Black History Month is celebrated throughout October every year around the UK.
In Bury we celebrate the rich diversity of our borough and reaffirm our commitment to eliminating discrimination in any form.
The theme for Black History Month 2025 is 'Standing Firm in Power and Pride', a powerful tribute to the resilience, strength, and unwavering commitment to progress that defines the Black community across the globe.
This year, the theme highlights the profound contributions made by Black people be they leaders, activists, or pioneers who have shaped history, while also looking towards a future of continued empowerment, unity, and growth.
The 2021 census data for Bury showed that our black communities increased by around 1,800 residents during the past 10 years and now make up 1.9% of Bury’s population, nearly twice the level of a decade ago. This is broken down to be 1.3% Black African; 0.4% Black Caribbean; 0.2% Black Other.
Black History Month events
Bury Libraries and Art Museum
Bury libraries will be displaying information about Black History Month including suggested reading lists and through Borrowbox.
Bury Art Museum will be showing their two most recent acquisitions from the Contemporary Art Society, the works are:
- ‘Moses’ by artist Samson Kambalu - short film
- ‘Coin is a Coin’ by Ndayé Kouagou - short film, and ‘SEE Not that difficult’ an A3 wall mounted work
In the Moving Image Gallery they will be showing:
The Legend of the Looms, a short film by Ali Al-Jamri.
Ali’s a poet, teacher and producer whose work focuses on the Arabic-English translation and diasporic storytelling. Ali was Manchester’s City Poet from 2021 to 2024
The film captures the working-class spirit of Lancashire weavers and draws a powerful thread between weaving communities in the North West and Bahrain where Ali’s family is from. It’s a narrative debate poem between two ghostly weavers, one from each place, shot in Rawtenstall and Bahrain with members of his own family. They clash, then find solidarity. It’s folklore, fact and craft all woven together.
Bury MET Theatre
A show called ‘Mama Afrika’ on Wednesday 9 October at 7.30pm, tells the story of Miriam Makeba, an iconic South African performer and civil rights activist.
For more information and tickets please visit the Met’s website.
Black History Month events across Greater Manchester
Black History Month Greater Manchester
Visit the Black History Month website.