Britain On Film: Black Britain

Black British history is a important yet criminally underrated aspect of our nation’s past. Norfolk Black History Month and the Theatre Royal helped to right this wrong with their Britain On Film: Black Britain collaboration.

The event comprised a film screening and subsequent discussion. It received a healthy turnout; a mixed demographic crowd flocked to the theatre’s secondary stage to watch archival footage of Black British life. Featuring film from 1901 to 1985, the footage included news reports of Britain's first black police officer, Notting Hill Carnival in the 80’s, the horrendous New Cross house fire and more. The screening covered the oft diminished breadth of Black Britain, for example it covered footage from Cardiff, Liverpool, Lancashire, as well as London. We also saw a balance between joy and prejudice, celebration and trauma.

The following discussion weakened an otherwise strong event. It was slightly demeaning that on a panel debating Black Britain on film, three out of the five speakers were white. The demographic limited the scope of the conversation - after all, the black experience is unique to black people, there’s only so much of it that non-black people can communicate. However, the opportunity for the audience to ask questions somewhat improved this imbalance. Black audience members were able to speak to the their unique experience and overall the discussion felt more democratic.

Once again, kudos to Norfolk Black History Month and the Theatre Royal for puttin on such an important event. Despite the dubious panel selection, the event emphasised an extremely overlooked part of British History through a very poignant medium.