October is Black History Month, a time to celebrate Black history, culture and achievement, and to recognise the contribution Black communities have made to Liverpool. This year’s theme is Honouring Our Communities.
Deputy Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Transformation, explains why Black History Month is an important opportunity to celebrate Liverpool’s Black communities, share their stories and reflect on the work still needed to tackle racism and inequality.
Liverpool is home to Britain’s oldest Black community, with a history stretching back centuries. National Museums Liverpool describes our Black community as the oldest in Europe, with Black settlers in the city including sailors, freed enslaved people and the student sons of African rulers as far back as the 1750s. That is a history we should be proud to recognise. But it is also a history we need to understand in all its complexity.
Liverpool’s position as a major international port brought people from across the world to our city. It also connected Liverpool deeply to the transatlantic slave trade, from which the city and its merchants made enormous wealth. The legacy of that history can still be seen today.
At the same time, Black people who came to Liverpool were not simply part of the city’s history. They built lives here. They raised families, established businesses and organisations, contributed to our culture and supported one another through discrimination and hardship. Generation after generation has helped shape the city we know today. That is why Black History Month matters.
It gives us an opportunity to recognise the achievements and contributions of Black people in Liverpool, but also to learn about the experiences that have shaped our communities. And there are so many stories to tell.
There are the stories of the people whose names we know, but also the stories of families, community leaders, campaigners, artists, businesses, workers and young people who have made a difference in ways that may never have appeared in a history book. Honouring our communities means making sure those stories are heard too.
For me, one of the most important things about Black History Month is that it is not only about looking backwards. Liverpool’s Black community is still shaping our city every day. We see it in our music and culture, our businesses, our schools and universities, our community organisations, our public services and in neighbourhoods across the city. We see it in the young people who are finding their voices and creating their own futures. We see it in the people working to make their communities stronger. And we see it in the countless people who quietly support their families, friends and neighbours every day.
As a city, we should celebrate that contribution. But we also need to recognise that racism and inequality have not disappeared. If we are serious about building a fairer Liverpool, we have to keep listening to people’s experiences and challenging racism wherever we see it. That is something we all have a role in.
I hope this October people across Liverpool will take the opportunity to learn something they did not know, visit somewhere connected to our Black history, listen to someone’s story or take part in one of the many events taking place across the city.
Let’s honour the communities who have helped build our city, celebrate the people who are shaping it today and make sure their stories continue to be part of Liverpool’s future.
Watch Cllr Ruth Bennet speak on Black History Month:
