Black History Month – an international annual month, celebrating, recognising and valuing the inspirational individuals and events from within the Black community. During Black History Month, we remember and celebrate the important people from the past and also who contribute to and help our society today. First celebrated in the UK in 1987, Black History Month in the UK is marked annually during the month of October and in the USA and Canada during the month of February, with important reference to the black society. Black History Month UK went from receiving a kind-hearted response to being a national celebration to BHM UK individuals, shaping history as it stands today. Black History Month 2023 in the UK is being celebrated with a theme of 'Saluting our Sisters'.
Black History Month Official Page
OpenLearn's Race and Ethnicity Hub
Saluting our sisters - articles on inspiring black women
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The Unsung Women Who Shaped the Blues
Blues is a musical genre often associated with male pioneers. However, women were also a huge part of this development. This article shines a light on three women who helped shape the blues: Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.
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The life of Mama Elouise Edwards
From her birth in Georgetown, British Guiana, to her MBE for services to the Manchester community, this article explores the extraordinary life of Mama Elouise Edwards...
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Betty Luckham: celebrating the activism of a pioneering Windrush woman
What brought a bright young woman, working in the civil service in 1950s British Guiana, to settle in Manchester? And who could have predicted the impact she would have as she worked with the African Caribbean communities there?
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Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment
Professor Wangari Maathai was an environmentalist and the first female African Nobel Peace Prize winner. Yoseph Araya explores her contribution to the environment and what that meant to be a woman in this field of work.
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Helen Cammock and the art of storytelling
The artist Helen Cammock discusses how her art has transformed from using herself as a conduit for conversations about race to ‘the collective’ in this film. In the article below Philip Seargeant explores how art can operate as a form of storytelling, different to political or media storytelling.
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World-Changing Women: Madam CJ Walker
As a single woman in the early 20th century making ends meet was no easy feat, so it's remarkable that Madam CJ Walker became the first female self-made millionaire in America. Read her story here...
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Tubman: The Moses of Her People
Harriet Tubman led 300 slaves northwards to freedom in 19 trips along the "underground railroad". Dr Will Hardy introduces her story.
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Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician and much-needed role model
Katherine Johnson, who in February 2020 died at the age of 101, was an amazing woman. But up until a few years ago, hardly anyone had heard of her or her achievements. Professor Monica Grady explores her amazing legacy.
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World-Changing Women: Charlotte Maxeke
A rights activist against the exploitation that was prevalent in South Africa, Charlotte Maxeke was South Africa's first black female graduate and one of the first female freedom fighters. Find out more about her extraordinary story...
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The Extraordinary Rosa Parks
In 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a bus and history was changed forever.
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Why Michelle Obama's farewell is a masterclass in speech making
In her last speaking engagement as First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama showed how to give a speech that resonates.
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The case of Simone Biles and perceptions of athlete mental health
When Simone Biles withdrew from several events at Tokyo 2020 due to mental health struggles, the gymnast came under fire from both the global media and the general public. The social media response revealed a polarising narrative, with many supporting Biles and engaging in a broader discussion concerning athlete mental health, while others ...
Videos and podcasts on black arts and culture
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The Black History Month Talks
Explore the recorded presentations from The Open University's BME network's Black History Month event in October 2020.
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Art, Loot and Empire: The Benin Bronzes
How did the West African artworks known as the Benin Bronzes end up in European museums? And why does it matter?
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The Z Files with Benjamin Zephaniah
Writer, poet and Peaky Blinders actor Benjamin Zephaniah has died. Back in 2009 and to celebrate Black History Month, we joined forces with him to put together this collection on notable black people in the fields of science, technology and engineering.
Articles on the Civil Rights Movement
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How did Aretha Franklin inspire the civil rights movement?
Aretha Franklin's death in 2018 saw the loss not just of a sublime singer, but also one of key figures in the US Civil Rights movement. Leah Kardos pays tribute.
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Rosa Parks and Rob Williams sparked a revolution against racism – but has the US squandered their legacy?
When Rosa Parks caught a bus on 1 December 1955, she created a moment of history. Dr Anthony Gunter looks at how the struggles for integration still continue in America today.
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How radical was Martin Luther King?
His message on civil rights was unequivocal - but Paul Harvey argues that in Martin Luther King's economic and social message was his greatest claim to radicalism.
Black people in sport
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Uncovering Britain’s Lost Black Sporting Heroes
Why haven’t the often-extraordinary stories of Black sportspeople been woven into British sporting memory? What does this tell us about the relationship between ‘race’, racism and sport history? Dr Jim Lusted explores…
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What made Muhammad Ali "The Greatest"?
Muhammad Ali died on Friday June 3rd, 2016. Ellis Cashmore remembers a legend on both sides of the ropes.
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Black lives matter in sport too: what is the BAME experience of sport in the UK?
In the current climate, it would be hard not to notice the social upheaval among the BAME population in the UK and USA. Be it the high proportion of deaths among the BAME community from contracting COVID-19 or unarmed black men and women being killed unjustly by the police. So, as a black British man with Nigerian parents, I must express my ...
Try a related FREE course
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The American Civil Rights Movement
In this free course, The American Civil Rights Movement, you will learn about the mass movement for racial equality in the United States that reached its zenith during the 1950s and 1960s. During this turbulent period in United States history, black Americans sought to overturn deeply entrenched systems of racial segregation and ...
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Census stories: bringing statistics to life in Milton Keynes
This free course brings national census data to life by highlighting the vibrant stories of the diverse residents of Milton Keynes. This ‘new town’ with an increasingly mixed population, serves as a rich case study for understanding demographic changes in ethnicity and religion across the UK. The approach can be applied in any local context. It ...
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Discovering music: the blues
This free course, Discovering music: the blues, will introduce you to a musical tradition with roots in the nineteenth century but which is still relevant to making music today. You will learn about how the lyrics of blues songs reflect the social environment in which they were created, and about the musical techniques that underpin the ...
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Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners
This free course concentrates on Sam Selvon's twentieth-century novel, The Lonely Londoners. It considers the depiction of migration in the text as well as Selvon's treatment of memory as a vital part of the migrant's experience.
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Working with diversity in services for children and young people
This free course, Working with diversity in services for children and young people, will provide you with an understanding of the ways in which diverse and intersecting social identities structure the lives and experiences of children and young people, and the implications of those identities for professional practice. Although designed ...
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Textiles in Ghana
Textiles in Ghana carry a far greater importance than you might expect. This free course will help you to understand how textiles can carry an assortment of meanings and values, including wealth, status and office.
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I was looking back at this Guardian article from June.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/only-fifth-of-uk-universities-have-said-they-will-decolonise-curriculum?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
I am studying A329 and I would like to know whether the Open University has committed in writing to de-colonising the curriculums on all of its courses and is giving training to its staff. In particular I would like to know whether A329 has de-colonised its curriculum and has given its teaching staff training in de-colonisation. Many thanks.
Good morning Paul,
Many thanks for your comment, The Open University is in the very early stages of creating a Decolonising the Curriculum working group. One of the key objectives will be to understand the potential effect of systemic racial bias and coloniality on the OU’s design, delivery and evaluation of curriculum and identify necessary changes in practice, aligning to sector-wide benchmarks and regulatory requirements. This will be a long and substantial piece of work that will likely take years but I can confirm these conversations are taking place.
To answer your question, this work hasn’t been applied to any specific module yet but as they get redesigned we’re hoping we can start to incorporating the work the group is doing.
Kind regards,
OpenLearn moderator.