the history of people of African ancestry, which for brevity I will refer to as Black. It is not about wallowing in guilt, but about celebrating aspects of history about which there is much ignorance, something to which most adults do not like to admit.
Isn’t it divisive? Can’t we just see people as people, not as colours?
God made us all colourful. We should continue to see another person as human when we recognise their colour and celebrate our unity in the human race.
Why have Black History Month?
Our understanding of history is seldom neutral but it is important to our sense of identity and our culture. It is much easier to understand others if we know something about their history.
Until recently, for most people in Britain and in many Commonwealth countries, the history learned in school is that of the power of the English throne and the development of British Empire. Thus children were taught about the ‘discovery’ of non-European lands and their subsequent conquest as if the existing inhabitants did not matter. The achievements of these countries prior to visits by white Europeans were given scant recognition. Some people believe that the Chinese and Indians should get some respect for their ancient civilisations, but that people of African descent have contributed nothing.
This is changing, some schools do teach about significant black people in history.
Should we only respect people for their value by Western European standards?
No. Even if black people had done nothing of value to anyone else, it would not justify the evils perpetuated through racism.
Who Needs it?
We all do. Inside and outside the church I have come across people who excused all kinds of rudeness and because they thought black people ‘owed’ white people a debt. Yet any mention of the immense wealth which was made from the slave trade, or the great loss to Africa of generations of men, women and children who were removed from the continent is often dismissed as a ‘chip on the shoulder’.
As a young, British, Black person, my self-esteem was boosted with the discovery that:
• the ancient Egyptians, the Queen of Sheba, Hannibal who crossed Spain and the Alps to invade Rome, were African.
• Jesus was closer to me in colour than to the blond man in the church pictures.
• the Ethiopian Coptic Church traces its history to the Eunuch whose chariot Philip met.
• African legionaries were in Britain with the Romans.
• civilised Empires existed in Africa when Britain was in the Dark Ages
• Black people lived in Britain in sufficient numbers in the sixteenth century for Elizabeth 1 to express concern.
• the first Asian British MP took his seat in the House in 1892.
• Mary Seacole, a Black Caribbean nurse, did pioneering work in the Crimea at the same time as Florence Nightingale but we seldom hear of her.
• Alexander Dumas, (author of The Three Musketeers), Haydn and Beethoven were of African descent.
• modern inventions like the electric light bulb, traffic lights, and open heart surgery were invented by Black people.
• Black people were involved in the Anti Slavery movement and were not just the passive recipients of others’ efforts.
But Black History Month is not about creating a modern myth of the Noble Savage. Many are surprised to learn of the role which Black Africans played in the slave trade, and Black Emperors could be as ruthless as any others. Some would argue that there are enough negative images of Black people in existence, but any truthful history must contain the negative as well as the positive.
There are significant references to Black people in the Bible, and the church at Antioch was noticeably multi-ethnic. Biblical characters are often thought of as having no ethnicity or culture, they seem to live in an unreal ‘Bible Land’.
We have just had Racial Justice Sunday. Aren’t there enough special events in the calendar? Are Black people taking over the church calendar?
Racial justice is not just about Black people. the story behind conflicts in Northern Ireland, East Timor, Kosovo and other trouble spots have as much to do with race as with other politics.
It is important that Christians contribute to Black History Month. It should not just be celebrated by people outside of the church. We are often seen as people who run from inconvenient truths. Many people, not just from ethnic minorities, would say that the church is the last place to go when trying to develop a sense of identity. We will have lost our place in the debates of another area crucial to modern Britain, as we have arguably in discussions of sexuality and culture.
In this way, perhaps Black History Month could perpetuate some of what it seeks to redress. In the near-absence of other measures, it may be the best way for people who value the truth to develop a balanced perspective.
How can we celebrate it?
Resources are available for learning more about Black History. However, learning new facts will help if it equips us to live our lives more effectively. All Christians should contribute to efforts to promote harmony and partnership between ethnic groups. We can defeat cynicism and racism by demonstrating the power of God in harmony and partnership.
David Williams is Ministry
enabler at High Cross URC, Tottenham
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