100 100BMOL Education Through Film Events to June 1st 2008 (17 events, go down to view)
The 100 Black Men of London, founded by Ken Barnes in 2001, is a registered charity dedicated to education, mentoring, economic development, health and well being. For more details visit www.100bmol.org.uk .
Queries on the films/mailing list to etf@100bmol.org.uk
In order to educate the community about its history, much of which has been sidelined, the 100BMOL hire venues and present educational films/events which are relevant to the African experience. Such events take place at least once a month in the London area. All people are welcome especially children, community groups and refugees. The events are a valuable resource for Key Stages 2-4 (7-16 years) of the National or African curriculum.
Admission is normally free on a first come, first served basis.
Donations make our work possible .
How to Support your child through the Educational Process
Saturday 9 February 2pm-5.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1
Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served
A mini seminar repeated by popular demand about what you can do to combat racism in the school system and achieve academic excellence amongst the youth.
There will be presentations on personal and institutional racism and the resources available to combat it. You will also hear practical examples from a panel of experts on the school system. Plus The effect of WW1 on the Kenyan and Somali people and a display of the photos, videos and artefacts which document the presence of thousands of African/Caribbean troops in the 1914-1918 war
Malcolm X and British Civil Rights
Saturday 16 February 11am-3pm
Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach
Tube: Seven Sisters. Bus 149,259,243,476,230
Free entry: First come,first served
This event is brought to you in association with Kokayi Saturday School.
February 21st 2008 will be the 43rd anniversary of Malcom X's assassination. His parents were Garveyites and he later carried on their work. Many people have heard of him but many people don't know exactly what he did, or his background. We present an astonishingly rare Oscar- nominated ,1972 documentary with his actual speeches and interviews.It includes footage of Betty Shabbaz, Martin Luther King, Huey P.Newton, Muhammad Ali, Louis Farrakhan, King Faisal, Stokely Carmichael, Jesse Jackson, Elijah Muhammad, Angela Davis, Ossie Davis and more
Plus
African-British Civil Rights Heroes 1596-2006
The bias in schools gives the impression that racism and civil rights was an American issue and totally ignores the struggles Black British people endured. This presentation will give you the names and achievements of those black people born here who fought against British racism over the last 400 years. Please bring pen, pad and a donation.
Lumumba the Movie plus Q & A with Congolese Association
Sunday 17 February 2pm-5.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1
Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served (15 years and over)
European countries were still trading in Africans and chopping off their hands in the 20th century. Forced labour was used in the tin-rich Jos plateau of Nigeria and the diamond mines of the Congo during World War 2 to supply British/allied forces with vital raw materials . Democratic elections in which Africans endorsed Patrice Lumumba (an admirer of Malcolm X and Kwame Nkrumah ) were not accepted by US and European governments. Lumumba's attempts to eradicate slave labour and exploitation were blocked as they interfered with the wealth of foreign countries and corporations. He was assassinated with Belgian and US backing on the 17th January 1961. This incredible film has never been released in this country and was suppressed in the USA
Seven Songs for Malcolm X by John Akomfrah
Saturday 23 February 1pm-4pm
BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall)
Belvedere Road SE1
Tube: Waterloo.
Free entry: First come,first served
** Best Feature Length Documentary, 1994 Image D'Ailleurs (Paris)
** Best Historical Documentary & Audience Special Merit Awards Winner, 1993 National Black Programming Consortium
** Best Use of Archival Footage in a Documentary, 1993 Chicago Film Festival
This film collects testimonies, eyewitness accounts and dramatic re-enactments to tell the life, legacy, loves, and losses of Malcolm X. Filmed in New York to coincide with the release of Spike Lee's feature film Malcolm X, Akomfrah's documentary features songs, citations and interviews to tell the story of the fearless leader who was assassinated in February 1965. Spike Lee; Malcolm Jarvis, Malcolm X's prison friend; and Betty Shabazz, his widow all appear.
