Activate Learning celebrates Black History Month

In celebration of the month, we’ve put together a host of resources to help support your understanding of Black History Month and its importance.

These include:

• Films, TV shows, documentaries
• Books
• Audiobooks, music and podcasts
• BorrowBox resources
• Pride in Black Culture – modern and historical figures

Films, TV shows and documentaries we’d recommend for Black History Month

There is so much media available educating people on the history, celebrations and struggles of Black people.

These programmes can be very informative and give watchers a unique insight.

Here are some of our favourite films, TV shows, documentaries and podcasts to watch during Black History Month, as recommended by our students and staff:

Films for Black History Month

Hidden Figures

A story of three Black women mathematicians working at NASA during the space race.

Watch Hidden Figures on Disney Plus.

The Help

A story of a young, white author during the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

She writes a book from the point of view of African American maids who work for the white families she knows. Her work recalls the hardship and discrimination they face on a daily basis.

Watch The Help on Amazon Prime.

TV shows for BHM

Black and Proud

A collection of films and tv programmes celebrating Black lives and culture, spanning British history, comedy, entertainment, drama, documentaries and films.

Watch Black and Proud of Channel 4.

Noughts + Crosses

A dystopian drama set in London explores the taboo relationship between Seph and Callum, who fall in love despite a Black elite and white underclass divide.

Watch Noughts + Crosses on BBC iPlayer.

I May Destroy You

An intense drama explores important themes such as sexual assault, racism and homophobia as a young Black writer and influencer navigates life and trauma in central London.

Watch I May Destroy You on BBC iPlayer here.

Documentaries for BHM

Black and British – A Forgotten History

In this eye-opening documentary series, historian, David Olusoga, explores the relationship between Britain and people whose origins lie in Africa. From African Romans to slavery, to Black sailors who fought for Britain to the shaping of Black British identity in the 20th Century.

Watch Black and British – A Forgotten History on BBC iPlayer.

Black Classical Music: The Forgotten History

Join Lenny Henry and Suzy Klein in celebration of gifted Black classical composers.

Watch Black Classical Music: The Forgotten History on BBC iPlayer.

Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle

Follow the story of Eunice and what it’s like for her to live as a Black woman in post-war Britain.

Watch Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle on BBC iPlayer.

Lights Up: J’Ouvert

Notting Hill Carnival is here. Follow Jade and Nadine as they stand up to find their own place in the world.

Watch Lights Up: J’Ouvert on BBC iPlayer.

Imagine…Bernardine Evaristo: Never Give Up

Alan Yentob meets the Anglo-Nigerian author Bernadine Evaristo, writer of the Booker Prize-winning novel Girl, Women, Other and tells the inspiration behind her latest book, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up.

Watch Imagine…Bernardine Evaristo: Never Give Up on BBC iPlayer.

Books we’d recommend for Black History Month

There are so many fantastic reading resources to better educate yourself during Black History Month.

Here are some student and staff favourites. For those lucky enough to be studying at an Activate Learning college, you can order these books via our Learning Environments!

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs.

The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl’s struggle for justice.

12 Years a Slave – Soloman Northup

Born a free man in New York State in 1808, Solomon Northup was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841.

He spent the next twelve years as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation. During this time, he was frequently abused and often afraid for his life.

After regaining his freedom in 1853, Northup published this gripping account of his captivity.

Audiobooks, music and podcasts for Black History Month

Audiobooks for Black History Month

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

Listen to Bernardine Evaristo’s 2019 Booker Prize-winning novel that follows the lives of twelve extraordinary characters.

Listen to Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo.

Also available to access as an eBook via our Learning Environments.

People Like Us by Hashi Mohamed

Hashi Mohamed is a barrister who tells his story while looking at social mobility in the UK, exploring poverty, questions of race, class, education, language and integration.

Listen to People Like Us by Hashi Mohamed on BBC Sounds.

