Global Affairs

Black History Month

In October, Cobham Hall marked Black History Month with Head of Humanities Miss Williams sharing details of famous Black Britons who changed history, some of whom are pictured below. Media Team member Tunmise, Year 10, shares her thoughts on marking Black History Month.

Although the month is now over, I wanted to share my views on Black History Month and the history behind it; many people today still wonder when this campaign originated and who thought of the idea.

When did Black History Month originate?

In 1875 Carter G Woodson also known as “Father of Black History” was born in Virginia, United States and he was the son of former slaves. Growing up he had a very limited access to good education and good jobs, despite the limitations he ended up studying at one of the only high schools for black students after saving money from working as a coal miner.

Over the years Carter G Woodson gained an impressive number of qualifications, including a PhD in History from Harvard University, in 1926 Woodson sent out a press release to mark the first ever black history week in the United States, throughout his life Woodson worked very hard to promote the teaching of black history in schools.

In 1970 the event was expanded and since 1976 every US president has designated February as Black History Month, February was chosen because of a man called Fredrick Douglass, he escaped slavery and became famous for his antislavery writings.

The Importance of Black History Month

Black History Month is very important because it is a way of remembering the events and history of people with an African background, Black History month is a time of celebration it isn’t just about all the bad times we have been through, it is about leadership and determination.

Every year Black History month has a different theme, this year the theme was about African Americans and the vote.

Demonstrations in Democracy at Cobham Hall

To mark UK Parliament Week in November, Politics students Hafizah and Izzy hosted a cross-Year Group debate via Microsoft Teams. The topic selected was ‘Has the UK Government made a mistake by not closing schools during lockdown?’

They held a referendum the following day on whether schools should close or not. The result of the referendum was very close at 51.4% for schools to remain open.

The pair also developed a Parliament Week quiz, which was won by Upper School Tutor Group UAW. Well done, everyone!

In addition to Izzy and Hafizah’s hardwork, Upper School Tutor and Latin Teacher Dr Marin was also keen to encourage student interest in the United States Presidential Election. Providing access to candidate campaign information, Dr Marin also held a lunchtime ballot. The results were counted carefully, and resulted in a resounding win for Democratic nominee, and now President-Elect Joe Biden.