Black History Month | History | KS2 | Ages 7-11

What is Black History Month?

An illustration of a book - The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands

Black History Month is celebrated each year in October to remember moments in history, achievements and contributions that black people have made in the United Kingdom.

It was introduced in 1987 to celebrate the achievements of black people and to eliminate discrimination and encourage racial equality.

It was first celebrated in the USA as Black History Week in February 1926 and was introduced by historian and author, Dr Carter G Woodson. Dr Woodson worked hard to showcase the contributions of black Americans and promote black history in American schools.

Why do we celebrate Black History Month?

This year’s theme for Black History Month is “Reclaiming Narratives”.

Black people haven't always been recognised for their contributions to art, literature, business, sport, politics and more in the past.

This year's theme is about correcting historical inaccuracies and telling the untold stories of the achievements of black people in the UK and around the world.

History

There is a long history of black people contributing to Britain’s society, culture and history. They have had a cultural impact across the United Kingdom, despite some of their stories not always being widely known.

Timeline

Black people have been a part of British history for hundreds of years.

Click through the timeline to discover a range of famous black people from history.

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John Blanke was a trumpeter in the Tudor royal court during the time of King Henry VII and King Henry VIII.
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Jacques Francis was one of the top West African divers. He helped recover the many expensive cannons and treasure on board the wreck of Henry VIII's ship the Mary Rose after it sank.
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Ignatius Sancho, a black writer, composer, shopkeeper and property owner was the first Black British voter in 1774.
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Olaudah Equiano, enslaved as a child in West Africa, bought his freedom in 1766. He travelled to the Arctic in an expedition to the North Pole. He wrote about his experiences of slavery in 1789.
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Mary Seacole, a British Jamaican woman, travelled to Crimea during the Crimean War (1853-1856). She funded the travel herself and built a hotel on the battlefront where she looked after wounded soldiers.
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1909: Walter Tull was one of Britain’s first professional footballers, but he gave up his career to fight in World War One. He was also the British Army's first black officer to command white troops.
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1913: John Richard Archer, a seaman and campaigner from Liverpool, became the first elected black mayor in London.