Emma Clarke to get Nubian Jak historic blue plaque on Monday 2nd December at 11am Campsbourne School, Nightingale Lane, Hornsey, London N8 7AF. Free event, all welcome. Emma’s status as a professional footballer, in one of Britain’s earliest women’s football matches in 1895 attended by thousands of paying spectators, is hugely significant. That she travelled the country accompanied by widespread media coverage, demonstrates the profile she would have enjoyed in the 1890s. But while her male contemporaries are championed as global icons with statues, TV dramas and fame, Emma’s life slipped into obscurity. The pioneers of women’s sport remain almost invisible in the public landscape: Less than 1% of sporting statues in the UK are of named individual sportswomen (Source: The Sporting Statues Project) There are no sporting statues of women of colour or Paralympians Only two sportswomen are celebrated as part of English Heritage’s Blue Plaque scheme The Emma Clark plaque is sponsored by Black History Walks, a London based award-winning educational group. Sponsorship of the plaque is part of their campaign to increase awareness of Britain's culturally diverse history. To date, Black History Walks have sponsored 5 Nubian Jak plaques. One of the aims of this event is to share Emma’s story more widely with schools, football governing bodies, policy makers and academic institutions in the hope of creating a greater platform for her history. Please forward to interested parties.

Black History Walks Newsletter 27.11.19 Black history is longer than a month... Walks, Talks & Films on African history all year long 19 years of Education Through Film Check out our website HERE  Please share this info with your Whatsapp groups, Facebook and Twiitter

Sarrounia, African Warrior Queen who kicked the French out of Niger using guns and spiritual warfare

Sarrounia, real history in an epic African blockbuster movie by the incredible Med Hondo. A film co-produced and funded by the equally incredible Thomas Sankara. Saturday 7th December 2-5pm, BFI Southbank £6.50 tickets HERE

In 1899 French colonisers of the Voulet-Chanoine Mission tried to equal the British colonisers in Kenya, going above their baseline of raping and pillaging by putting in the extra effort to burn entire villages to the ground and kill all the inhabitants. They’d become so villainous that their own soldiers defected, writing home in disgust about their monstrous crimes. They seemed unstoppable.And then they met Sarraounia Mangou. Sarraounia (a title indicating a female chief, nowadays referring mostly to this Sarraounia) was the “panther queen ” of the Azna people. Credited with magical powers, she had protected her people before from local rivals. But the French invaders, were not the reasonable sort. Even though their travels did not need to bring them near Sarraounia’s village of Lougou (and despite Voulet’s advisors urging him to choose a different route) he decided to make a beeline for her. When the Voulet-Chanoine Mission’s “infernal column” fell upon her city, they met the strongest resistance they’d seen in their entire campaign, losing several men to the fighting… until the attacks suddenly ceased. Upon entering Lougou, Voulet stepped into a ghost town. Not only were all its inhabitants gone, but its granaries and animal pens were totally empty. The “sorceress queen” had disappeared into the wild. From then on, Sarraounia and her people would raid them on a nightly basis, appearing from the tall grass and disappearing just as quickly. As talk of Sarraounia’s magic began making its way through the camp, morale plummeted. The conscripts, often forced into service — began to have fitful nightmares and many deserted. The Azna people passed down the tale of Sarraounia orally, although there appeared to have been a major break in said transmission when most of their storytellers were killed in subsequent fighting with the French. Her legacy was revived in the 80s, starting with a novel by Abdoulaye Mamani based on her life, and followed by this high-profile movie. Her name graces children’s books, radio stations, gas stations, and even ballets. Watch the splendid all-African production on Saturday 7th December 2pm to 5pm followed by an extended Q&A session to sort fact from fiction. £6.50 tickets HERE

Above: Med Hondo of Mauritania was the French voice of Eddie Murphy and Morgan Freeman when any of their films were dubbed into French. The money he made from voice acting was put into funding his movies as the mainstream typically refused to fund or distribute them. He was a follower of both Malcolm X and Che Guevara.

Sarrounia, who is Med Hondo?

‘ I wanted to illustrate authentic historical facts to show that the African continent was not easily colonised and had a history of resistance to colonialism. There were a number of African women involved in the fight against colonialism. Queen Sarraounia in Niger, Jinga in Angola, Ranavalona in Madagascar, Beatrice of the Congo, to name a few. We never speak of the role of African women in history, but they headed kingdoms and had an important status in matriarchal societies. ’ Med Hondo, 1997 interview with Francoise Pfaff. Sarrounia: shot in glorious widescreen and featuring large-scale, exquisitely staged battle scenes, this adaptation of Abdoulaye Mamani’s novel is set in 1898 and details defiant Queen Sarraounia’s resistance to invading French colonial forces. The film was basically banned in France, figures such as Bertrand Tavernier, Constantin Costa-Gavras, Ousmane Sembène and Souleymane Cissé petitioned a protest. Watch the splendid all-African production on Saturday 7th December 2 to 5pm followed by an extended Q&A session to sort fact from fiction. £6.50 tickets HERE

Toni Morrison: Her Life Her Work 4 week Introductory Course Eventbrite - Way Wive Wordz presents Toni Morrison: Her Life Her Work 4 week Introductory Course - Tuesday, 28 January 2020 | Tuesday, 18 February 2020 at New Beacon Books Ltd, London, England. Find event and ticket information. Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

