culture watch
Towards a post-racial UK
James Paul
George Bernard Shaw wrote: ‘You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.’
These past weeks I have been pondering the way the films honoured at the recent Academy Awards reflect the soul of contemporary society. Nomadland (Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director) explores the fallout of the 2008 economic crisis for a generation of ‘houseless’ Americans who are too old to find re-employment but too poor to retire. The Father (Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay) looks at the growing epidemic of dementia from within the mind of a sufferer. And Shaka King’s historical drama, Judas and the Black Messiah (Best Supporting Actor), although set during the late 1960s, brings us to reflect on the continuing fight against racial injustice as highlighted by the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the murder of George Floyd a year ago.
3 reasons to celebrate Black History Month this October
Black History Month originally sprang out of African American joint celebrations of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’s February birthdays. 'Negro History Week' began in February 1926 to recognise African American contributions to society and raise awareness to the prejudices they had and continued to face.
This week for designated learning emphasis was well established by 1976, when the United States celebrated its bicentennial, and the week expanded to a month. To mark the inaugural Black History Month, President Gerald R. Ford said, 'We can seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history. I urge my fellow citizens to join me in tribute to Black History Month and the message of courage and perseverance it brings to all of us.'