Black History Month is a time when our staff, students and the wider community celebrate Black culture and the contributions Black people have made to society today.
Throughout October, events are taking place and experiences and histories are being shared to commemorate Black History Month in the UK.
If you fancy joining the conversation or getting involved in this year’s events, then here’s our selection of what’s happening online and in person near you and across the UK.
Faculty of Arts and Humanities events
The faculty is organising a range of events, open to the staff, students and the public, exploring topics related to Black history and culture throughout October.See all the faculty events The faculty’s dedicated Black History Month web page also contains useful links to the important research taking place at the faculty that has contributed to the greater societal understanding of Black history and culture in the UK and globally, and information on how our community can collaborate to better understand race equality.
Sheffield Students- Union events
Black History Month Carnival
Friday 28 October, Students- UnionJoin the carnival to celebrate Black History Month with food vendors, cultural performances, live music, and market stalls from local, Black-owned businesses.
No need to book, just come along to the Student’s Union on the day.
Off the Shelf festival events
The following list offers a selection of some of the Off the Shelf festival events. To see the full festival event programme, please visit the.What Are You Doing Here? Baroness Floella Benjamin
Sunday 30 October, 11am, Crucible TheatreBaroness Floella Benjamin is a Trinidadian-British actress with a long and amazing career in entertainment, which has involved pantomime, television documentaries and singing with orchestras all over the world. She received a BAFTA Special Lifetime Achievement Award, a Damehood and became a Peer in the House of Lords.
What Are You Doing Here? is a moving and honest account of Baroness Floella Benjamin’s remarkable life and her refusal to be defined by others.
Get your tickets
Home is Not a Place - Johny Pitts and Roger Robinson, in conversation with Shoair Mavlian
Saturday 15 October, 7pm, Millennium GalleryWhat is it like to be Black in Britain today, particularly if you live outside of the urban centres?
Acclaimed poet Roger Robinson and award-winning author and photographer Johny Pitts explore this issue in their stunning new book, Home Is Not A Place, where they uncover hidden stories of Black people living in the unlikeliest of places, from rundown seaside resorts to rural beach locations.
Get your tickets
Black England: Forgotten Histories of the Eighteenth Century, Gretchen Gerzina & Paterson Joseph
Tuesday 18 October, 7.30pm, University Drama StudioPresented by Professor Gretchen Gerzina, an eminent author and academic, and Paterson Joseph, a British actor and writer, this event will cover two pieces of literary work - Black England: A Forgotten History and The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho. While the first delves into the the dramatic, moving story of the large and distinctive Black community living in Georgian England, the latter follows the extraordinary story of Charles Ignatius Sancho, a Black man and escaped slave who met the King, wrote acclaimed music, became the first Black person to vote in Britain and led the fight to end slavery.
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Without Warning and Only Sometimes, Kit de Waal in Conversation with Désirée Reynolds
Friday 21 October, 7.30pm, University Drama StudioWithout Warning and Only Sometimes is Kit de Waal’s warm hearted and true childhood memoir, delivered as part of Black Women Write Now Strand.
Kit grew up in a household of opposites and extremes, caught between three worlds - Irish, Caribbean and British - in 1960s Birmingham. Her haphazard mother believed the world would end in 1975, her father splurged money they didn-t have on cars and suits. The Bible was the only book on offer, yet Kit went on to discover a love of reading and become an award-winning author.
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Linton Kwesi Johnson, supported by Danae Wellington
Saturday 22 October, 8pm, Firth HallLinton Kwesi Johnson is a Jamaica-born, British based award-winning reggae poet whose work has always been political, vital and necessary. In 2002, he became only the second living poet and the first Black poet to have his work included in Penguin’s Modern Classics, and was awarded the English PEN Pinter Prize - given out to those whose writing casts an ’unflinching, unswerving’ gaze upon the world.
This year, Linton celebrates his 70th birthday and 50 years in activism.
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The Jamaica Reader, Diana Paton and Matthew J. Smith
Tuesday 25 October, 7pm, Millennium GalleryFrom Miss Lou to Bob Marley and Usain Bolt to Kamala Harris, Jamaica has had an outsized reach in global mainstream culture. Yet many of its important historical, cultural, and political events are largely unknown beyond the island.
Presented by Professor Dianat Paton, from the University of Edinburgh, and Professor Matthew J. Smith, from University College London, this event tells the panoramic history of the country, from its indigenous origins to the present including journalism, lyrics, history, culture, memoir, and poetry - showcasing myriad voices from over the centuries.
Get your tickets
#Merky Books: Fiction Preview - Jyoti Patel, Taylor-Dior Rumble and Tallulah Lyons
Saturday 22 October, 3pm, Creative LoungeLaunched by Stormzy in 2018, #Merky Books is an award-winning imprint that publishes books that will own and change the mainstream. This event will offer an exclusive preview of bold new voices from untraditional spaces. Attendees will get to receive an early proof of each book featured during the event and meet the publishing team behind #Merky Books.
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Other public events in Sheffield and online
The following list offers a selection of some of the events happening in Sheffield and across the country in online format. To find out what other public events are taking place throughout the month, please visit the Sheffield - Black History Month andRush: A Joyous Jamaican Journey
Friday 7 to Saturday 8 October, 7.15pm, Lyceum theatre (Sheffield)This event tells the story of Reggae music and the Windrush Generation and hear how this music took the world by storm.
Register now
Black Business Expo 2022
Friday 7 October, 11am, Events Central (Sheffield)Sheffield city centre will be showcasing some of the best Black-owned businesses in the city. The pop-up store will be dedicated to celebrating Black History Month not just by updating knowledge of Black History but also by investing into our very own Black-owned businesses in South Yorkshire.
Find out more
Unfair Algorithms
Tuesday 4 October, 11am, onlineThe Space, in association with Arts Council England, is hosting a webinar about the impact of algorithms and bias on who is seen and heard in the digital sphere.
Register now
Virtual Tour of Frederick Douglass in UK / Ireland
Wednesday 5 October, 6pm, onlineFrederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman who became famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. This virtual tour spotlights several locations in the UK and Ireland where Douglass had a strong impact, including London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Newcastle.
Register now
Virtual Black History Month Lecture 2022
Thursday 20 October, 5.30pm, onlinePresented by Dr Victoria Showunmi, University College London, and organised by the University of Oxford BME Staff Network, this interactive lecture will initiate a critical conversation on understandings of sophisticated and everyday racism and uncover the true extent of the impact of discrimination on the wellbeing of Black people.
Register now
Black History Month: Do our children need more Black history lessons?
Monday 24 October, 8pm, onlineA panel of experts and Guardian journalists will question how children are taught about Black people’s contribution to Britain and what must change for Black pupils to feel they fully belong in our education system and wider society.
Register now
’Style in My DNA’ with Lorna Holder
Thursday 27 October, 6.30pm, onlineLorna Holder has over 40 years of experience as a fashion designer, producer, writer & curator, working in the Middle East, New York, and London.
In this talk, Lorna will discuss her book, Style in My DNA, documenting 70 years of Caribbean influence on British fashion, and how racial disparities and lack of female in senior positions within the industry didn-t impact her achievements.
Register now
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