Shades of Sussex

A Black History Month film event in the Depot studio

Black History Month has created the opportunity for black people to own and tell our own histories with pride, and to celebrate our parents and ancestors.

It has become a focal point in the year for those of African and African Caribbean heritage – and many others with ancestry beyond Europe – to highlight generational resistance to racism and colonialism, our achievements, and our contribution to every aspect of society in the UK.

We, or our forebears, left lands rich in every imaginable natural, human, and cultural resource for a thousand reasons, including love, education, military service, fleeing conflict or persecution, seeking economic improvement, and escaping climate catastrophe / natural disasters.

They responded in a hundred different ways to the call to serve 'the Motherland', and thus began a complex, sometimes conflicted, new chapter in our / their relationship to this country.

We have grown roots here and become integral to the weave of a continuously evolving society.

This short film, followed by a brief conversation, spotlights, and celebrates the lives of people of the global majority living in Sussex – our challenges and achievements and our reflections upon the journeys undertaken by us and our families.

Contributions from Aabha, John Agard, Dr. Yaa Asare, Razia Aziz, Rozelle Bowerman, Aaron Clarke, Anuja Contanporay, Mebrak Ghebreweldi, Maya Rezk ,Grace Nichols, Ruqia Osman, Amanda Silva, Erik Skeppstedt & Maria Tayao.