Films
Sunday 17 February 2pm-5.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served (15 years and over) www.iwm.org.uk
European countries were still trading in Africans and chopping off their hands in the 20th century. Forced labour was used in the tin-rich Jos plateau of Nigeria and the diamond mines of the Congo during World War 2 to supply British/allied forces with vital raw materials . Democratic elections in which Africans endorsed Patrice Lumumba (an admirer of Malcolm X and Kwame Nkrumah ) were not accepted by US and European governments. Lumumba's attempts to eradicate slave labour and exploitation were blocked as they interfered with the wealth of foreign countries and corporations. He was assassinated with Belgian and US backing on the 17th January 1961. This incredible film has never been released in this country and was suppressed in the USA.
Saturday 16 February 11am-3pm
Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach. Tube: Seven Sisters. Bus 149,259,243,476,230
Free entry: First come,first served www.berniegrantcentre.co.uk
This event is brought to you in association with Kokayi Saturday School.
February 21st 2008 will be the 43rd anniversary of Malcom X's assassination. His parents were Garveyites and he later carried on their work. Many people have heard of him but many people don't know exactly what he did, or his background. We present an astonishingly rare Oscar- nominated ,1972 documentary with his actual speeches and interviews.It includes footage of Betty Shabbaz, Martin Luther King, Huey P.Newton, Muhammad Ali, Louis Farrakhan, King Faisal, Stokely Carmichael, Jesse Jackson, Elijah Muhammad, Angela Davis, Ossie Davis and more
Plus
African-British Civil Rights Heroes 1596-2006
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. This presentation will give you the names and achievements of those black people born here who fought against British racism over the last 400 years. Please bring pen, pad and a donation.
Saturday 15 March 1.30pm-4.30pm
BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall) Belvedere Road SE1 Tube: Waterloo.
Admission £5.00 . Box office 0207 928 3232 www.BFi.org.uk
Singer-composer, musician and politician. Kuti is one of Africa's most revered names.
He began as a highlife singer in 1954. In 1968 he created Afro-beat, and then went on a 10-month tour of America. He devoured Malcolm X's autobiography, fell in love with the Black Panthers and began writing conscious lyrics . On return to Nigeria he opened the Shrine nightclub. He accused the Beatles of stealing black peoples music and rejected his English last name. He influenced James Brown, Bootsy Collins and Gilberto Gil, His outspoken views on corruption and colonialism made him unpopular with the government but a hero to the people. In 1979 Kuti began his own political party - MOP (Movement of the People). However the military returned to power in 1983 and within the year Kuti was sentenced to five years imprisonment. The Army even raided his compound, threw his mother out of the window and raped his wives. When he died in 1997 millions turned out to honour him. This is his story.
PLUS
Q and A with Ayorinde Solarin writer and childhood friend of Fela
Saturday 9 February 2pm-5.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1,Tube: Lambeth North. Free entry: First come, first served www.iwm.org.uk
A mini seminar repeated by popular demand about what you can do to combat racism in the school system and achieve academic excellence amongst the youth.
There will be presentations on personal and institutional racism and the resources available to combat it. You will also hear practical examples from a panel of experts on the school system. Plus The effect of WW1 on the Kenyan and Somali people and a display of the photos, videos and artefacts which document the presence of thousands of African/Caribbean troops in the 1914-1918 war