Podcasts for Black History Month

Songs To Live by on BBC Sounds is a celebration of Black culture through the music we love, presented by Vick Hope.

Spotify playlists for Black History Month

The National Museum of African American Music celebrates Black History Month with a playlist created by Shannon Sanders, a GRAMMY Award winning producer and songwriter. This playlist features 28 influential songs from Black artists.

• Listen to the National Museum of African American Music Black History Month Spotify playlist

The Wright Museum, founded in 1965, celebrates Black History Month with a collection of 101 songs from Black artists.

• Listen to The Wright Museum Black History Month Spotify playlist

Discover free BorrowBox resources for Black History Month

You can utilise your free BorroxBox account for a wealth of resources to help you understand why Black History Month is so important and what you can do to support and celebrate it.

Our Learning Environments team have put together a diverse and thought-provoking choice of over eBooks and Audiobooks, all of which are accessible via our BorrowBox App.

These include:

• Black British Lives Matter
• The Good Immigrant
• A Change is Gonna Come
• The Other Black Girl
• Will
• Serena Williams
• Stamped
• Run Rebel

BorrowBox is free for you to access 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can access all of the above Black History Month resources via Borrowbox.

Pride in Black Culture – modern and historical figures

As part of Black History Month, we’re showcasing some historical and modern figures in society, those who will inspire and lead the next generation.

Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford is a 22-year-old footballer that has formed a taskforce with some leading UK food brands to help tackle child food poverty – something he experienced as a child.
Learn more about Marcus Rashford and food poverty taskforce.

Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison, former engineer and physician, was the first Black woman to travel to space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour.

She now works to encourage women into STEM roles and says: “to change the image of who does science. That’s important not only for folks who want to go into science, but for the folks who fund science.”

Learn more about Mae Jemison.

Barack Obama
Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States. He is only the fifth African American to ever be elected to the US Senate and the first Black person ever elected as commander-in-chief.
Learn more about Barack Obama.

David Olusoga

David Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian, author, broadcaster and BAFTA award-winning presenter and filmmaker. A Professor of Public History at The University of Manchester, David regularly contributes to the Guardian, Observer, New Statesman and BBC History Magazine.

He has written many books, including Black and British, which is available to read from our Learning Environments.

He has also presented many television programmes, including:

• Black and British: A Forgotten History
• Barack Obama Talks to David Olusoga
• Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners
• The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files

Sir David Adjaye OBE

Sir David Adjaye is a successful Ghanaian-British architect. As a child, he saw inequalities faced by the physically disabled and came to realise that architecture should serve the people.

Learn more about Sir David Adjaye OBE.

MNEK

Not only an amazing artist, MNEK arranged Pride in Music camp to help emerging LGBT+ talent find a safe space to work in.

MNEK himself has experienced judgment from within the industry due to his sexual orientation.

Learn more about MNEK.

Lennie James

Lennie James is a British actor, screenwriter and playwright, who wrote and starred in ‘Save Me’. Despite his success, family life and busy schedule, Lennie also makes time to mentor Black inner-city kids.

Avery Francis

Avery is an influencer (@averyfrancis), who founded Build with Bloom, an organisation which champions growth in businesses through diversity and inclusivity.

Gloria Onitiri

Gloria currently stars in the West End show Cinderella as The Godmother, and is creator of Letter to a Black Girl podcast, which was based on her own childhood poems growing up in the UK. It features discussions from some of the best of Britain’s Black women.

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges is an American Civil Rights activist and was the first African American child to desegregate an all-white school in the USA in 1960, when she was just six years of age.

Learn more about Ruby Bridges.

Malcom X
Malcom X was an African American Muslim minister and civil rights activist who fought for racial justice until his murder in 1965.

Learn more about Malcom X.

Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American religious minister and civil rights activist Martin Luther King won the Nobel Prize for combating racial equality through non-violent resistance.

Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr.

To get involved with Black History Month at Activate Learning, please join us on social media using the #BHMatAL hashtag.