Events

Louise says:

October was Black History Month - but what is it and what does it mean to you?

From the history books you may or may not know that Black History Month was established in the US. It was started by Dr Carter G Woodson, a Black American historian who created a month (February) for African American people to celebrate the achievements of the black community.

Closer to home, Black History Month was first celebrated in London in October 1987.

The aim was to improve racial harmony in London but it has since grown to include the whole country and to recognise and embrace the contributions that other black communities have made - just like in Reading.

Stephen K Amos: read Louise's review on page 2

This year's events were even more significant as 2007 marks the bicentenary of the Abolition of Slavery and many of the activities that took place around Berkshire marked this anniversary.

For example there were gospel concerts and steel pan workshops that allowed you to get involved in making fantastic music.

For me I'm always proud to be involved in Black History Month because it gives me a chance to not only celebrate my culture but to find out new things about my heritage.

Below I've written about some of the events I've been to:

Carnival AGM

I went to the Carnival AGM meeting on Friday 19 October which was open to everyone to encourage participation in the Reading Community Carnival 2008.

It also provided a chance to celebrate a terrific carnival that also celebrated 30 years of the event taking place. New Committee members were voted in along side the new Chairperson (Pat Alleyne), Secretary and Treasurer for example so with everything in place, I can't wait for Carnival 2008

The actual carnival day this year was horrendous with non stop rain but the photographs on display at the meeting showed that the carnival spirit stayed strong!

The evening provided a chance to talk about the carnival that took place in May and to share feedback. There were also fantastic picture's on display to show how colourful and creative the 30th Reading Community Carnival was - definitely an inspiration for next year!

Rodney Harewood with artifacts

Tracing your Caribbean Roots

On Saturday 27th October 'Tracing your Caribbean Roots' took place at the Mapp Centre. Genealogist and author Guy Grannum from the National Archives was on hand to give an insightful presentation on how to research your roots and where to start the search.

It really showed me how detailed the search can be, especially if you're going to contact archive sources in the Caribbean. The event which was organised by Barbados and Friends Association also gave you the chance to see Caribbean artifacts like a 'tot', which used to be as a cup or a clay pot used for cooking years ago.

It was nice to look at our collective history of how life used to be and also chat about delving in to one's past!

If you missed it you can also contact the National Archives or Berkshire Family History Society

Reading Links - Abolition of Slavery

I learnt about Reading's links with the slave trade through an exhibition that's taking place at the Global Cafe in London Street. Reading Links - Abolition of Slavery runs until Wednesday 31 October.

I was there at the launch on Monday 15 October, where a small but captive audience gathered at the Global Cafe in Reading to see the exhibition that covered the walls. It includes information on the Maroons and Reading's Julia Titus, who traced her heritage to this group.

Julia Titus and Rikki Greaves

What made the night even more special was an evening of poetry, song and music. Julia Titus sung original songs including a powerful rendition of Summertime from the musical Porgy and Bess.

The evening continued with poems from Julia about being from mixed race parentage and about her son Kieran.

Performance Poet Lennox Carty told the story of black history by delving in to the past to recount experiences and also share observations about daily life.

His poems were part of the story telling entertainment and gave you some food for thought.

All this was enjoyed whilst eating Caribbean food from Perry's and a warm lively atmosphere.

Keep an ear out for Lennox who will be coming on my show in the near future to share more of his poetry and anecdotes! 

Stephen K Amos

Stephen K Amos maybe a name you've heard of on the comedy circuit. He's received critical acclaim and rave reviews at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival but what did he have in store for the Reading crowd?

On Saturday 6 October Stephen appeared at South Street which is part of his More Of Me tour entrance on the evening was in the form of an evangelical preacher character who did a great job of warming the crowd up and also picking on a few people (thank goodness I sat at the back!)

Amos then continued the evening by sharing snippets of his life story and experiences of growing up black in 70s Britain.

Not only did he do this with honesty and frankness but also with a heart-warming insight that I hadn't heard before. A saying he had on the night was 'seeing the funny side' and I left South Street seeing not only the funny side but with tears in my eyes from laughing so much. Check him out if you have the chance.