Cathedrals will host events to mark Black History Month this October from new artworks to lectures and story-telling.
Black History Month in our cathedrals
A statue of former slave St. Benedict of Palermo (1526-1589), Patron Saint of Racial Justice, is being installed in the Franciscan Garden at St German’s Cathedral, Isle of Man to coincide with the start of Black History Month.
It is carved in serpentine stone by sculptor Jonathan Mhondorohuma from Zimbabwe. Benedict was a former slave, becoming a Franciscan Friar, Novice Master, then Superior and the sculpture shows him teaching two brother Friars.
At Portsmouth Cathedral, the Dean, the Very Revd Dr Anthony Cane, has interviewed Marie Costa, organiser of the Portsmouth Black History Project which seeks to unearth and share the stories of black people who have lived in and contributed to the life, culture and success of the city of Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.
He also spoke to Vida Newton, who came to the UK from the Caribbean in the 1950s and settled with her family in Portsmouth.
The video is available on their YouTube channel and can be used in services and with groups. A longer version of the interview will be published shortly, which gives more information about the project as well as sharing more stories of the experiences of black people in Portsmouth.
In St Albans Cathedral, Dr Robert Beckford will explore themes of social justice in gospel music. Dr Robert Beckford is an academic and broadcaster based in Birmingham who has written numerous books on black theology and culture in Britain.
The Dean of St Albans, the Very Referend Jo Kelly-Moore, who chairs the AEC, said:
‘Music is at the heart of the life and witness of our nation’s Cathedrals. Music expresses what we believe about God, about our world and about ourselves. In this Black HistoryMonth we are delighted to welcome Dr Robert Beckford to St Albans Cathedral as we seek honestly to ask whether we can still hear the prophetic voice of Gospel music calling out the reality of prejudice and calling us all to build a just world.’
More here.
In Liverpool Cathedral, British-Nigerian historian, author, presenter and BAFTA- winning film-maker, David Olusoga will present the Black History Month lecture October as the cathedral recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to British economy, culture, and history.
Tickets here.
And Wells Cathedral is hosting a pop-up photography exhibition, The Missing Chapter: Black Chronicles which features 30 image panels reproduced from rare 19th-century photographs portraying people of African, Caribbean, and South Asian descent in Victorian Britain. The exhibition offers a unique portrait of black lives and migrant experiences during the decades following the birth of photography in 1839, and includes Samuel Crowther, the first black African Bishop in the Anglican church.
Oct 11 – 5 November. Entry included in admission.
