Archbishop John Sentamu

John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, recalls how the words of Bob Marley, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes and Marcus Garvey are still relevant to us all today

IT was the great Bob Marley who wrote in his song Buffalo Soldiers: “If you know your history then you would know where you coming from”. While this lyric will be familiar to many, less familiar will be the story behind the song, the story of those black men who, having fought in the American Civil War, became the 24th and 25th United States Infantry almost 150 years ago in 1869.

But when we speak of history we are not simply dealing with the past, we are also dealing with its impact upon our present and future.

The great black American writer James Baldwin put it another way when he wrote: “history is not merely something to be read…the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations.”

Black History Month recognises the need to learn from the past, but this is done keeping an eye on the future whilst being rooted in our every day life. This means viewing Black History from a British perspective, with events that celebrate the particular experience of Black people in this country.

This year we have more than ever to celebrate. As British History Month becomes an increasing part of our shared cultural life, the events of each year bring us new ways in which to recognise those particular cultural, economic, religious and political contributions that Black people have brought to life in modern Britain.

As we learn more about our heritage, history and culture, the realisation of how much we have to celebrate is tied up in those events and struggles which Black people have overcome. Only then do we begin to realise how very strong Baldwin’s force of history has become, and how we have discovered our own voices. It was Marcus Garvey who wrote: “we must liberate our minds from mental slavery.” Bob Marley popularised this in his “Redemption Song”. Black History Month calls us to popularise Garvey’s words and to take them seriously.

As Langston Hughes wrote: “But someday, someone’s going to stand up for me, and sing about me and write about me - black and beautiful. It’ll be me I reckon, yeah, it’ll be me”.