The Mau Mau and the History of Kenya
plus Q & A with Kenyans
Sunday 24 February 2pm-5.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1
Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served
Much of the geographic and ethnic divisions currently seen in Kenya were established and encouraged during British colonialism. In February the Kenyan people will sue the British government for human rights abuses commited by their forces. Soldiers who had fought loyally for Britain during World War 2 came back to find white Britsh immigrants living on their fertile land while harassing local women.When Kenyan people fought for their independence, as they were'nt allowed to vote, the British invaders used:
- Torture
- Detention camps for up to 70,000 people
- Castration and blinding
Fatal whipping
Rape by British soldiers - Rape with bottles of hot water
The British Army also used Northern Kenya for military exercises. As a result of leaving unexploded munitions behind, hundreds of Maasai and Samburu people have been killed or maimed by unexploded bombs left laying around over the past 50 years. The British fought the case. In 2002, a settlement was reached in which the UK government agreed to pay 7 million plus legal fees.
The Fela Kuti Story (Music is a Weapon 1982)
Saturday 15 March 1.30pm-4.30pm
BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall)
Belvedere Road SE1
Tube: Waterloo.
Admission £5.00 Box office 0207 928 3232
website: www.bfi.org.uk
Singer-composer, musician and politician. Kuti is one of Africa's most revered names.
He began as a highlife singer in 1954. In 1968 he created Afro-beat, and then went on a 10-month tour of America. He devoured Malcolm X's autobiography, fell in love with the Black Panthers and began writing conscious lyrics . On return to Nigeria he opened the Shrine nightclub. He accused the Beatles of stealing black peoples music and rejected his English last name. He influenced James Brown, Bootsy Collins and Gilberto Gil, His outspoken views on corruption and colonialism made him unpopular with the government but a hero to the people. In 1979 Kuti began his own political party - MOP (Movement of the People). However the military returned to power in 1983 and within the year Kuti was sentenced to five years imprisonment. The Army even raided his compound, threw his mother out of the window and raped his wives. When he died in 1997 millions turned out to honour him. This is his story. PLUS
Q and A with Ayorinde Solarin writer and childhood friend of Fela
The Sybil Phoenix Story (Loving Hands)
Plus The Getty Archimedes Story
Saturday 29 March 5-8pm
Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach
Tube: Seven Sisters. Bus 149,259,243,476,230 Admission £8.00
- First Black Woman to win MBE (1973)
- Medal of Service winner Guyana (1987)
- National Black Women Achievement award (1992)
- Fellow of Goldsmith College
- Woman of the Year winner (twice)
This event is brought to you in association with
www.imagesofblackwomen.com . From the 1960's Sybil was a foster parent to hundreds of unwanted children. She rasied £64,000, opened and ran Moonshot in New Cross, the first black youth club in Britain. When the National Front burned it down in 1977 she rebuilt it within 4 years. She was a leader in the New Cross Fire campaign and the post Brixton negotiations. In the 1980's she set up the Marsha Phoenix trust for homeless young women. She is now 82 and still active in Lewisham. This film by Lucia Tanmbini contains interviews with Sybil, family and friends. The rare footage shows how bad racism was in the 80's and how much we take for granted now
Getty Archimede, from Guadelope, was the first black woman to become a lawyer in France (1939). She became the first deputy parlimentarian in 1946. She fought tirelessly for women and the poor. This historical documentary by Mariette Monpierre will show the similarities and differences between black womens fight against racism in France and the UK
The Shirley Chisholm Story
Who was Carter G Woodson ?
Black Power and the Vietnam War
Sunday 30 March 1pm-5.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1
Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served
Please bring a donation
While the media focus on Barack Obama they forget to mention that the first black person to run for President was Shirley Chisholm in 1972. Chisholm was the Garveyite daughter of Guyanese and Barbadian immigrants. After becoming the first black Congresswoman,she ran for the highest office just 4 years after King was gunned down. Her story is incredible but has been suppressed.This is only the 4th time this film has been screened
The Vietnam war was going on at the same time as the Civil Rights movement. This presentation will look at how the US and French governments were able to get black people to fight in a war for "freedom" when they were seen as less than human in their own countries.
