Erdington Academy Black History Month: Students, staff and hundreds of members of the local community packed into an Erdington school to enjoy an ambitious event – with music, food, art and poetry.
More than 300 people flooded into the Kingsbury Road academy on the 3rd October for an evening of cultural celebration, with performances, events and food spanning a diverse range of African and Caribbean cultures.
In fact, there was so much local enthusiasm for the event that the school had to turn away dozens of people, as they had already reached capacity!
Teacher of Food Kerrian Folkes, who helped organise the Erdington Academy Black History Month Expo, supported by a committee of staff members, said: “We had a huge turnout – it was amazing to see how enthusiastic people were.
“The community wanted to see what we were doing, and it was great showing them how we embrace culture and foster a sense of belonging here at Erdington Academy.”
Staff on the academy’s Black History Month Event Committee spent September arranging the night of festivities, alongside activities which involved every faculty in the school.
Among the events were poetry writing in the English department, art inspired by Black culture in the Design and Performance faculty, cultural modelling led by Modern Foreign Languages staff, Banghra in PE classes, themed productions in Drama, maths competitions and cultural food preparation in the Food faculty.
The students then displayed many of their creations and skills learned during lessons and extracurricular activities on the night of the Expo.
Stellar musical performances were delivered by the Year 7 choir, the Erdington Guitar Ensemble, the Year 8 R&B band, and Patrick Ugochukwa and Isabel Cooper, whose piano pieces moved the audience.
Students recited the poetry they had written, including Isabella Budiana; and KS3 and KS4 drama students hit the stage with thought-provoking acting performances.
Delicious food at Erdington Academy Black History Month Expo
Then, during the interval, attendees were treated to delicious African and Caribbean foods prepared by the students themselves. The mouth-watering menu included jerk chicken, curry goat, vegetable curry, salt fish fritters, jollof rice and dumplings.
It truly was an event which incorporated every aspect of school life.
Ms Folkes said: “Every single member of staff was involved in some way, from the Head to the support staff, hence the success we had.”
The celebration ended with brilliant final appearances by bands from across the West Midlands, which had staff, parents and students on their feet. Kioko took to the stage first, followed by fellow reggae band Big Ship Alliance. B’Spoke played many familiar soul and R&B classics, and Soul Town finished the night by playing until every last attendee had left.
Ms Folkes said: “The bands were brilliant. Everyone was out of their seat rocking to African, St Lucian and Jamaican music – the atmosphere was incredible.”
The Expo and the wider calendar of activities were aligned with the nationwide theme for Black History Month 2024: Black inventors.
Ms Folkes explained tha showcasing Black potential was central to the team’s vision.
She said: “Because we’re such a multicultural school, we wanted to show all the things our students could have aspiration towards. Sometimes you would hear students doubt what they could accomplish because of their background – we wanted to show them they could achieve anything.
“The students were surprised to hear that so many everyday things we take for granted were invented by Black people – traffic lights, electric doors, dryers and electric rollercoasters seemed to particularly shock them!”
The Event Committee, consisting of staff members Ms Folkes, Gabbi Benain, Alan Daniel, Emma Deeney, Amy Love, Ian Haughton, Marcua Wheatley, Mat Broughton, Danny Francis, Natalie Charley, Carissa Bulman and Kymeish Dixon-Bookal, were thrilled with the success of the Expo.
Ms Folkes said: “As a diverse school, we wanted to show the importance of appreciating other cultures, so we made the Expo a celebratory event.
“Sometimes Black History Month can focus on the negative a little too much, teaching about slavery and racism for example. While those aspects of Black history are obviously important to remember, we didn’t want them to be our sole focus. We wanted to engage with the community and embrace our beautiful range of cultures.
“The calibre of talent on display from our staff and students really reflect our academy’s pride.”
Principal Simon Mallett said: “A huge amount of work went into our Black History Expo, which really paid off on a memorable night when we welcomed the community into the school to share the richness of our diversity.
“I would like to thank everyone who work so hard to put it together and the wider school community for embracing an event which I think inspired out students.”