Barnet Council begins its month-long celebration of Black History Month with a launch event at Brent Cross Town’s Visitor Pavilion.

Earlier this week, Brent Cross Town hosted a launch event to mark the start of Black History Month. The event was joined by guests from a few local Black organisations and community groups, as well as the Mayor of Barnet, local ward members and councillors. The evening was filled with talent performances, including a steel drum performance by popular carnival group, JustIn Carnival, a spoken word performance by poet Blaize Alexis-Anglin and a choir performance by Open Heavens youth choir group. The evening was closed with a performance by local Barnet resident, Yehoshua Francis.

Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Arts & Sports, and Cricklewood Ward Member, Councillor Anne Clarke, said: “We were thrilled to raise the flag for Black History at the start of the month to celebrate Barnet’s rich cultural heritage and diversity. We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone at our celebratory events, which include a whole host of events that everyone can enjoy.”

The theme for this year’s Black History Month is ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, which represents a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.

Barnet Council has brought together a programme of exciting events taking place throughout October. Some of these events have been funded by grants from the council to support local community groups to host their own Black History Month events. Some events include memoir readings about the migrant experience, Windrush film screenings, a history of the steelpan instrument, RAF Museum’s history of black pilots, and an appearance by Levi Roots.

Discover the full list of events taking place across the borough here. Please note some events may require booking. You can also check out Barnet Council’s recommended reading list to celebrate Black History Month.