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Making Black History Month meaningful again
ROGER McKENZIE argues that Black History Month has been sanitised, losing its original purpose of empowering black people through knowledge of their history and struggles to actually go out and fight the battles of today
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a reception to celebrate Black History Month, at no 10 Downing Street, London. Picture date: Wednesday October 9, 2024

BLACK History Month (BHM) amounts to 31 days of ghost stories.

We spend the month listening to stories of black ghosts who we are taught to revere and treat as virtual gods and whose lives we should almost learn by heart.

Some of us are even taught to believe that this once-a-year extravaganza of ackee and saltfish, pakoras and samosas — sometimes even on the same plate — actually makes a difference to the levels of racism at work or in our communities.

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