Why is Black History month so important?
Black History month was started in the USA in the early 20th century and became an official part of British life in 1987. Britian has a very strong connection with Africa, the Caribbean and India – although not necessarily always positive.
Between the 16th century and the 18th century Britain travelled all over the world and took over nations, largely to establish trading posts. They did so using violence and aggression and forcing people to accept British rule. This meant that these countries became ‘colonised’ and had to follow British laws and accept the British monarch as head of state. By the 20th century, Britain ruled around ¼ of the world. The British people in charge did not treat the people in their colonised nations with a lot of respect. In fact, it is well documented how they exploited human beings to make themselves rich.
You may have heard of the Enslaved People’s trade. Britain was responsible for transporting about 3.1 million Africans to their colonies to get them to work as slaves. Britain was able to get very rich because of the money it made exploiting these people. However, in the 21st century it has been particularly noted that the elements of this history which look at how white British people treated Black People and People of Colour (BPOC) has just been erased from history. The tendency is to focus on the success of the empire – how it made Britain so rich.
So Black History month seeks to talk about what is not said and give a voice back to those who have quite often been forgotten.
