THE PANEL
Hannah Cusworth
is a freelance historian and former secondary school history teacher. She is currently undertaking PhD research with the University of Hull and English Heritage
Pamela Roberts
is a creative producer, historian and author. Her latest book is The Adventures of a Black Edwardian Intellectual: The Story of James Arthur Harley (Signal, 2022)
Hakim Adi
is an award-winning historian. His book African and Caribbean People in Britain: A History (Allen Lane, 2022) was shortlisted for the 2023 Wolfson History Prize
What's your take on the usefulness of Black History Month? Do you have any concerns that it might lead to the subject being overlooked the rest of the year?
Hannah Cusworth: A couple of years ago there was a debate among history teachers – myself included – about the merits of Black History Month. Had it outlived its purpose? Did it make your school less likely to integrate black history in the main curriculum? Shouldn't we just be teaching black history all year round?
For a while, I was of the opinion that we should get rid of a special month and teach it all year round. But then I had a discussion with some of my students one July, in which they asked me what we were doing for Black History Month. I said: “We do black history all the time!” But they wanted something beyond that regular teaching: something more celebratory to mark individuals who had achieved great things.
You can debate the rights and wrongs of that opinion, of course, but it did change
