Every October in the UK is Black History Month. This year, inspired by my summer holiday in Namibia and linking in with the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcafrica/africa05/ ) I have chosen to focus on Africa. The events that I have lined up so far are an African Opera singer who is going to do a workshop with year 7s and perform to rest of the year group, an International Food Day with an African theme, a debate about Fair Trade / make Poverty History, theatre visits to the following plays (one of which was written by my mother, plug, plug): Crocodile Seeking Refuge at the Lyric, Hammersmith (http://www.lyric.co.uk/pl102.html ) and Who killed Mr Drum at the Riverside Studios (http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/cgi-bin/...pl?l=1113559725 ) and our big setpiece event 'Raising Horizons' Question Time with invited role models from the minority ethnic communities. This year we are tryign to use only former pupils and it should be amazing - I am trying to get Linford Christie as he is a Compton boy!
The assemblies that I am planning will involve me interviewing teachers from the school who come from South Africa and Sierra Leone and the displays will be based on questionnaires that pupils and staff have filled in about 'My Africa'.
What are you planning to do? Even if you do something small that is better than nothing. And if you want some ideas then let me know.

Right - after having a chat with Dan I'm making a display based on Alan Llywd's book 'Black Wales: A History'.

Any ideas for famous black people linked to Wales? I think I have Shirley Bassey covered!

Now there's a schoolboy fantasy for gentlemen of a certain age

Is anything happening in Kent for BHM?

Nothing planned as yet I am afraid. Am keen to avoid tokenism but am open to suggestions for an interesting cross curricular project.

I am afraid the the county advisory service doesn't help much here so any pointers gratefully received

How about an International Food day? I get the staff to cook food, and the Food Tech dept and then set a quiz / question for the students to enter and the 30 winners get entry to the meal. Everyone really enjoys it.

Jerome Monahan has contacted me about an article he is writing about the Black and Asian contribution to the war effort (WW1 and WW2) for the Guardian as part of Black History Month. Has he contacted you about it?

Indeed he has John. He is a very nice chap I must say and I told him about the webquests that I have written about Black history so hopefully he will do something about them. I put a posting on the TES forum which, so predictably, has got the usual backlash responses. It makes me despair (if I could be bothered too!).

Sounds delicious Dan, but how does it help?
I think I would rather make sure that multi culturalism and anti racism are signposted in all my entire schemes of work than engage in this sort of thing once a year

Dan, have you considered getting Nigel Reo-Coker involved in Black History Month next year. He says he is very interested in the subject. You could always pretend you are a West Ham fan.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/sto...1758925,00.html