Black History Month UK 2025: Why It Feels Like a Downgrade - and What We Can Do About It

7-minute read                                                                             Photo credit: Alpha Illustration stock.adobe.com

 

Author: Bardot

 

Introduction

Black History Month UK in 2025 feels different. And not in a good way.

Even if you haven’t been plugged into social media the past three weeks, you won’t fail to miss those of us within Black British culture feeling, voicing and observing the shift: fewer events backed by large corporate organisations, reduced funding, less media coverage, barely-there school / college and university activity, and more performative ‘tick-box’ marketing than actual education. The buzz has gone. The energy muted. And the very real need for deeper cultural understanding? Ignored.

And while there are thousands of organised events and projects happening at grassroots level that people are supporting either in person or donations, let’s be honest: Black History Month UK has been downgraded by the powers that be, and we can’t pretend we don’t see it.

 

A Political and Cultural Downgrade

It’s no coincidence that this year’s lukewarm approach comes at a time when far-right politics are mainstream, and government rhetoric around ‘diversity’, ‘equity’, ‘equality’, ‘inclusion’ (DEI) and their bastardisation, plus deliberate misuse of the term ‘woke’, is increasingly hostile. These aren’t made-up observations; they’re daily realities for many Black British people.

The political climate has helped embolden narratives that silence, sanitise or sideline Black voices. This isn’t just about the lack of party invites or corporate campaigns in October; it’s about the systematic erasure of Black British history, our contributions, our community-building endeavours and our serious concerns/complaints about the consistent foolishness we have to face in this nation… Think of the Macpherson Report / The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, the Windrush Scandal, or the Grenfell Tower disaster as some recent examples.

Black History Month was always meant to be about celebration, bridging knowledge gaps, bringing communities together, and highlighting stories that never made it into the education curriculum. Instead, 2025 has shown us just how little value is placed on that mission. For the obnoxious few that sarcastically ask, “Why don’t we have a white history month?” The answer is you already do – it’s all the other months.

 

Why It Matters More Than Ever

This neglect is more than symbolic. It’s a missed opportunity for national unity, education, and healing at a time when those who are sowing the seeds of division get more airtime, more traction, more column inches, more corrupt backing, etc. Ignoring Black history in a country shaped by the Transatlantic Slave Trade, colonialism, migration, and multiculturalism is like trying to watch a football match with all the goals cut out. You don’t get the full picture of what happened, and it breeds misunderstanding, fear, division, and exclusion.

Education about Black culture isn’t just for Black people. It’s for everyone. When done well, it can build empathy, break down prejudice, and create stronger, healthier, and wealthier communities.

 

What Can We Do About It?

Here’s the truth: no one is coming to save us. But when has that ever stopped us? Black people and our communities have always been architects of our own resistance, recognition, and joy. The current lack of mainstream support simply opens the door for us to take an innovative approach to expanding, reclaiming or rebuilding grassroots opportunities nationally, regionally, and locally so we can reach and maximise our potential, which in turn reinforces our own ecosystem for the generations after us.

As a thought, here are some tangible ideas that can transform and reignite Black cultural education and landscape, not just for October, but for all 365 days of the year. Quick shoutout to @tiannathewriter on the clock app, who also discussed some of these ideas:

1. Intergenerational Storytelling Dinners

Host monthly or quarterly dinners with Windrush elders or African diaspora pioneers. Let them share stories of arriving in the UK, building fellowship and how they created a home in a hostile land. Look through and discuss their photo albums. Capture these stories via mixed media, create film nights at independent cinemas, and archive them. This can be extended to your family or friends.

Coincidentally, @tiannathewriter is currently developing a project to document and archive the audio recordings of British Caribbean elders in North-West London. To help support the cultural project, donations can be sent to Justgiving history and archive project.

2. ‘Dads Who Can’t Braid’ Workshops

These workshops are already in existence, but hey, let’s expand them across the UK. Community-building and family-bonding through culture start with these types of simple acts, where fathers learning to care for their children’s hair creates bonding and confidence and redefines roles for a healthy and balanced relationship.

3. Cooking Classes for Teens

Another workshop idea that is already in existence but very small-scale at the moment. Let’s bring in the elders to teach classic African and Caribbean dishes so our younger generation learn more than recipes; they learn about the history of our dishes, the spiritual measurements, patience, planning and the music you must play while cooking and dancing in the kitchen.

4. Coming of Age Ceremonies

Rites of passage matter. Think bar mitzvah or quinceañera but Black British style. Let us celebrate key milestones for our youngsters to our elders with prayer (laying of hands, for example), music, storytelling, gifts, and community recognition.

5. Revive African-Caribbean Saturday Schools

Popular in the 1960s–70s, these weekend school sessions taught Black history and culture in church halls and community centres when mainstream schools would not. Why can’t we reboot these in every region with community teachers, volunteers, and some crowdfunding as a starting point?

6. House of Nyabinghi’s 10-Word Story Initiative

This creative writing initiative invites Black people to express their story, heritage, hopes for the future or other through just 10 words. These archived micro-stories – the first set to be published in the forthcoming Calendar of Culture & Weekly Planner 2026 – can be displayed at cultural events and book festivals and expanded into art installations and dramatic pieces for stage or screen.

7. Revive Youth Clubs and Social Spaces for Teens / Tweens

While the government have launched eight Young Future Hubs – which will extend to 95 – across the country in partnership with regional support services to tackle antisocial behaviour, gang/knife crime, and those not in education, work or training, could we not have an innovative approach to how we utilise our existing faith, library and supermarket spaces, given they are robust anchors for every community? Designing a monthly outreach programme of activities alongside mental health, skills training, and future careers support within these buildings, or receiving grant funding to secure locations next to their sites, could be a start.