Black Women; Hair, Skin and Beauty
Saturday 5th April 1pm-5.00pm
Conference Room
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1
Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served
Please bring a donation
In association with the African Well Womens Clinic
and Inspired Black Women we present three films and workshops on the history and legacy of the beauty of black women. Films include:
Sisters on the Light/Dark Thing (beauty)
Black, Bold and Beautiful (hair)
Yellow Babes (skin)
We will also have reports on the experiences of Black British women in Senegal, Somalia and Norway and men will be asked as to what they find attractive in women.
Ghosts of Rwanda
Saturday 12th April 2pm-5.00pm
Conference Room
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1
Tube: Lambeth North.
Free entry: First come,first served
Please bring a donation
Ghosts of Rwanda (PBS Frontline documentary)
Whether you've seen or missed Hotel Rwanda this film is a must to get a comprehensive understanding of the Rwandan genocide and the links between
Somalia, Rwanda, Sudan and racism at the United Nations. The film also highlights African heroes such as the Senegalese peacekeeper Captain Mbaye Diagne who saved countless lives by repeatedly driving into enemy lines.
Question and Answer with the director, Greg Barker. for a full breakdown of this astonishing film visit
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/
Goodbye Uncle Tom (18 certificate)
Saturday 19 April 1pm-5.30pm
BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall)
Belvedere Road SE1
Tube: Waterloo.
Admission £5.00 Box office 0207 928 3232
website: www.bfi.org.uk
When films are powerful and challenge the status quo they are often banned or suppressed. It is not an accident that positive black films are put on TV at 11.20pm or that African cinema releases are never adequately promoted.
Most films on slavery skim over the realities of what Europeans did to force Africans to work for nothing all day long. This film does not. It is so unflinching in its portrayal of European barbarity during slavery that it has effectively been witheld from audiences for 35 years for fear of the reaction it would get .
Made in the aftermath of the US civil rights movement the film puts the 1970's fight for equality into context by using a documentary style to see exactly what life would have been like for enslaved Africans on the plantations of the USA and the legacies of such behaviour on present day society. The film was condemned as racist, ridiculous and unrealistic when it was released but much of the dialogue and events were based on historical letters and documents that are now readily available via the internet or in print.
This film has been screened in a British mainstream cinema only once before and sold out. It will be followed by discussion with historians, academics and community activists. This landmark event is brought to you in collaboration with:
100 Black Men
Pan Afrikan Society LSBU
Images of Black Women Film Festival
Ligali
Black Nine Films
Black Filmmakers Magazine
Saturday 26 April 2-5.15pm
Film: Abolition in Brazil plus Q and A
with Charlie Phillips
Museum in Docklands,
West India Quay (Docklands Light Railway)
Free entry: first come,first served
Please bring a donation
Brazil has the highest black population after Nigeria. Many people there still speak Yoruba or Angolan dialects and practice traditional African forms of worship. Although the British like to say they abolished the slave trade in 1807 they forget to mention they were supplying kidnapped Africans wholesale to the Portuguese who
did not abolish slavery until 1888.
This multi award winning film by Zozimo Bulbul shows where and how black people fought for their freedom using art, culture, dance, religion, carnival and armed resistance.
Charlie Phillps is a renowned photographer/film maker who has lived and worked in Brazil,Italy,Sweden and Germany. He will be sharing his experience of 50 years of fighting racism and his inside knowledge on the African-Brazilian experience.
