Honouring The Black Community Around Us - Black History Month 2026
This article was drafted by Tito Tobi-Lawal.
As the remnants of September fade and the new month of October begins, one commemoration remains persistent in the minds of Black Britons everywhere. Our month, our history, our Black History Month. This year’s theme of ‘Honouring our communities’ sets quite a precedent and was introduced by Cherron Inko-Tariah MBE. In an article written for the official Black History Month organisation, the decorated author remarks on the previous trend of celebrating notable Black individuals, while taking for granted the communities around us who slowly but steadily improve our everyday lives. Upon reflecting on this year's theme, I was struck by the profound simplicity behind it; black history cannot be neatly shrunk to our past struggles or the trailblazers who painstakingly built the foundations for the movement! Instead, it is ever-growing and constantly evolving. Every day, Black people make history in the ways we show up for each other, and although the actions of a few individuals might appear small prima facie, their impact can be felt resoundingly for generations to come. To me, this is truly a marvel worth honouring.
Another facet of this absolutely seminal theme that is particularly noteworthy is its authenticity. Community and the Black experience have always gone hand in hand, and in our current sociopolitical climate that is hell-bent on misrepresenting what it means to be Black or, even more harmful, capitalising on one-dimensional archetypes of ‘Blackness’ , authenticity is indispensable. Indeed, Inko-Tarriah’s aforementioned article, in expanding on this year's theme, harks back to the Windrush generation’s forging of community as a means of survival and advancement in a cold and somewhat unwelcoming Britain. Looking to the present, one can still see this innate reliance on and reverence for community in Black spaces today.
To list a few real-world examples, we see it in the networking and mentorship opportunities we foster amongst Black professionals; we are entertained by it in University settings, regarding Afro-Caribbean Societies; we are touched by it with instances of mutual aid and fundraising; we worship around it in our religious spaces, and we even party within it as we yearn for nightlife narrated by complementary Afrobeats, Amapiano, Hip Hop and Bashment sounds. It requires little deliberation to conclude that this year’s Black History Month theme reflects a well-established, albeit often subconscious practice within Black communities. Perhaps it was long overdue to centre a foundational value of a resilient people onto a broader public platform.
After reflection comes action: it is one thing to acknowledge Black History Month this October and its theme of ‘Honouring Our Communities’ , and entirely another to understand and actively celebrate it. There are a plethora of events being held this month, ranging from President Obama visiting audiences in select cities across the UK to poetry readings, museum exhibitions, music performances, food markets, and many more, all focused on Black history and culture.
In my personal odyssey to celebrate this month and honour the communities I come from, I have attended panel talks featuring successful Black professionals with the two-pronged mission of connecting with both the speakers and my fellow attendees.
“Honouring Our Communities” Panel Talk
I also took it upon myself to visit various pop-ups showcasing African and Caribbean fashion and, unsurprisingly, was tempted to purchase the wonderful pieces from emerging Black designers.
Fashion Pop-ups in London Showcasing African & Caribbean brands.
Fashion Pop-ups in London Showcasing African & Caribbean brands.
Another sentiment that Black Britons understand all too well is the need to celebrate our history throughout the year and not merely in October! And so, during the summer, I had the amazing opportunity to write and deliver a tour of the British Museum’s collections. It was imperative to begin and end this tour with artefacts held in the Africa gallery and shine a light on the complex history behind each item and its journey to the world’s first and one of the largest public museums.
“Tree of Life” Metal Sculpture by artists Kester Canhavato, Hilario Nhatugeuja, Adelino Mate, Fiel dos Santos, From the Transforming Arms into Tools project in Mozambique during 2004. Located in Room 25, Africa Gallery at The British Museum.
However, much like this year's theme, engaging with Black History Month begins with small actions that can be carried out at any given time, even within the comforts of our small towns! I suggest visiting local libraries and enjoying the range of books by diverse Black authors; a book recommendation which I have just started is David Olusoga’s Black and British: A Forgotten History.
Black History Month book display in Library
Another relatively easy and inexpensive activity is simply walking around and appreciating the street art that carries a beautifully diasporic value to it; pictured below in Manchester is this poster of Fela Kuti’s iconic Glastonbury performance that I came across.
Manchester Street Art
For further information on local and national opportunities to engage with the Black community, visit the Black History Month UK organisation's website. Equally, you might choose to be the community you seek by organising your own event for local audiences and submit it for inclusion in the official Black History Month events newsletter. Notwithstanding the many ways to celebrate and advance this month’s theme of ‘Honouring Our Communities’ , the work truly begins by looking inwards: community is ever-present, and honouring it may take any number of forms, shaped by each individual's own lived experiences.
