Black History Month celebrated in Tyrone

A NEW programme aimed at educating local young children about different cultures has been launched during the first-ever event held in the Omagh area to mark ‘Black History Month’.

At the Ulster American Folk Park last Wednesday, a number of speakers and musical performers celebrated the start of Black History Month. There was also a spread of different African-inspired foods for guests to try.

The event was organised by the Empowering Refugees and Newcomers Organisation (ERANO), a group based in Omagh, that welcomes new arrivals and refugees who live in the Fermanagh and Omagh area.

The celebrations marked the start of the month-long programme in schools across the Fermanagh and Omagh district.

Guest speaker, Takura Donald Markoni, policy officer for the African Caribbean Organisation NI, told the Tyrone Herald about how important he felt it was for people from rural backgrounds to learn more about black history.

ESSENTIAL

He said, “It’s essential for rural people to learn about black history and culture. I think it is important for people who perhaps have never communicated with a black person to ask questions and learn a lot more about people from different cultures.

“Some people have burning questions, and have maybe never asked anybody from that culture those questions. Black History Month isn’t just about learning about history, it is also a time when people can get together from different places and backgrounds and communicate.

“Sometimes, people say to me, ‘Why is this stuff so important? It happened hundreds of years ago’.

“They say that slavery in Britain was abolished so long ago, so wondr why it is important to learn about it. I tell them to think about culture here. The Battle of the Boyne also happened hundreds of years ago.”

The event was also attended by Deputy Lord Lieutenant to Tyrone, Graham Dodds. He said that it was important for a representative of the British Royal Family to go to events that brought a sense of ‘togetherness’.

He also talked about his own personal interest in black history,

“For me as Deputy Lord Lieutenant, it is an honour to go to events like this,” he said. “It’s very important in terms of bringing the different strands of our community together.

“It’s also an event I find personally interesting, as I have studied African history.

“So, I know how incredible black history is, and how far it stretches back.”