Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Throughout October, Â鶹ԼÅÄ London 94.9FM celebrated Black History Month with a number of features devoted to Black History and the achievements of Black People.Ìý

Carlton Thomas interviews a guest

The Rich Mix café in the heart of the East London was the venue for our special Ìýprogramme to mark Black History Month.Ìý Dotun Adebayo was in the chair, but the spirit of the occasion demanded something a bit different, so Dotun recruited twoÌý young aspiring broadcasters to help him out.Ìý You can find out how Carlton Thomas and Jason Grant got on if you click the link at the top of this page to hear the programme in full.Ìý

What was in the show?

Kimani Nehusi, a senior lecturer at the University of East London and a writer on the social history of African and Caribbean People, kicked the debate straight into controversy.Ìý He argued that Black History Month should be renamed African History Month, “this is why this month was launched in the first place, to return African people to their history.â€�

Jason Grant interviews a regular caller

But while everyone agreed that the enslavement of African people was a key part of Black History Month, there was real disagreement about how much emphasis to place on slavery today.

One person aiming to remind people of those who endured the horrors of slavery is Shabaka Thompson, Artistic Director of Yaa Asantewa Arts Centre, which for many years has played a key role in London’s annual Notting Hill Carnival.Ìý 200 people joined him in a Commemorative Walk to Whitehall and Shabaka hopes that this walk will become an annual event.Ìý

Mia Morris, founder of the Black History Month website, certainly feels there’s more to Black History than slavery.ÌýÌý Indeed she argues that the intense focus on slavery obscures the work and achievements of Black people excelling in every walk of life.Ìý

And there are still parts of the black community struggling to be heard.Ìý Silent Voices is an anthology of work by Somali writers living in Britain.Ìý It’s a book just published by Monsoon Press, which was set up to address the under representation of Black and Asian writers.Ìý At the top of this page you can link through to an article where the Silent Voices speak out.

Alex D Great plays out the show.

The evening had a musical conclusion as we remembered the achievements of Ezekiel ‘Biggs’ Yearwood, a Stoke Newington resident and the finest steel pan tuner of his generation, who died recently.Ìý And Alex D Great, who has helped publicise Black History Month on Â鶹ԼÅÄ London with his inimitable calypsos, played out with a tribute to the greatest living black man, Nelson Mandela.Ìý

Thanks to everyone who helped Â鶹ԼÅÄ London to celebrate Black History Month and who contributed to the debate.Ìý