Black Freedom Fighters, the musical Thursday 5th December 8.40pm, BFI Southbank Tickets HERE

Med Hondo’s hugely ambitious magnum opus was, in 1979, the most expensive African film ever made (it cost $1.35 million). A work of scathing satire and mirthful anger, West Indies has remained largely out of circulation since its premiere in 1979. It’s a story of Western oppression told with the stylistic flourishes of big-budget Western cinema, a distinctly African take on the Hollywood musical, and a one-of-a-kind film primed for rediscovery. Hondo, by the way, is essentially one of African cinema's fathers. His directorial debut, Soleil O ,  was made in 1967, a year after Ousmane Sembene's first feature La Noire de. 'Soleil O' screened at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival where it received critical acclaim. He went on to direct some 10 feature films, and acted in 18 other The full title is West Indies: Les Negres Marrons De La Liberte (West Indies: The Black Freedom Fighters, specifically the Maroons). It was undoubtedly  a landmark in African cinema; and it's also a film that many probably haven't heard of, and thus haven't seen, but really need to! It doesn't exist commercially on any home video formats; not even VHS apparently. A project that took him upwards of 7 years to get made, it's an absolutely stunning piece of work - a $1.35 million (about $4 million today) colour musical epic film, made possible by an international cadre of investors - although much of it came from within the African continent. Although the story it tells takes place primarily in the West Indies, as the title states, and France. In a nutshell, it documents the experience of African people, starting from the slave trade, to colonialism, to post-colonialism, to neocolonialism, and satirizes French imperialism in both Africa and the West Indies.The fact that it was adapted from a stage play (Les Negriers - The Slavers -by Daniel Boukman) makes sense, because it's filmed entirely on a stage set; The film was released in 1979 in France, with Hondo a bit ambivalent about showing it to white French audiences who might not appreciate seeing themselves portrayed in an unflattering light. Initial reviews weren't stellar, not surprisingly, although it was reported at the time that black audiences loved and exalted not only the film, but also the Pan-Africanist spirit in which it was made - featuring a cast and crew from across the Diaspora. It's a technological and artistic achievement in African cinema history, and not even just continental Africa; the entire diaspora. It's a shame that Hondo is largely unknown beyond maybe academic and cineaste circles, and that the film isn't widely available.

Med Hondo: Africa from the Seine | BFI Southbank Every film lover should experience the wide palette and unique vision of Med Hondo's cinema. Introduction by season programmer David Somerset 'Seeing the image, tainted with racism, that the media offer of Africa, I couldn't help reacting, in my... Read more whatson.bfi.org.uk

Above: Superstar Jamelia put her money where her mouth is and produced a talk show featuring Black British talent discussing a host of relevant issues. The episode above features Black authors including the legendary Robin Walker, Dorothy Koomson and JJ Bola. Below is a review of Robin Walker's new book Black History Matters.

Events for 2020, don't wait until they sell out !

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The Black King. Power, Magnificence and the Epiphany... For lovers of art/religious/black history. Join this one-off annual guided tour to recognise the Epiphany. Discover what was once one of the greatest holy days days in the Catholic Calendar, the Epiphany, at the National Gallery Epiphany :... Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Tutankhamun's Hidden History Discover Tutankhamun as you never knew him before! Experience the real history around ancient African kings and queens in a dynamic storyboard exhibition, three interactive presentations, film clips and spectacular Egyptian inspired jewellery.... Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

Black History River Cruise (March 7th) Eventbrite - Black History Walks presents Black History River Cruise (March 7th) - Saturday, 7 March 2020 at Temple Pier, London, England. Find event and ticket information. Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

Black History Bus Tour (March 2020) Join us on our three-hour drive showing London's top tourist attractions from an African/Caribbean perspective. There is at least 2000 years of Black history to be uncovered! The private bus journey will start with a special reception at the... Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

Jim Kelly,Kung Fu and Black British Civil Rights Eventbrite - Black History Walks presents Jim Kelly,Kung Fu and Black British Civil Rights - Sunday, 29 March 2020 at Harris Westminster Sixth Form, London, England. Find event and ticket information. Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

How to move to the Caribbean and live Good! Eventbrite - Black History Walks presents How to move to the Caribbean and live Good! - Sunday, 15 March 2020 at Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum, London, England. Find event and ticket information. Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

The Black Image Part 2 of 2 A very revealing presentation and film which shows how the image of African people has been deliberately altered by Europeans to show negativity. In the 15th century African people were portrayed in European art as noble, sophisticated and... Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

Queen of Sheba + Andromeda: The African female image in... An illustrated presentation on the (replaced) Black female image in Western Art How the image of Queen of Sheba and other black women have been removed from canonical western art An illustrated review of how the representations of the Bible's... Read more www.eventbrite.co.uk

The Dirty War On The NHS + Dir Q&A Renowned filmmaker and journalist John Pilger takes on the National Health Service in his latest, heartfelt investigation. "This film is a tribute to a unique institution," says Pilger at the start of The Dirty War on the NHS. Above all, it is a... Read more dochouse.org

Amazing black history calendar for 2020. Fantastic images and each day of the year has a golden African history fact. Click above image to see video. www.raisingblackachievement.com

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