What Black Men Think (film) plus
What the 100 Black Men Think Debate with Board of Directors of the 100
Saturday 3rd May 5-8pm
Event Theatre, Keyworth Centre
Keyworth St, SE1
Tube: Elephant and Castle
Adm: £10.00 (cash on door only)
www.wbmt.wordpress.com for trailers and reviews
In collaboration with Black Filmmaker Magazine the 100BMOL present the film which exploded across the USA Plus a discussion with the 100BMOL Directors on succesful, practical, community-led solutions.
"a searing examination of the role that myths, stereotypes and misperceptions have played in the decimation of modern era Black relationships, and how the symbiotic relationship between Government, the Media and Special Interests perpetuates misinformation to further marginalize the role of Black Men in society"
"The most requested film BFM has ever screened is shown for only the third time"
Essence Magazine "In this powerful documentary Director Janks Morton helps repair Black relationships by debunking the myths we believe about ourselves"
Best Black Documentary/Best black independent documentary/director.
African-American Film Critics Association
The Black Image
Sunday 4th May 3pm-5.15pm
National Portrait Gallery
St Martins Lane
Tube: Leicester Square
Free entry: First come,first served
Please bring a donation
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 intelligent. With the rise of Empire these images were thrown out and replaced with demeaning stereotypes which still inform public opinion via childrens books and Hollywood movies . This analysis of popular and world famous British art, museums and modern media by Moira Stuart, David Dabydeen and Richard Hart will surprise and disturb. Previously sold out please be on time to secure your seat
Saturday 10 May 12.30pm-5.15pm
Film: Naij, A History of Nigeria
plus Q & A with Jide Olanrewaju
Museum in Docklands,
West India Quay (Docklands Light Railway)
Free entry: first come,first served
Corruption, Mismanagement, Fraud,War are the stereotypical views of Nigeria and indeed Africa as a whole.This block-busting film explodes the mis-education and stereotypes and puts the country we now call Nigeria into context. This is the best film
on African history and politics you will see this year. If you've ever asked yourself "why is Africa the way it is?" the answers are here. Trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcRAWvKvaqM
Topics covered...
- How the British fixed the elections
- "Nigeria" does not exist
- How Europeans encouraged civil war
- The Role and Rise of the Army
- The City of London = Corruption Head Office
- Creating poverty as a means of control
Rue De Case Negres (Black Shack Alley)
Saturday 17 May 2.00pm-4.30pm
BFI Southbank (near Royal Festival Hall)
Belvedere Road SE1
Tube: Waterloo.
Admission £5.00 Box office 0207 928 3232
Award winning adaptation of Joseph Zobells initially banned novel.Set in Martinique in the 1930s, this award-winning adaptation of Joseph Zobel’s novel follows the struggles of a young boy as he fights for his future. With an introduction by Paul Goodwin, curator at Tate Modern. After the screening we will welcome Jenny Zobel, daughter of Joseph, to discuss her father's wider work and legacy. Sylviane Rano, co-founder of the Images of Black Women festival, www.imagesofblackwomen.com will also join us for the discussion. A perfect cinema trip for families
The Floella Benjamin Story (Coming to England)
Plus Blacks Britannica
Sunday 1st June 3pm-5.15pm
National Portrait Gallery
St Martins Lane
Tube: Leicester Square
Free entry: First come,first served
Please bring a donation
Coming to England’ is a sixty minute film adaptation of Floella Benjamin's fantastic 1994 book . It tells the story of a her journey as a ten year old from Trinidad to London in the 60's. Many West Indians at that time, encouraged by enticing adverts, left their homes and migrated to Britain. They came in the belief that England was a promised land. But instead of happiness they found a cold and hostile welcome . It depicts what England, particularly London was like in the early 60's and shows how Floella and her family overcome obstacles to succeed
Blacks Britannica was banned from TV in 1977 and has never been screened since. We present the rare and uncompromising film which features black people in the early seventies from London, Midlands and Bradford detailing their plans and activities to handle racism in housing, education and employment. Those who think the civil rights movement only happened in the USA need to watch this film with notepad and pen. John La Rose, Jessica Huntley, Darcus Howe, Colin Prescod, Gus John and many others feature.
