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Cambridge City Council

Cambridge celebrates Black History Month

4 October 2023

BLACK History Month takes place during October each year, and groups across Cambridge are promoting a number of events to celebrate Cambridge’s Black heritage.

Black History Month celebrates the contributions made by Black people from around the world and in the UK.

Highlights for this year’s Black History Month in Cambridge include:

  • Saturday 7 October, 2 to 3.30pm: Malorie Blackman is in conversation with Jackie Kay, discussing Blackman’s autobiography Just Sayin’, a deeply personal and vividly compelling account of a natural storyteller who defied expectations and inspired a generation, Cambridge Central Library, register FREE

  • Saturday 7 October, 10am to 12.30pm: join artists Sandra and Selena Scott for a workshop on storytelling through printmaking, inspired by Ghanaian Adinkra symbols, Meadows Community Centre, Arbury Road Cambridge, register FREE

  • Wednesday 18 October, 8pm: Nabil Abdulrashid – star of Live at the Apollo – brings his show The Purple Pill to Cambridge, Cambridge Junction, book tickets from £18.50 (link no longer active)

  • Monday 23 October, 30pm: Gabrielle’s 30 Years of Dreaming tour will see her celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of her era-defining smash hit number one single ‘Dreams’, Cambridge Corn Exchange, book tickets from £31.50

  • Saturday 28 October, 7 to 8pm: Windrush Stories: presenting the lives of the Windrush generation as they tell their stories, which reveal their life experiences in the Caribbean, their journey to England and British life in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, online, email Ariadne.Henry@cambridge.gov.uk to attend free

  • Saturday 28 October, 11am to 11pm: Cambridge African Network is hosting an African cultural event. From 11am to 4pm, a free African market and bazaar with stalls, interactive arts and crafts, workshops and talk from guest speakers. From 6pm to 11pm, a ticketed event with African buffet dinner, music, dancing and cultural shows. Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington, book tickets from £8 (age 6 to 15) to £15 (16+)
  • Sunday 29 October, 30pm: Phil Okwedy performs one-man show The Gods Are All Here, a moving, funny and warm-hearted personal story that uncovers Phil’s experiences of growing up as a child of dual heritage in 1960s and 70s Wales, Cambridge Junction, book tickets, pay what you feel (link no longer active)

  • Until 7 January 2024 The Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance exhibition explores new stories from history that help to separate fact from fiction and history from myth, Fitzwilliam Museum, book free tickets

Find out more about Black History Month. 

Cllr Mairéad Healy, Executive Councillor for Communities, said: “It’s great to see such a variety of events to engage people in learning about and celebrating Black history and culture. Cambridge is such a fantastically diverse city and events like this offer us all a brilliant opportunity to share in each other’s cultures. We proudly support Black History Month each year – whether through funding partners who run some of these events, providing grants to support the work being done such as collecting Windrush stories in Cambridge, or by our colleagues providing logistical support to the programme. With a mixture of free and paid-for events I’d encourage everyone to take an interest in supporting and celebrating Black History Month.”

This year’s programme has contributions from the Cambridge African Network, Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum, Cambridge Junction, Cambridgeshire Libraries, Kettle’s Yard, the University of Cambridge Museums, and Women’s Voices for Africa.

Find more information about this year’s events and booking details.