Last updated:
17th August 2023
Magical music for Black History Month
A night of celebrations in Woodley
A night of celebrating African and Asian heritage took place to mark Black History Month.
It brought the community together for a night of singing, dancing, spoken word, poetry and a lot of audience participation.
Black History Month has been celebrated regularly every October in Wokingham borough since the early 2000s.
In 2022 the focus recognised it's not just a month to celebrate the continued achievements and contributions of Black people to the UK and the world.
It is also a time to tackle racism, reclaim black history, and ensure Black history is represented and celebrated all year round.
Who took to the stage?
- Interactive drumming workshops
- Reggae from Soloman James Browne
- Tomson Chauke
- Kayda May
- G-String
- Richard Lowe
- Significant Women
- Star Rhapsody Steel Band
- Food during the interval from Dolphin’s Caribbean Cuisine
How it makes a difference
Jeff Hinds, chairman of the African Caribbean Society (Wokingham), organised the event which was held at Woodley Baptist Church in early November 2022.
He said: “Having endured the Covid 19 Pandemic which, amongst many things of course, disrupted live Community Events in particular.
“The Equality Forum Grant made it possible to resume the Annual Black History Month Food Taster and Performance Evening.
“The event went extremely well and had lost none of it's impact having been postponed in 2020 & 2021.
“We hope the facility will remain in place for such activities to be continued on a sustained basis.”
About Community Diversity Grants
This Black History Month musical event was one of the awards in the 2022 Community Diversity Grants.
In total, £5,000 was awarded by the borough’s Equality Forum to nine organisations to provide innovative and imaginative approaches to promoting inclusion locally.
The groups awarded all work to tackle inequality and discrimination in the area.
This article is part of a series showcasing how the borough is working to celebrate diversity, tackle inequality and make a difference to parts of our community.
