Retrieving the past is no taboo

New African, Oct 2007 by Wong, Ansel

By Ansel Wong, a native of Trinidad & Tobago who, as head of the Ethnic Minority Unit of the Greater London Council in 1987, was very instrumental in the foundation of Black History Month UK.

This month is the 20th anniversary of Black History Month UK. It is a celebration that brings a lot of attention and focus on black communities In the UK.

Incidentally, the 20th anniversary comes at a time when our communities in the UK are in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons. The spate of youth shootings, murders and anti-social and criminal behaviour forces us to take stock of what is happening to us as individuals and as members of the community.

In this debate, there are the ritualistic prophesies of doom, the articulation of differing aspects of dysfunctional features among our families and communities, and various realignments of "problems" around allegiances, identity and belonging.

Ironically, Black History Month is about reflection - personal, political and communal - to inform the development of our futures. For many of us who migrated to Britain, history was all about the recitation of key dates and the acknowledgement of the events that surrounded those dates.

But for this anniversary, we would hope that it is the reflection that will dominate over the celebration. We face many challenges as our futures are charted and as we fulfil our roles as parents, elders and activists. Understanding where we came from, the obstacles that we were confronted with and the strategies that we adopted to overcome them are the "history" that will inform our futures. Learning from the past will also enable us to build the bridges and form the alliances that will prepare us for meeting the unforeseen. Let us in this 20th year of the commemoration, return to the basic drivers that encouraged us to designate the month of October in the first place.

Then in 1987, "black", for us, posited and reflected tolerance and the acceptance of the enriching cultural diversity of Britain's multi-cultural society. It was also an articulation of solidarity and the building of allies in relation to shared and common experiences. We chose the month of October which, in the African celestial calendar, is a period of peace and reconciliation; a period of harvest and the celebration of the first fruits and yield; a period where differences in the community and between individuals are setded; a period of self-examination.

But more importantly, is the need for everyone observing Black History Month not only to focus on our original vision but to use all the events planned for the celebrations in 2007 and beyond to look back into our past so that the future journeys can be charted. This was the essence of the Sankofa figure that was the iconic image of the first Black History Month. The message then and now remains pertinent - retrieving the past is no taboo.

Above: 10th April 1782: A slave girl being tortured by Captain Kimber on board ship