Films 2010 – blackhistory walks

Black Mans Land, White Mans Country, 23.1.10

Black Mans Land, White Mans Country

Saturday 23 January 2pm-5.00pm

BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall)

Belvedere Road SE1

Tube: Waterloo.

Tickets ₤5, best to book early

Phone 0207 928 3232

www.bfi.org.uk/southbank

History of Kenya from a Kenyan perspective with two rare films made in 1970’s

They detail how the British initially appeared as traders in East Africa before moving on to massacre numerous ethnic groups including Somalis, and Masai. Resistance leaders were killed, imprisoned or disappeared and replaced with quislings. The best land was stolen and given to British immigrants such as Lord Delamere. Local people were forced to move to Kibera which is now the biggest slum in East Africa. Schools and rites of passage customs were destroyed or disrupted and replaced with mission schools which only a few could attend. The Land and Freedom army was formed by ex WW2 veterans but the British refused to use their name and invented a new name, The Mau Mau. With extensive archive footage and extended interviews with the African resistance movement these unique films have eerie parallels with the modern day ‘war on terror’ and put a context on recent political and racial problems in Kenya.

How to Support your Child/ Somali Authors & World War 2, Sat 6.11.10

Sat 6th November 1.00am-4.30pm

Training Room 3 (Next to Conference Room)

1st Floor, Imperial War Museum

Lambeth Road SE1

www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk

A double feature looking at simple tactics to develop your child and help teachers make the curriculum more inclusive. We’ll provide strategies and resources to improve academic achievement. This session is run in association with the National Associaton of Saturday Schools and is of use to and caters for adults and children.

We will also focus on the Black people in World War 2 with a focus on the Somali veterans and their community’s equivalent of the ‘Windrush’ generation which came to England about 150 years ago. Two female Somali authors including Nadifa Mohammed writer of Black Mamba Boy, will read from their books, sign autographs and take questions. There will be a short presentation on Somali civilisation art and culture prior to european invasion.

Saturday School Careers Day, Sat. 30.1.10

Saturday School Careers Day Special

Saturday 30th January 11.00am-2.00pm

Venue: On confirmation of registration

Area: SE1, ten minutes from tube

Adm: By prior registration, 5 pounds per pair

Proceeds to Girl Child Concern, Kaduna State, Nigeria

www.girlchildconcerns.org

This event has been specially designed to showcase successful individuals who for some reason are never highlighted in mainstream media. It is aimed squarely at, conscientious adults who take their child’s education seriously, and curious children looking for positive influences.

On the day you will hear from professionals, as to how they got be where they are now. The speakers include a

High Court Judge

Technical Architect

Molecular Biologist

Management Consultant

The format has been developed so that it engages 8 year olds as well as mature students. It has been tested in primary/secondary schools and with the general public. There are 80 seats available. The Queen Mother Moore school in Clapham has already reserved 40 after their experience last year. The remainder are available on a first come, first served basis to Saturday schools. There are a few seats available to individual parents who are outside of the Saturday School system. This event is sponsored by Colourful Kids www.coloufulkids.co.uk . There will be a range of multicultural books available on the day

To register or for more info contact info@blackhistorywalks.co.uk

The Mau Mau and the History of Kenya, Sun 28.2.10

The Mau Mau and the History of Kenya (Film and Talk)

Sunday 28th February 1.30pm-5.00pm

Imperial War Museum Lambeth Road SE1

Tube: Lambeth North. Adm: Free. First come, first served

Bring pen and pad and be on time www.iwm.org.uk

Much of the geographic and ethnic divisions currently seen in Kenya were established and encouraged during British colonialism. The Kenyan people have sued the British government for human rights abuses commited by their forces. Soldiers who had fought loyally for Britain during World War 2 came back to find white Britsh immigrants living on their fertile land while harassing local women.When Kenyan people fought for their independence, as they were’nt allowed to vote, the British invaders used:

Torture
Detention camps for up to 70,000 people
Castration and blinding
Fatal whipping
Rape by British soldiers
Rape with bottles of hot water

The British Army also used Northern Kenya for military exercises. As a result of leaving unexploded munitions behind, hundreds of Maasai and Samburu people have been killed or maimed by unexploded bombs left laying around over the past 50 years. The British fought the case. In 2002, a settlement was reached in which the UK government agreed to pay 7 million plus legal fees.

Welcome Back ? We fought for you, what happens now ? Sun 28.3.10

Sunday 28th March 1.30pm-5.00pm

Imperial War Museum Lambeth Road SE1

Tube: Lambeth North. Adm: Free. First come, first served

Bring pen and pad and be on time www.iwm.org.uk

1946, after black people had fought and died all over the world for Britain those still in England were told to go back where they had come from. On this day we will tell the untold stories of the post-war generation with films, audio clips and testimony from war veterans who were also veterans of the Civil Rights movement in Britain. As a black person in the post-war years you were:

* refused bank loans
* refused jobs
* restricted to live in bombed out areas
* blocked from buying homes
* harassed by police
* refused entry to churches
* refused service in pubs, hotels, restaurants
* forced to pay a higher mortgage than whites
* spat at on public transport
* attacked by the general public
* treated as if stupid in schools

War veterans such as Billy Strachan, Sam King and Connie Marks used their organising skills to fight such discrimination. We will focus on how such obstacles were overcome and if the lessons have been learned/remembered by the present generationia. It is aimed squarely at, conscientious adults who take their child’s education seriously, and curious children looking for positive influences.

