HTA celebrates Black History Month
HTA’s Black African Caribbean Collective (BLACC@hta), organised our Black History Month 2022 programme of activities to educate, recognise & celebrate aspects of the past, present, and future of our diverse people and cultures.
BLACC@hta is a forum (with 20 employees) which provides a safe and supportive space for black colleagues at HTA to discuss issues around racism and equality within the workplace and wider society.
What we got up to :
- Black History Bus Tour around London - On a sunny Sunday, a group of HTA employees embarked upon our 3-hour Black History Bus Tour around London. They meet with S.I. Martin, a well-known historian and author of Black British History, and Tony Warner, who has just written the ground-breaking ‘Pearson GCSE (9-1) Edexcel History Migrants in Britain Student Book’. For the first time, this exam textbook introduces Black British Civil Rights at the GCSE level. The book is partly based on his Notting Hill Black History Walk.
- Tuesday Talk with Yemi Aladerun, Development Manager at Meriden Water - Yemi gave an inspiring talk to our internal team about how we can broaden access to the construction industry and enable communities to prosper. Learning lessons on how to be different, adaptive, agile, and collaborative to empower the communities we create space for.
- Forgotten Voices – HTA Manchester saw Forgotten Voices Play which remembers the remarkable life of Eva Moorhead Kadalie, the widow of South Africa's first national black trade union leader, Clements Kadalie
- African Lino Printing Makery-Make – We had a fabulous time collaborating with colleagues at Morris + Co Architects in Mare Street, Hackney. Led by one of our talented architectural assistants Bianca Baidoo. We were presented with the meanings of 4 Akinkra symbols of Ghanaian Culture: Sankofa (Return and get it), Boa Me Na Me (Help me and let me help you), Gye Nyame (Except for God) and Ananse Ntontan (a symbol of wisdom, creativity and the complexities of life). Equipped with a tile and a blade, everyone had a chance to carve their chosen symbol and print it in the colours of the Ghanaian flag. The workshop was an astounding success, and we came up with some creative designs represented on t-shirts and tote bags that we’re proud of!
- V&A African Fashion Exhibition – HTA visited the African Fashion Exhibition, which explores the vitality and global impact of a fashion scene as dynamic and varied as the continent. The exhibition is on until April 2023, so there is still time to check it out. The trip was followed by a wonderful dinner at Cottons Caribbean Restaurant in Notting Hill.
- Wear Red Day - Show Racism the Red Card: This is a National Day of Action which encourages schools, businesses, and individuals to wear red and donate £1 to help fund anti-racism education for young people and adults across the UK. Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racism education charity established in 1996. Working daily in schools throughout England, Scotland & Wales, delivering anti-racism workshops to more than 50,000 young people every year while also providing training to teachers. All HTA’s offices took part in Showing Racism the Red Card.
- Finale event: lunch and fundraiser for BLAM UK CIC - We are extremely proud to have been involved in such informative and wide-ranging events, and we look forward to implementing more throughout the year.
