Black History Month launches in Birmingham tonight

Birmingham's Black History Month programme will be launched this evening, marking the start of a month of events celebrating Black history, culture and achievement across the city.

The launch takes place on Monday 28 September at Jamaya on Colmore Row. Black History Month runs throughout October.

Thirty-five years in Birmingham

Black History Month was first marked in Birmingham in 1992, and this is the city's 35th programme. The month is produced by the Blackstory Partnership, which is organising it for the 11th year running.

Where to find events

Full details of events are on the Birmingham Black History Month website. Printed brochures are available at locations including the Library of Birmingham, Birmingham Hippodrome and the Birmingham Rep, as well as community venues across the city.

Events usually include talks, exhibitions, film screenings, heritage walks, music, theatre, family activities and workshops, many of them free.

Who supports it

Birmingham Black History Month is supported by the city council and organisations including Birmingham Hippodrome, the Birmingham Rep, B:Music, the Legacy Centre of Excellence and the National Trust.

A national celebration

Black History Month has been held in the UK every October since 1987. It grew out of Negro History Week, first held in the United States in February 1926 by the historian Carter G. Woodson, so this year marks a century since those beginnings.

Birmingham's stories

Birmingham's Black communities have shaped the city for generations, from Caribbean families who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s and helped staff its factories, buses and hospitals, to African communities who have made the city home more recently. Their stories are told in the city's museums, archives and the work of community historians.

The Legacy Centre of Excellence in Lozells, one of the programme's supporters, is a community and heritage venue in north Birmingham.