Celebration of black history this month at Stratford Picturehouse

Black History Month October 2012 Friends (L to R) came to the event Janet Williams, Millie Ferguson, Abby Edwards and Bisi Ilemia. They are members of the Happy Living Club.

by Melissa York, Reporter Friday, October 26, 2012
10:00 AM

Speakers and performers are helping a Stratford cinema celebrate black history this month alongside a series of films.

Black History Month October 2012 Russeni Fisher performs his own poety at the Black History event.

The last event was held last night at the Stratford Picturehouse in Salway Road in honour of Black History Month.

Health stalls offered free diabetes and BMI checks, blood pressure monitoring and advice on how to stop smoking are situated in the foyer while a marketplace hustled and bustled with a number of handmade items for sale alongside a range of tasty Caribbean street food.

A history exhibition around the cinema also gave visitors food for thought charting African roots, to hard-won civil rights victories.

Several performers provided music and poetry for the nights while guest speakers spoke about their personal experiences.

Black History Month October 2012 Cynthia Appiah works for Nusha which has a stall at the Black History event.

Entertainment included Omar Bynon, a 15-year-old member of the Stratford Royals Poetry Platform who has performed at the Theatre Royal, the Poetry Cafe Greenbelt Festival and as part of a slam group on the Southbank.

Singer-songwriter and rapper Koryn, 18, who has built up a folllowing on YouTube and has showcased at Carnival in central London and the One Mike, One Life event also starred.

Inspirational speakers included Lorraine Beckford, a trained hair stylist and clothing designer who has advocated for care and styling of natural black hair in the Caribbean, the USA and now the UK before she launches her new line in hair accessories next year.

Dave Neita, regarded as the People’s Lawyer and the People’s Poet, spoke about his experience and passion for representing marginalised communities and social issues through the law, prose and poetry.

The Picturehouse are also showed an American documentary called Hidden Colours which documents the experience of people of colour around the globe while trying to explain the reasons why their contributions may have been left out of the pages of history.

For more information, contact NUSHO on 020 3130 0789 or visit www.nusho.org.