It’s Black History Month, and I wonder what it means to you. Who do you think about? What comes to mind?
When I think of Black history I think of British history. Not the part where the British conquered and colonised parts of the world, eventually building the largest empire in history. I think of more recent history, and the lives of many people whose stories have impacted me.
I think of Jason Arday – a prominent British sociologist who made history in 2023 as the youngest Black professor ever appointed at the University of Cambridge. Jason resigned from his post on August 5, 2026, citing an overwhelming toll from public scrutiny. On August 14, he was found dead at his home in London at the age of 41.
I think of Stephen Lawrence, the 18-year-old Black British student murdered in a racially motivated attack in London in 1993. I think of Damilola Taylor, the ten-year-old boy tragically killed in Peckham in 2000.
May we never forget what happened to those individuals. We must remember them because remembering matters. And in our remembrance may we be reminded that Black history is so much more than tragic events.
Personally, I don’t want our lives to be portrayed simply as tragic. Black history is not defined only by prejudice or the barriers that Black people experience. We are more than our struggles.
“Black history is also a history of achievement, courage, and faith.”
Black history is also a history of achievement, courage, and faith. We’re not simply a part of history. We helped shape it.
Daley Thompson, won Olympic gold in the decathlon in 1980 and 1984. Breaking the world record four times and remaining unbeaten in competition for nine years.
Dame Shirley Bassey, who rose from a working-class background to become one of Britain’s greatest international entertainers. Selling a 140 million records becoming the first woman in history to secure a Top 40 album in seven consecutive decades in the UK.
Stormzy, who took the grime scene from the underground onto the global stage and has invested in the next generation through his Stormzy Scholarship.
“We are not simply victims of British history. We are participants in it. We are contributors to it. We are creators of it.”
These stories matter because they remind us that Black people are not simply victims of British history. We are participants in it. We are contributors to it. We are creators of it. And for me, Black history isn’t only about famous people. It is personal.
My father came to England from Jamaica as a young man to help rebuild post-war Britain. He came to work. He came to contribute. He came to build a life. Times were hard. We didn’t have a lot, but we had enough. My father taught my mother how to cook Jamaican food — ackee and saltfish, rice and peas, fried dumplings and beef patties. And looking back, I realise something beautiful was happening in our home.
Jamaican and British. Caribbean and English. Different cultures and traditions coming together and becoming part of who we were. Perhaps that is one of the beautiful things about Britain. We are continually shaped by different people, cultures, traditions and stories. And when those stories come together, something new can be created. Something beautiful. Something Godly.
The Bible says in Revelation 7: “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.”
God doesn’t create a monochrome world. Just Look at creation. Look at the flowers, the trees, the birds, humanity. Different colours. Different cultures. Different languages. Different experiences but one Creator.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
Each one of you. That means every person brings something into the body of Christ that the rest of us need. And that’s partly why Black History Month is important. It gives us an opportunity to hear stories that may have been overlooked or forgotten. Stories of people who came to Britain with very little and built something for their children.
Stories of people who, as the old saying goes, planted seeds whose fruit they would never live long enough to see – just like my father. When he came to this country as a young Jamaican man, he could never have known what his journey would eventually produce. He couldn’t have known that one day his son would be ordained in the Church of England, and standing a church speaking about Black history. He planted a seed. And perhaps that’s how God works.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
We plant. We water. God gives the growth.
“Black history isn’t simply tragedy. It is triumph.”
So, this Black History Month, let us never forget the painful parts of black history, but let us also remember to celebrate the achievements, the contributions and the seeds that have been planted. Because Black history isn’t simply tragedy, It is triumph.
So may we have the courage to plant seeds today that will be watered and fruitful for generations tomorrow.
In Jesus’s name Amen.