Students and staff at Immanuel College are celebrating Black History Month, with the theme for 2021; ‘Proud to be’ resonating with everyone across the school.
Black History Month was first celebrated in the UK in October 1987 and has gone on to become an important annual event that honours, celebrates and raises awareness of Black history and culture.
Ms Mirza, Inclusion Leader for Immanuel College, explained why Black History Month is so important: “In light of historic and recent events it’s really important to remember the past and make the future better for the next generation. As a school we believe in fostering an all-inclusive environment.
“Students have already been taking part in awareness sessions and tutorials. Everyone at Immanuel stands by our school motto of ‘All God’s children’ and Black History Month is just one of the ways we celebrate our diverse identities as a whole community.”
Immanuel College student, Callum Bradbury, 15, who took part in one of the first sessions, said “Black History Month helps to tackle the problems of racism that happen every day and shouldn’t be happening. It’s important that we can explain the problems that have happened to the next generation too.”
Fellow student, Malaika Mehmood, 16, added: “Events like Black History Month bring forth the awareness of the discrimination that Black people have to go through. The sessions in school have educated us on what Black people have to go through on a day-to-day basis and how the media can perpetuate stereotypes.”
