Black History Month 'outdated', says London theatre producer

Black History Month outdated, says theatre producer Image caption, Mya Onwugbonu says the history of black people should be taught all year By Helen Drew Politics London Published 32 minutes ago A south-east London theatre producer has said Black History Month has become "outdated", arguing black history should be taught and celebrated throughout the year. Mya Onwugbonu, 25, who grew up in New Cross, said the annual event risked treating black history as a subject that only needed attention for one month. She told Politics London : "Obviously it was begun as a way of celebrating us, but it's now become a token of a time where we bring these people up just for a month and then it disappears for the rest of the year." Onwugbonu, who has produced shows across the capital, said she had experienced a lack of respect in the arts industry, which she described as predominantly white in many of the spaces she has worked in. "Entering these spaces as a director, producer, writer, I'm often at the top of the food chain, as you'd call it, in the arts. But the respect that I get is never at the same levels as some of my counterparts," Onwugbonu said. She added that film sets were often predominantly white, both on and off screen, describing this as an issue the industry was still trying to address. Onwugbonu's mother is Jamaican and her father Nigerian, and her grandparents came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation. What is Black History Month and why does it matter? Published 3 October 2023 Windrush compensation funds prize for playwrights Published 2 October Black History Month began in the US in 1926 as Black History Week , launched by historian Carter G Woodson to promote the study of black history. It was first celebrated in the UK in 1987, organised by Ghanaian-born Akyaaba Addai-Sebo to challenge racism and celebrate black people's history. While Wales made history in 2022 by becoming the first UK nation to introduce compulsory education on black history and diverse backgrounds, Onwugbonu believes schools across the country still have a long way to go in how they frame the narrative. She said: "When we go into workshops and into schools with [anti-racism charity] Poetic Unity, we ask them, 'What do you know about black history?" And the first answer they say is 'slavery.'" Onwugbonu said that Africans were the first to populate the earth, adding: "And so, our history begins way before slavery and exists way after slavery." Politics London 10am 25 Oct 2026 Watch on iPlayer Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook , external , X , external and Instagram , external . Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk , external Related topics London Black History Month New Cross Black interest Representation