8. Champion Existing Cultural Activities: 

    (support, expand or create new chapters of the below)

·         1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, plus wider art exhibitions, and art history lessons.

·         Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL), plus wider creative arts industry initiatives.

·         Black British Book Festival.

·         Black Business Show UK.

·         Black Girls Camping Trip.

·         Carnivals and the historical aspect of their founding.

·         Guap Gala – recognising and rewarding Black creatives across the digital sphere.

·         Intergenerational mentoring and volunteering programmes

·         Kwanda (fund projects/grants across Africa) / Pardna App (supports family and friends)

·         Kwanzaa celebrations – actively honour and participate in this festive tradition.

·         Faith-based conventions, cultural hubs, and summer holiday day trips.

·         Music lessons (to play instruments, write and read music, music science etc.)

·         Mental health and emotional health wellness retreats for teens and upwards.

·         Saturday Soup Collective – cook your soup, then go out and celebrate Black music genres such as soca, calypso, lovers rock, reggae, soul music and more.

·         Skating Community – dancing with all ages while you learn a new skill on two wheels.

·         STEM programmes and Tech Events - e.g., Black Girls That Code network, astrophysics, astronomy etc.

·         The Explorers – hiking club for those who love to walk in nature regularly.

·         The International Ski Weeks – skiing and snowboarding travel clubs for Black people.

·         The Planespotting Club – for Black girls who love aviation and engineering.

·         UK Black Film Festival.

·         Water Sports Club (kayaking, rowing, sailing, water-skiing, yachting).

·         Plus, so much more… 

 

Can we go beyond October? Absolutely! But it needs all of us to build a year-long cultural calendar that supports different regions, age groups, interests, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, and economic backgrounds.

Just think about this: there are approx. two million Black people currently living in the UK. Imagine if we all each paid into a cooperative-style collective wealth pot £20, £50, £100 or say, even £500.

Do the maths…and now…reimagine what we could achieve with that private funding – investment from each one of us - for our cultural initiatives, business support, health, housing, education, etc.

Yes…the possibilities for this immense growth and richness of our ecosystem would be endless. It means we could also rinse and repeat, say every 5 or 10 years, to secure the positive development for our future generations.

 

What About the Workplace? Companies Need to Do More Than Post

Depending on where you work, Black History Month in some corporate spaces has become a mere PowerPoint presentation of once-a-year DEI – if it still exists – bullet points.

But it can be more than this.

Companies, regardless of their size, have an opportunity and moral responsibility to create spaces of learning, equity, and cultural fluency. This isn’t about hiring a speaker at the end of September and ticking a box. This is about embedding Black history, voices, and contributions into the cultural DNA of the business.

With my events hat on, a year-long calendar of initiatives could cover the following:

• Lunch & Learns (50 minutes)

One day a month to explore a different Black British figure, innovator, cultural moment, or pioneer within the company. Rotate speakers internally and externally.

•  Diverse Book Club / Film Screenings

Curate a reading or film list that covers Black British experiences across time. Host a monthly coffee or lunch discussion. This builds empathy, creates safe dialogue spaces, and breaks down the silos that can form within the workplace.

•  Internal Cultural Ambassadors

Empower Black employees to shape some of the cultural programmes. Offer sponsorship and senior management support, not just mentoring.

•  Diaspora Dialogues

Create space for those who have settled in the country and first-generation employees to share their stories and listen to their narratives from a Pan-African perspective. Thus, providing cultural understanding of the various parts of the diaspora and how working in said industry looks and feels for them on the ground.

•  Supplier + Brand Audits

Widen approved supplier lists, to actively work with Black-owned businesses, designers, artists, and agencies. Your spending power is part of your values, which can produce a high-yield return on your investment both financially and culturally.

•  Decentralised Learning Resources

Share toolkits, podcasts, playlists, or internal newsletters that explore topics like Windrush, or the Powerlist – as an example - of the most influential Black British people and spotlight individuals that are excelling within the same industry.

 

Ways To Embed Cultural Change

In the current geo, economic, and sociopolitical landscape, it’s easy to default to silence or sitting on the fence. But here’s the problem: both options protect the status quo. And the status quo is broken. As we watch a rise in nationalism, anti-immigration rhetoric, and erasure of Black history across education and institutions, this is the time and moment for companies to prove they really care about diversity.

To create a healthier and more inclusive culture, companies can (if not doing these already):

• Make Equity Part of KPIs

Culture-building tied to leadership performance, not just targets.

•  Invest in Bias Disruption

Train teams to understand bias in hiring, feedback, promotions, then disrupt it with new structures.

•  Prioritise Psychological Safety

Black employees should not have to shrink, edit, or code-switch to succeed. Build cultures based on honesty and inclusion, which seeds innovation and retention.

•  Communicate Transparently

Employees respect progress, not perfection. Therefore, be open about where your company is falling short and what your company is doing to create change.

• Create Intercultural Mentorship

Connect junior Black employees with executive sponsors across departments. Build tangible relationships, not just HR policy.

 

A Year-Round Movement, Not a One-Month Moment

We don’t need another box-ticking October.

We need Black History Year; an ongoing commitment to visibility, creativity, and truth-telling. Because our history and stories didn’t start within slavery and it doesn’t end with a poster in a corporate dinner hall. The African diaspora is always a diaspora in motion.

Black culture is British culture. Period.

So, let us move forward and up in our power - community by community, borough by borough, region by region; telling our stories, building bridges so we can reach others and educate them through our art, fashion, music, food, pioneers, trailblazers and changemakers. Because if we don’t do it, who will?

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