Black History Month

With October fast approaching, Black History Month is just around the corner, and we ask schools how they will be commemorating this years growing celebration. Many have week long festivities in place; however for those who are unsure, we offer an insight and some food for thought!

Black History Month began in 1926 in America when Carter G. Woodson, the editor of the Journal of Negro History, established African Caribbean celebrations to honour the role that Black people have played throughout history and their influence on society. It’s wide spread success soon meant that it travelled the Atlantic ocean to London where now over 60’000 music, cultural and political events take place each October.

Education Group is able to offer children a slice of African culture with our dance and drumming workshops.
Children will learn traditional African folk dance, which includes a variety of energetic bounces, clamps and jumps that circle and interweave, and are typically performed during African celebrations.
African drumming workshops also prove an animated and lively day with students each being given a percussive instrument, typically a Djembe drum and invited to learn traditional Diansa (drum rhythms) to perform in a group scenario. The Djembe drum is widely regarded as the most popular Western African drum and is a hand carved instrument that dates back to the 12th Century. The Djembe drum and diansa rhythms accompany the traditional folk dance at many joyous occasions such as weddings, baptisms, harvest time and full moon.
Many schools experience both workshops and half the school perform the Diansa, while the other half accompany the drummers with a dance performance.

We can accommodate up to six sessions in a day, for each type of workshop, depending on your requirements and number of students. Should you wish your facilitator for the day to arrive in costume, we are also able to provide that with sufficient notice.