BBC Presenter, Swarzy Macaly, joined us for the Black History Month Assembly!
Over 384,000 primary school children joined together on the morning of Tuesday 15th October, to celebrate Black History Month during our big live assembly with BBC Radio 1 Xtra presenter, Swarzy Macaly!
Keep reading to learn what the assembly entailed! You can access the assembly recording here.
Joining together
KS1 and KS2 children from all over the UK (and beyond!), along with their teachers, tuned in online to learn more about Black History Month, and how sharing stories can help us build on inclusion and respect.
Our co-founder and director, Katie Harrison, hosted the assembly, and began with questions for the children about Black History Month. We discussed some key figures in Black history and considered how history is told and who gets to tell it.
Katie then introduced our very special guest!
Swarzy Macaly is a BBC Radio 1 Xtra presenter and is known for her storytelling and passion for equality. When she’s not hosting her radio show, she’s working on exhibitions and events to celebrate creatives from the Black British community (including Too Much Source), and advocating for social justice.
For the assembly, Swarzy delved into the theme, ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, and encouraged reflection on the importance of our own unique stories.
Swarzy dynamically shared her story with the audience. She spoke about her name – Françoise Adele Macaly – her family, culture, heritage and work projects. She shared her family roots in Guyana and Mauritius, and told the children about growing up in east London, and her family’s Christmas traditions. In doing so, she encouraged the children to discuss their own roots, cultures and traditions, and get sharing their stories!
The radio presenter compellingly encouraged the children to claim their own stories, stay true to themselves, and be curious to learn more about the people around them. Swarzy also reminded the children to uplift their peers, and described a time when her school friends defended the pronunciation of her name, Françoise.
The assembly came to a close with some final words of wisdom from Swarzy:
“It’s so so so important to let someone hold that microphone and tell their own story before someone else comes and tells it for them. So if you’ve got the opportunity to do that in school, if you’ve got the opportunity to do that even among your friends, you might think you know your friend, but have you asked them, ‘Who are you? What do you love? What’s your culture about?’. Maybe that’s a question for lunchtime today, because maybe you’ll find something else new that you didn’t know before.”
It was amazing to read schools’ interactions online, and learn more about everyone’s stories. Thank you to all who took part!
This morning, over 384,000 primary school children joined together for the Black History Month Assembly, with very special guest, @SwarzyMacaly!
— Picture News (@HelpPicture) October 15, 2024
Swarzy shared a compelling message with children to claim their own stories, stay true to themselves, and be curious to learn more… pic.twitter.com/Qj0nCx6Fu6
Missed the Black History Month live assembly?
You can access the assembly Zoom recording here!
Black History Month Resource for Primary Schools
We’ve made a resource pack, useful for assemblies, to celebrate this year’s Black History Month. We explore ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, and discuss Penguin’s Lit in Colour reading lists which share an array of voices. The resource asks children the big question, ‘How important is it to know about the author behind the book?’
You can access the pack free of charge, here.
Further support
For additional useful Black History Month ideas and resources, check out our blog post, Celebrating Black History Month and Reclaiming Narratives in School.