Hackney Black History Season 2025 celebrates African and Caribbean stories, carnival culture, and community heritage

Hackney Council has unveiled the programme for this year’s Black History Season, which runs throughout October and November.

This year’s line-up combines Council-hosted events, community-funded projects, and activities from Hackney’s cultural venues and partners to create a packed borough-wide programme of talks, workshops, exhibitions and film screenings.

The season will shine a light on Hackney’s diverse African and Caribbean communities, carnival heritage and historic anniversaries, while touching on the national theme of UK Black History Month 2025 “Standing Firm in Power and Pride”. Residents can also see the borough’s official Black History Season flag, as designed by Malaika Parillon Langlais in 2018, fly over the Town Hall from 2 October.

Highlights include:

• The official launch of the season with the annual CLR James lecture hosted by Juliet Coley as part of the CLR James festival.
  
  
• Show and tell with artist Jazz Grant at the V&A East Storehouse as she reveals her Windrush Amplified Art Grant artwork.
  
  
• A programme of events and half term activities across Hackney Libraries including book talks, craft sessions and reading lists.
  
  
• A new display and event at Hackney Museum celebrating the campaign by Hackney youth group Rise 365 to achieve better representation of Afro hairstyles in digital spaces.
  
  
• A June Givanni study day at Hackney Archives and film screening at Rio Cinema revisiting the 1984-1985 GLC Anti-Racist Film Programme.
  
  
• A new Black History Schools Programme devised by Hackney Museum and Hackney Music Service revisiting the story of BRAFA (British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal), as Hackney’s answer to Live Aid celebrates its 40th anniversary.
  
  
• A series of events by Hackney’s carnival groups showcasing the energy and creativity of Carnival through classes, talks, and film.
  
  
• Plus a series of events organised by the community funded by Hackney’s Black History grant scheme, including talks, walks, exhibitions, workshops and film screenings. Visit Love Hackney for a full list of our funded groups.

"We celebrate the heritage and culture of our black communities all year round, but this autumn Hackney Black History Season is a chance to amplify stories that haven’t been told before, through a fantastic programme of free events for all the family. This year’s season places a special focus on the strength, creativity, and resilience of our African and Caribbean communities. It’s important we continue to recognise their invaluable contributions to the borough and beyond."
Cllr Chris Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Culture

“Black History Season is about more than just marking a moment in the calendar – it’s about making space for voices, creativity and histories that have shaped Hackney for generations. From carnival to literature, from African heritage to Caribbean culture, this year’s programme reflects the pride and power of our communities and the stories that deserve to be celebrated all year round.”
Cllr Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Equalities

See the full Black History Season programme on Love Hackney.