Previous Events 2007
Above:The West African Frontier Force ready for action
African and Indian troops did most of the fighting against the Japanese in WW2 but their stories have been erased by British historians. On this day:
- Biyi Bandele author of Burma Boy will relate the stories he recorded from Veterans from East and West Africa.
- Somali and Jamaican war veterans interviewed by local youth
- Film on African and Asian troops in Burma
- Film on how and where African-American troops were lynched in England between 1939-45
Film: Slave Catchers, Slave Resisters
Museum in Docklands,
West India Quay (Docklands Light Railway)
Free entry: first come,first served
America is one of the richest countries in the world mostly because it benefited
from hundreds of years of forced labour. This film details how Africans resisted by open rebelions, running away, the underground railroad, poisoning slavemasters, burning buildings,learning to read, political lobbying and total defiance in the face of death.It also reveals the extraordinary lengths that white Americans went to to suppress African people by terrorism, torture, murder,brainwashing, rape and unjust laws which still have an effect to this day
"The colonialists have a habit of telling us that when they arrived they put us into history. You are well aware that it's the contrary.When they arrived that took us out of our own history. Liberation for us is to take back our destiny and our history". Amilcar Cabral
Previous 100BMOL events from 2006
Above: June 16 1976 thousands of secondary students from Soweto demonstrate against Apartheid education. They are shot dead in their hundreds but continue to fight back by throwing stones and bottles. The uprising results in a huge increase of black youth joining Mandela's ANC to train as fighters and overthrow the racist regime
Sat 16th December 2-5.30pm. 2006
1831: THE JAMAICANS STRIKE BACK!
plus !
Blacks Britannica
The trade in slaves was 'abolished' in 1807 but the British did not get around to abolishing slavery itself until 1834. Due to the European biased teaching of history the word abolitionist conjures up images of white men in wigs giving speeches in parliament. The true abolitionists were the millions of African people who fought back using any means necessary over the centuries of the Parliamentary endorsed genocide.
Over the next 12 months we will be telling their
stories starting with...
Black Veterans Speak out
100 Black Men Event at Imperial War Museum
Britain would not have been unable to win World War 2 without the sacrifice of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Teenagers from the Somali Youth Forum will interview Alan Wilmott (Jamaican) and Somaili veterans of World War 2 who were teenagers whenthey joined up.
We will also screen films about the Black Panther Tank Regiment, the all African-American fighter squadrons and black spitfire Pilots.
The event takes place at the Imperial War Museum,
Lambeth Road, London SE1. Tube Lambeth North.
Adm Free, First come First served. Full programme below.
For more info e-mail etf @100bmol.org.uk
(left) Gershon Brown (Guyana) served in World War 1 and fought in a crucial battle in Palestine against the Turkish Army who were allies of the Germans
(right) Eugent Clarke (Jamaica) also served in the British West Indies Regiment and was present at Taranto when the troops rebelled against being told to clean the toilets of white soldiers (more info see Mutiny at www.sweetpatootee.co.uk )
11.30am Film featuring Ulric Cross, Connie Marks, Billy Strachan, Learie Constantine
talking about the black war effort in WW2
12.00 London Calling. Film about Noor Inayat Khan, the muslim Princess and RAF secret agent who gave her life for Britain
12.30 break
1.30 Interviews start
Film on African-American units of WW2
4.30 close
There will also be a room where younger children can make an art collage about their feelings on World War 2.
People are also welcome to bring photos, letters or anything they may have about WW2 which can be used in an exhbition about our contributions
(left) Princess Noor Inayat Khan (George Cross winner) in RAF uniform (right) West Indians gather at the BBC to broadcast home.
The West Indian Ex Servicemens Association has a list of speakers and a small library their number is 0207 627 0702
For an excellent and comprehensive schools resource on What African, Caribbean and Asian people did during WW2 contact Marika@oare.fsnet.co.uk
.