Features / Black History Month
The Cause marks Black History Month with celebration
Community organisation The Cause, is holding family-friendly events that showcase local Black heroes and pays homage to Bristol’s sound system culture, as part of Black History Month.
The events include music, poetry, talks, drumming workshops, and arts and crafts. There are also some stalls being used by local businesses, selling everything from lip balm and moisturiser to jams and cards.
The events are being held every Saturday at Kuumba Community Centre. With only one more event left the founder, Jason Ward, invited Bristol24/7 along to speak with him about the importance of the events.
is needed now More than ever
“So, far the turn-outs been great,” he says. Lots of locals have been in attendance, including a few familiar faces.
A special exhibition of local talent for Black History Month
In one of the rooms, photographs of culturally and historically significant people and moments in time, line the walls, from Jeff Knight, to Cleo Lake, Shaq Fearon, Otis J Brown and Naomi Williams.
With clear skies, smell of the grill, beat of the drums and music pumping away in the background, you’re transported to scenes vaguely reminiscent of St Paul’s Carnival
“We wanted to localise and celebrate pillars of the community, not exclusively a celebration of Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr.
“Sound system culture is super important as well, because Kuumba was one of the first places to have sound systems, and it used to be one of the main places.”
While they’ve tried to be as self-sufficient as possible, with Jason running between setting up the speakers to flipping over the food on the jerk drum, the community have donated some dishes for people to share.
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Kuumba Community Centre was chosen not only for its historical significance but also to show their support for the longstanding community hub.
The venue was established to provide an essential link in heritage and cultural learning that children in the community may otherwise miss.
Nwanyi Aduke, board member at Kuumba Community Centre was also in attendance at the event, helping to facilitate talks and workshops.
She says the centre is grateful that organisations like The Cause are choosing to having their events there.
Having them here, she says, “shows the purpose of the building is still needed”.
As Nwanyi speaks, it’s clear the ongoing dispute between Kuumba Project Ltd (KPL) who run the building and Bristol City Council, looms omnipresent over their heads.
The conflict arose when Bristol City Council accused Kuumba of not holding a valid lease or having consent to be there.
The council have since made a failed attempt to repossess the building.
“Being here is wearing [us] down, because I do feel very tired. I don’t feel ready to give up. I just ask myself, as a qualified teacher and a nursery worker and a long standing community person, why is this happening?”
Reflectively she explains that sometimes she sits at home and cries “tears of my ancestors because I know this is wrong and I feel like there are only a few of us fighting”.
Adding, “the stigma, the trauma, the uncertainty it affects the community”.
As the centre passes its 50th anniversary, the history of the building is something she firmly believes needs to be understood by the next generation.
“We need to be here as elders, to be a part of that transition, between them and whoever takes over the building. They need to understand the foundations”, she says.
Nwanyi Aduke outside the Kuumba Community Centre
The Cause runs a variety of programs, including creative workshops, one-on-one mentoring, group support, cooking sessions, and youth engagement activities at various locations across the city.
They work with different age groups, engaging families and older community members.
Additionally, they host a weekly radio show on Ujima Radio, which brings communities together through music and conversation and spotlights local talent.
The final event of the series will take place Saturday October 26, from 12pm to 1am as they celebrate into the night. Entry is free.
Main photo: Hannah Massoudi
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