October is Black History Month and even though some events are cancelled because of Covid, there are still many things to do and see this month.
HOME, which is a centre for international contemporary art, film and theatre, is hosting a few events to celebrate black artists through film, music, art, theatre and interactive events online and in person. One of the theatre highlights is ‘One Woman’ which is about a black woman struggling with her identity and which is performed by Cheryl Martin. You can watch it online from the 24th of October. There are also screenings of movies that were made with black directors, writers and actors, such as ‘Pool of London’ and ‘The Proud Valley’.
Make sure to also check out the Manchester Literature Festival where, amongst other things, US civil rights activist Angela Davis talks to Scottish poet Jackie Kay about protest, the Black Lives Matter movement, equality and activism. You can also go to the People’s History Museum to visit the exhibition ‘Images Of Protest: Black Lives Matter’ which includes images of BLM protests in Manchester, taken by photographer Jake Hardy. The exhibition is on until the 31st of December.
Black History Month 2020 – DIG DEEPER, LOOK CLOSER, THINK BIGGER #blackhistorymonth #blacklivesmatter #bhm2020 #blacklivesmatter #blackhistorymonth2020https://t.co/rQVUI68C8l pic.twitter.com/Ot2Nkrk5VJ
— Black History Month 2020 (@BhmUK) September 11, 2020
Cheryl Martin, who will be performing in the theatre piece ‘One Woman’ we mentioned before, will also perform in two Facebook Live events. This will be a part of the Oldham Library’s Black History Months events. It is called ‘When I Think Of Home’ and is a mix of song, humour and memory about what her parents created for their children. Watch it on October 14.
Manchester Metropolitan University is also hosting a couple of events for Black History Month such as the Black History Month Pop Up Library (Oct. 9) and they are screening the movie ‘BlacKkKlansman’ (Oct. 10). Watch their ‘Brilliant and Black’ Zoom session which they held on the 1st of October here.
Find out more about Black History Month and the events taking place this month here.