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Black History Month

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Sky HISTORY celebrates Black History Month 2024

Black History Month celebrates and champions the contribution of African and Caribbean communities to British culture and society. Taking place in October, the annual observance first began in 1987 and is a constant reminder of our country's rich and diverse cultural heritage. To support this year's event, Sky HISTORY has created this dedicated hub to share stories of black British history from throughout the ages.

Header Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

Black History Month - Sky HISTORY

Black History Month 2024: When is it celebrated in the UK?
A painting of Severus and family on a Roman plate and a picture of Mary Seacole

Black British History: A Timeline

Black History Month 2024

A painting of an African man by Dutch painter Jan Mostaert

The story of Black History Month
Photograph of Lewis Latimer and Mary Seacole

The importance of celebrating black British history
Ignatius Sancho, 1768 by Thomas Gainsborough

12 Black Britons who shaped history
Claudia Jones

Saluting Our Sisters: 7 female Black British activists 

Black History throughout the ages

A photograph of the arch of Septimius Severus (203 AD) and the ruins of the Roman Forum in Rome, Italy.

Severus: Rome’s first African Emperor
A portrait head bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (called Caracalla).

The history of black Britain: Roman Africans
A stock image of a mosaic of a woman

The Ivory Bangle Lady and the multi-culturalism of Roman Britain
A group of African musicians from the painting, the Engagement of St Ursula and Prince Etherius

Black Tudors: The fascinating lives of Africans living in Tudor England
The Benin Bronzes

Ancient African artefacts: From the Benin Bronzes to the Zimbabwe Birds
A gold glitter map of Mali and an illustration of Mansa Musa sitting on a throne and holding a gold coin.

Mansa Musa: The African king who was the richest man in history
An extract from the Westminster Tournament Roll showing John Blanke

John Blanke: The black trumpeter at the heart of the Tudor court
A photograph of the Dahomey Amazons

Who were the Dahomey Amazons? West Africa's fearsome female fighters
An extract from the Westminster Tournament Roll showing John Blanke

John Blanke: The black trumpeter at the heart of the Tudor court
Portrait of Alessandro de' Medici

The life of Alessandro de' Medici, the Black Duke of Florence 
Painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle by David Martin

The story of Dido Elizabeth Belle: Britain's first black aristocrat
HIH Prince Alemayehu or Alamayou

The real Bridgerton: 6 Black aristocrats from British history
A statue of Charles Robert Darwin at the Natural History Museum in London.

John Edmonstone – the man who taught Darwin
Slave Ship by JWM Turner and portrait of Olaudah Equiano by Daniel Orme

Olaudah Equiano and the Zong Massacre
An illustration of HMS Brisk and Emanuela

The blockade of Africa: The West African Squadron
A portrait of Toussaint Louverture

Toussaint Louverture and the birth of Haiti
James Covey and a painting of the Amistad

James Covey: The African sailor who helped the Amistad captives win freedom
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

The Tulsa Massacre: The single worst moment of racial violence in US history
A photograph showing flames across the Greenwood section of Tulsa

'Black Wall Street in flames': The thriving community destroyed in the Tulsa race riots
John Henry Clavell Smythe in his RAF uniform

10 black British war heroes from WWI and WWII
Photograph of Walter Tull and fellow WW1 officers

Walter Tull: The Tottenham trailblazer and WW1 hero
Soldiers of the 369th (15th N.Y.), awarded the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action, 1919. Left to right. Front row: Pvt. Ed Williams, Herbert Taylor, Pvt. Leon Fraitor, Pvt. Ralph Hawkins. Back Row: Sgt. H. D. Prinas, Sgt. Dan Storms, Pvt. Joe William

'The Harlem Hellfighters': WW1's African-American regiment
Several Tuskegee airmen, Ramitelli, Italy, 1945

The Tuskegee airmen: America's first black aviators
African American GIs

The Battle of Bamber Bridge: Racial violence during WWII
AC W P Ince of British Guiana, AC E Johnson of Jamaica and AC S E Johnson of Jamaica) during a passing out parade of West Indians at a Royal Air Force station in Yorkshire

The Caribbean, Indian and African RAF pilots of WW2
Joesphine Baker

Josephine Baker: The iconic jazz performer turned WWII hero
A graphic composite image showing a WWII RAF plane and a map of the Caribbean

Pilots of the Caribbean: The most influential Black RAF pilots from WWII
The Empire Windrush

The Empire Windrush: The story of the Caribbeans who came to Britain in 1948
Bristol Bus Boycott plaque

How the Bristol Bus Boycott changed employment laws forever
Flight Sergeant James Hyde

The Trinidadian pilot who flew the 'Silver Spitfire'
Photo of a member of the 761st Tank Battalion

Black Panthers: The legendary 761st Tank Battalion from WWII
Vintage photo of two black cowboys

The forgotten history of the Old West’s black cowboys 

Black To School

6:40
Black to School teachers

Bristol Bus Boycott - Black to School: Lesson 1
6:21
Black to School classroom

The Story of Windrush - Black to School: Lesson 2
5:08
Black to School teacher

Notting Hill Carnival - Black to School: Lesson 3
11:57
Fredi Nwaka and Cassie Anderson

Black to School - A Conversation with Fredi Nwaka and Cassie Anderson