Folkestone community comes together to celebrate Black History Month

On 15 October, they held a special afternoon event featuring live music and dishes from African and Jamaican cuisine.

Everyone was looking forward to the day, which was organised by Community Network Coordinator Rachael Stickells and Area Manager Senet Yohannes.

Rachael said: “People arrived early, because they were so excited”.

Dancing the day away

Rachael and Senet invited a band called Jimmy and the Riddles to perform. Their ‘unique blend of upbeat African-infused reggae, dub and ska’ got everyone in a fantastic mood. One of the people we support took centre stage and danced to the different rhythms all through the set.  

The food was also a great treat. United Response staff brought their own food in and the team also hired catering from a chef specialising in Caribbean cooking. The mouth-watering dishes on offer included barbecued pineapple in caramel and rum sauce, a lemon pancake, couscous and more. Everyone got a true taste of Africa and the Caribbean!  

With bellies full of food and hearts full of music, this was certainly one very special day. Together everyone danced and laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. 

Hythe And Folkestone Books for Change 

The following week, The Community Network became a hub of stories, laughter and togetherness.  

Lianne Sandford brought Hythe and Folkestone Books for Change to The Community Network. Books for Change work hard to ensure all children have access to diverse literature in schools and beyond.  

Little ones enjoyed a wonderful collection of books which could help spark early conversations about identity, skin colour, hair, beauty and uniqueness.

The children were introduced to a range of fantastic stories and everyone left feeling inspired.  

Afrikent black history workshop

Wrapping up Black History Month, The Community Network also hosted an Afrikent workshop, teaching local children and their families about African Kings and Queens.  

Afrikent was developed by two educators, Sharron Harris and Peter Nicholls, with support from Senet.   

Together they seek to tell a new story about African history, challenging the misrepresentations taught in schools. 

Explaining the motivation for setting up Afrikent, Senet said:   

Black history is world history. African history is world history.

Africa has a very rich history that hasn’t been promoted.

We hope our work will provide people with a bit more self-esteem about who they are, rather than just believing what they may have been told about themselves.

During this interactive session, the children had the opportunity to get involved in mask-making, dance and more. Together they got creative and celebrated an important and often-forgotten history.  

The Afrikent team would like to be able to provide sensory experiences for people we support in the future, using things like drum sounds, special fabrics and aromatic spices. They aim to travel around services to give people we support the chance to experience a little bit of Africa in a positive context.   

Not just a month 

The Black History Month events are a great example of the activities provided by The Community Network, who also run their own radio station, coffee mornings and art club.

Senet said:  

This has been an incredible celebration of Black History Month.

We have organised events suitable for all ages and abilities, leaving no one behind.

United Response’s Diversity Forum has inspired us to make great strides in the direction of inclusion, diversity and celebrating the beauty of being unique. We have had great support from our community, partner organisations and local councillors. We look forward to bigger and better celebrations next year.

Rachael added:  

Black history can be celebrated all year round.

We are a United Kingdom of united cultures, and we can all celebrate together. 

If you’ve been inspired to organise your own events, Rachael has this advice for you:  

Make a list. Do it gradually.

Don’t feel the need to get it all ticked off at once – you don’t need to think about everything at the same time.

You can find out more about The Community Network and keep updated with future events on their Facebook page.

• Ali Mills is Communications and Engagement Officer for United Response.