For more info contact info@blackhistorywalks.co.uk

Nubian Spirit (Film,Q & A,) Sun. 11.4.10

(above Sudanese pyramids. There are more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt)

Nubian Spirit (Film, Q and A) plus animated short film

Sunday 11th April 3.00pm-6.00pm

Flash Musical Theatre Youth Theatre, Methuan Road

Edgware, Middlesex HA8 6EZ

Adm: Free if reserved in advance info@colourfulevents.co.uk, 07838102024

www.colourfulevents.co.uk

Arrive 15 min early for refreshments and seating

This is a wonderful educational tool for both children( age 9 plus) and adults alike who have a genuine thirst for knowledge about the amazing continent of Africa and the world’s earliest civilizations that emerged from it. The film will be followed by a discussion with Louis Buckley, (director, producer, editor and narrator of this amazing film) and Brother Tony of Black History Walks

There are limited free creche spaces for 4 – 8 Year olds which need to be prebooked and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

A wide range of books (adult and kids) will also be on sale that day

“Nubian Spirit” is a beautifully shot documentary which unravels the fascinating of legacy of Ancient Sudan. It shines light onto the Ancient African culture, history and spiritual mythology of the people from the Nile Valley. The film digs deep into Ancient Africa’s numerous contributions to modern civilization. It features dynamic interviews with leading scholars, Robin Walker, K.N Chimbiri, and Anthony Browder, to name just a few.

It has been well recorded that the first humans on the planet emerged from the beautiful continent of Africa. However most people today know little about how these African cultures have influenced modern society. The makers of this film understand the importance of sharing authentic African history in a balanced way and how under represented it is in the western world view. They have signifcantly contributed to setting the balance straight by accurately representing the facts and the information that has been discovered.

To purchase Nubian Spirit www.blackninefilms.com

Black British Civil Rights Heroes 1596-2006, Sun 30.5.10

Sunday 30 May 1.30pm-5.00pm

1st Floor Conference Room,

Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1.Tube: Lambeth North.

Free entry: First come,first served www.iwm.org.uk

The bias in schools gives the impression that racism and civil rights was an American issue and totally ignores the struggles Black British people endured. For example :

* Oxford/Regent Street refused to employ black people Black and Asian kids were bussed out of local schools so that there would not be “too many” of them
* Racial attacks were a daily occurence and ignored by police
* Black people had to pay more for houses and more for mortgages
* There were documented calls for black schools in the 1700’s
* In the 1790’s a group of Africans in London were lobbying the government for abolition
* In 1820 a Jamaican in London bought 450 guns in order to overthrow the government

Every area of life was contested at great cost. This presentation will give you the names and achievements of those who fought against British racism over the last 400 years. Bring pen,pad and be on time.

Medical Apartheid, Sat 20 June 4-7pm

Medical Apartheid: European Experiments on African Bodies 1810-2010

Saturday 25th June 4.00-7.00pm

Venue: Near Walthamstow tube

or 07939 540 826 or 020 8509 7598. Contribution £6.00

A review of the scientific experiments and research performed on black
people to refine various drugs and medical treatments for use with white people
This presentation will draw on Harriet Washington’s book of the same name, various
documentation from World Wars 1/2, Aboriginal history, Vietnam, US Prisons and Porton Down.

This is a small venue (30 seats) be on time as event will start promptly

Presentation will cover:

*Radioactive People: North Africa and the Pacific
*Birth and Crowd Control: The South African Solution, Project Coast
*National Security Memorandum 200
*Vic Mackie and Congressional Inquiries
*The ‘War on Drugs’, Haiti and Jamaica
*The Mau Mau, Kenya and the Brixton Riots

Black Orpheus (Film, & Q & A,) Sat. 12.6.10

Saturday 12th June 2.00pm-5.00pm

BFI Southbank

Belvedere Road SE1

Tube: Waterloo

Adm: £5.00 0207 928 3232 Best to book in advance as this fantastic film is rarely seen on the big screen

www.bfi.org.uk

An award winning film with an all black cast made in 1959 featuring a love story between two Africans in Brazil is almost as rare now as it was then. Based on the Greek myth of the same name this is one of the most beautiful films you will ever see. The film features the famous carnival and was the first movie to popularise the African-inspired Samba rythyms. Academy Award and Palme D’or winner this film was made just 4 years after Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and one year after the Notting Hill Riots

Followed by Q and A with Michael La Rose (George Padmore Institute), former mas-band leader and carnival historian, organiser and cultural activist will lead a discussion about the roots of carnival and its massive contribution to our wider culture. After the screening there will be stalls in the delegate centre