Celebrate Black History Month with Amnesty UK’s Anti-Racism Network

Here, Still and Powerful: Black British History 

A printed tee from BLM’s 2025 Festival of Collective Liberation reads, ‘Black Lives Still Matter’. The print is in a trendy font with cartoon graphics across it. The t-shirt is optimistic and flowing but the message is frank - stories must still be told, action must still be taken, active anti-racism must still be practiced. 

This Black History Month’s theme,  standing firm in power and pride, like any commitment to a movement, must endure more than a mere month. Celebrating Black history and the Black community’s current achievements as well as honouring the challenges, past and present must be a practice.

The team at Amnesty’s Anti-Racism Network have chosen to honour the greats who have made history, and those who are still taking action, actively engaging in anti-racism, and telling their stories. Now more than ever, while Britain is increasingly afflicted by racist rhetoric, is a time to celebrate Black British changemakers in history, and those writing it today.

Listen

• Jamaican Dem Ah Crazy by George the Poet — After the passing of his grandmother, George reflects on the post-colonial struggles of her generation. 1970s Jamaica provides an early case study of the weaponised debt that went on to re-colonise much of the Global South.  Listen on Spotify
• Black Arsenal — Not just a football club; Arsenal has become a powerful symbol of Black British identity and multiculturalism. The podcast highlights the significance of players like Paul Davis, who, over his 15-year tenure at Arsenal, became a trailblazer for Black players in English football. His journey paved the way for others, including Ian Wright, David Rocastle, and more recently, Bukayo Saka.  Listen here

Read

• Black Power Beyond Borders: The Global Dimensions of the Black Power Movement Edited by Nico Slate — Traces how Black liberation movements transcend borders and connect global struggles.
•  Black Tudors: The Untold Story by Miranda Kaufmann — A recovery of the lives of Black people in Tudor England long before Windrush.
•  Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga — An account of Black presence in Britain across centuries.
• Natives by Akala — Blending memoir and political analysis, Akala reflects on race and class in modern Britain.
• Home Coming by Colin Grant — Interviews, archival recordings, and memoir from the voices of the Windrush generation.
•  Roots and Culture: Cultural Politics and the Making of Black Britain by Eddie Chambers — Examines how Black art became a political act and cultural force.
• The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon — Selvon’s work is one of the first to centre working-class Black communities in the aftermath of the British Nationality Act 1948.
• Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch — A reflection on being Black and British in a country still reckoning with empire.
• Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah — A children’s book that captures the hope and displacement of migration through lyrical storytelling.
• The Place for Me: Stories About the Windrush Generation by Dame Floella Benjamin — Warm, personal stories of the Windrush pioneers who helped build Britain.
• Growing Up Black in Britain by Stuart Lawrence — Stories of courage, hope, and success from young Black Britons today.

Engage & Visit

• Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey – Whitechapel Gallery (8 Oct 2025 – 11 Jan 2026)
   Explores race, beauty, and belonging through photography, text, and installation.
• The Missing Thread – Somerset House
  A landmark exhibition tracing the influence of Black British culture on fashion, art, and identity.
• Nigerian Modernism – Tate Modern (until May 2026)
   Celebrates Nigerian artists before and after independence, redefining modernism through African creativity. More info
• Legacies of Windrush in Cambridge – Museum of Cambridge (until Jan 2026)
   Honours the stories and contributions of the Windrush generation through art and archive. Learn more
• Iniva – A hub for radical and diasporic art challenging colonial narratives. Explore
• Autograph – Showcasing artists exploring race, representation, and social justice. Visit
• Artists to Watch – Check out Dazed Club’s Black History Month callout celebrating emerging Black photographers redefining visual culture.

Watch

• Hidden Figures — The untold story of the Black women mathematicians who launched NASA’s space race and redefined brilliance.
• Judas and the Black Messiah — Examines loyalty, betrayal, and the cost of resistance within the Black Panther movement.
• Mangrove (Small Axe) — Steve McQueen’s cinematic tribute to the Mangrove Nine, who stood firm against police racism and reshaped Britain’s justice conversation.
• Selma — A vivid portrayal of the Selma marches and the people who risked everything to move a nation toward justice.
• Black Power: A British Story of Resistance — A powerful record of the radical movements that made Black British identity political, visible, and proud.
• Subnormal: A British Scandal — Exposes how the education system failed generations of Black children  and the activists who refused to stay silent.
• Judi Love: Black, Female and Invisible — Funny, fierce, and unfiltered, this documentary explores what it means to exist boldly when the world looks away.
• Uprising — Revisits the 1981 Brixton riots and the feelings that remain through Britain today.
• Black Hollywood: They’ve Gotta Have Us — A love letter to the past and future of Black cinema.
• Boarders — A coming-of-age series about Black teens navigating elite schools, belonging, and taking up space on their own terms.

Follow & Learn

✨ Instagram accounts to check out:

• Black History  (@blackhistory)
• Black History Studies (@blackhistorystudies)
• BLMUK (@blmuk)
• Sistah Space (@sistahspace_)
• Black History Month UK(@bhm_uk)
• Poetic Unity (@poeticunity)
• Yousra Elbagir (@yousraelbagir)
• Art Not Evidence (@artnotevidence)
• Kids of Colour (@kidsofcolourhq)
• No More Exclusions (@no_more_exclusions_abolition)
• Black Minds Matter (@blackmindsmatter.uk)
• A Black History of Art (@ablackhistoryofart)

Black history is not a chapter to revisit each October, but a living legacy.