Celebrating Black History Month: Four Birmingham based ways you can get involved

It’s officially October, which means it’s time to celebrate Black History Month. With the Black Lives Matter Movement catalysed earlier this year, it’s more important than ever to honour the significance of Black History in the UK.

With this in mind, we’ve created a list of Covid-friendly resources that you and your friends can use to get involved with Black History Month (and they’re all student-budget friendly, too!)

The list includes local exhibitions, workshops, documentaries, and books to read during any nights in isolation.

1. Visit An Exhibition

If you fancy an escape from Selly Oak for the day, try taking a visit to the Selly Manor Museum – only a three-minute train ride from Selly Oak Station. Their photography exhibition, African Visitors to Bourneville, is running throughout October and celebrates the town’s historic connections to Nigeria, Cameroon and Uganda. It’s a perfect way to learn a bit more of Birmingham’s history, and celebrate Black History Month with your friends.

And even better, its only £4 entry for students!

Exhibition runs from 13^th-23^rd October. For full details on visiting Selly Manor Museum and online booking, click here.

2. Read!

If, like a lot of Selly Students, you’re currently self-isolating and can’t take a trip out, enjoying a good book from the comfort of your bed is a great way to educate yourself during Black History Month.

Waterstones has released an extensive list of books written by black authors (which you can check out here), but, if you’re on a tight student budget, take a look the UoB Library’s free search engine FindIt@Bham – available to all students- to search for some amazing articles written on Black History Month.

There’s a lot of content on there, but here’s a quick list of recent hits:

How Black Lives Matter is Changing Black History Month by Olivia Waxman

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity by C. Riley Snorton

If you particularly enjoy the last book on this list, you can take part in the university’s first ever online book club, Rainbow Network Book Club, which you can register for here, to discuss Snorton’s literature in greater detail.

For full information on how to access the Rainbow Network Book Club, visit the university Website.

3. Attend an Anti-Racism Workshop

To get directly involved with Black History Month, why not try attending an anti-racism workshop?

A great one for students to take part in would be the Anti-Racism Ally Workshop being run by the University on 15 October. The sessions will be accessible online via the university website, and will discuss the importance of allies to combat racism. It’s a really simple way to share your voice during Black History Month, and it’s completely free and exclusive to UoB students.

To see the details of this event and register your interest, please click here.

4. Watch a Documentary

We all love a documentary, and they’re really easy to stream and educate yourself (and maybe even your housemates) on the significance of Black History.

Netflix currently have an amazing ‘Black Lives Matter Collection’, which you can check out and stream here.

The university also hosted a documentary evening on 10 October, accessible via Zoom, which streamed From Africa to Britain, focusing on personal stories told by African Asians who relocated to Birmingham after political events forced them from their home countries.

Featured image via SWNS

Related stories recommended by this writer:

•‘Birmingham can either remain silent or speak up’: meet the UoB students rallying for Black Lives Matter

•Young UK Black Lives Matters protestors tell us why it’s so important to them

•In pictures: 4,000 people protest in Birmingham for Black Lives Matter