A Note for Teachers

• Facing History and Ourselves is an educational charity providing teaching resources to help young people develop as empathetic, critical thinkers, who understand the role they can play in shaping society for the better. We believe that civic agency is developed through intellectual rigour, emotional engagement and ethical reflection. Learn more about us on our website.

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• This PowerPoint presentation has been created to be used in a S1-S4 and KS3-KS4 assembly on Black History Month.

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• While you may need to modify this presentation to meet the needs of your students, please note that Facing History and Ourselves does not endorse your changes that alter the presentation's content or original layout.

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Black History Month

Assembly

Facing History UK Assemblies

#ChangeStartsWithMe

Black History Month

What is Black History Month and why does it matter?

Image by Oladimeji Odunsi on Unsplash

Black History Month 2025

• Black History Month takes place during the month of October. It is an opportunity to centre and celebrate the contribution of Black people to British society.
• The theme of Black History Month 2025 is ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’. It is about celebrating the Black individuals who have made history, leveraging their power for positive change, and about celebrating the rich culture, creativity and identity of the Black community.
• The theme is also a call to action, inviting individuals and communities to stand firm in their power with pride, and to shape a world where Black voices are heard, valued, and celebrated.

www.BlackHistoryMonth.org.uk

Word Association

What words, phrases or ideas come to mind when you hear the following phrase:

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Power and pride

Why do you think the theme standing firm in power and pride has been chosen?

Black History Month 2025

• Black History Month this year will also commemorate several figures and anniversaries:
• The life and work of Lord Herman Ouseley (1945-2024), who was the former Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality.
• The life and work of Paul Stephenson OBE (1937-2024), who helped organise the Bristol Bus Boycott to challenge racist hiring policies.
• Malcolm X, an African-American civil rights campaigner, who was assassinated 60 years ago.
• The 60th anniversary of the Race Relations Act 1965, which was the first British law that made racial discrimination illegal.

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Lord Herman Ouseley

Malcolm X by Marion Trikosko

Paul Stephenson

Race Relations Act 1965

Lord Herman Ouseley (1945–2024)

• Lord Herman Ouseley was born in British Guiana (now Guyana), and moved to the UK when he was eleven.
• He experienced racist abuse and violence while growing up in the UK.
• As an adult, he worked as a public servant and a campaigner for racial equality and community relations both on local, regional and national scales.
• He served as the Chair for the Commission of Racial Equality and created the organisation ‘Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football’ (now ‘Kick It Out’).

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Lord Herman Ouseley

Malcolm X’s Assassination: 60th Anniversary

• Malcolm X was an African American civil rights activist and one of the leading voices of the Black Power movement.
• He was born in 1925 in Nebraska, America. Growing up, his family suffered racist abuse at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, and his father was killed in a racist attack when Malcolm X was six.
• He was put in care, grew up with little money and few opportunities, and ended up in prison for burglary, where he became part of the Nation of Islam and began fighting for Black rights.
• He did not initially believe that nonviolence would lead to Black liberation. However, before he was assassinated in 1965, he was changing his view.

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Malcolm X by Marion Trikosko

Paul Stephenson OBE (1937–2024)

Paul Stephenson

• Paul Stephenson was born in Rochford, Essex, in 1937, to a west African father and mixed-heritage mother. His mother struggled to look after him and he spent most of his childhood in care.
• He experienced racist abuse and discrimination while growing up, and was often treated as a curiosity.
• As an adult, he joined the RAF and was posted in Germany. He then became a youth worker and moved to Bristol where he began to campaign for Black rights.
• He was one of the organisers of the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, which paved the way for the Race Relations Act 1965.
• In his old age, he lived in Bristol and campaigned to make the city address its links with slavery. He felt more needed to be done to secure racial justice.

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The Bristol Bus Boycott

As you watch the video, reflect on the following questions:

• Why was the Bristol Bus Boycott organised?
• What levers of power did the organisers use to initiate the boycott? What did they do? Why was it successful?
• Why do you think it led the way to the Race Relations Act 1965?

Play video on the BBC

The Race Relations Act: 60th Anniversary

• The Race Relations Act 1965 was the first law that made racial discrimination in public places illegal.
• After the Second World War, Britain appealed to many people of the Commonwealth to come to the country and help rebuild it. Despite this, many who had migrated faced prejudice and discrimination. The Act was created in response to protests, like the Bristol Bus Boycott, challenging this mistreatment. However, it did not include discrimination in employment or housing.
• Race Relations Acts were subsequently passed in 1968 and 1976, giving people the power to challenge racial discrimination in all parts of their life.

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Race Relations Act 1965

Discussion

• What have you learnt in this assembly?
• What did you finding surprising, interesting and/or troubling?
• Why is it important to learn about positive Black changemakers?
• What impact can it have on individuals? Society?

Exit Ticket

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Take a moment to think about the following:

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Today I have learnt _____________________ ____________________________________________.

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Black History Month is important because___________________________________.

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This week, I will research Black Britons who have contributed to _____________

____________and share my learnings with __________________________________________.�

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#ChangeStartsWithMe

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