Educational campaigner, opponent of divisive methods of taxation, and co-founder of the Abasindi Co-operative – a Black women’s self-help cooperative in Manchester responsible for a variety for community outreach projects.
Founding member of the Black Unity and Freedom Party, which argued for the equal value of women within the Black liberation movement, Bean recognised the differing needs of Black and White women and promptly opened the Black Women’s Centre in Brixton to offer a safe, supportive space for women.
Olive Morris was just 27 when she died, but she is widely commemorated as a powerful campaigner for racial and gender equality, squatters’ rights and housing. The Jamaican-born community activist co-founded the Brixton Black Women’s Group in 1973, campaigning fiercely …
Mavis Best was the Black rights activist who ended the ‘Sus law’ that was being used by police to oppress Black people.
Doctor, actor, vice-president of the actor’s guild, co-founder of Performers Against Racism and the Black Theatre Workshop, Mahoney was one of the first Black actors to join the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Teacher, pioneering educational diversity activist, museum founder, BBC and BFI Governor, the first patron of the Black Cultural Archives, Jocelyn Barrow was the first Black woman ever awarded a DBE (equivalent to a knighthood).
Another member of the Black Panthers and the Mangrove Nine, Howe established the Race Today Collective and chaired the Notting Hill Carnival Development Committee for many years. During his twelve years as editor of Race Today, the magazine supported several …
Trinidadian physician and research scientist, Altheia Jones-LeCointe led the British Black Panther Movement, recruiting thousands from the 1960s onwards, including the late broadcaster and campaigner, Darcus Howe, as well as giving talks in schools and teaching classes in anti-colonialism. A staunch defender of women’s as well as racial rights, she developed procedures within the Black Panthers to investigate and punish men suspected of the abuse or exploitation of women.
Explore African-American art, history and heritage in images this Black History Month with these free and licensed images available through Artstor and JSTOR Collections.
From its initial mission to correct the historic narrative, Black History Month has shifted its focus in response to the changing needs of Black people. In recent years, it has moved from a general focus on Black History to profiling contemporary Black role models to restore the sense of identity, heritage, hope, and pride to Black people, and now to driving more active social change. This Black History Month, take a tour of the heroes of British Black History and explore the contemporary issues of injustice and discrimination still facing Black people and how you can help to overcome them and establish a more just and fair society.
