Sussex Salon debate: Do we need Black History Month?

Sussex Salon debate: Do we need Black History Month? Celebrated in the UK since 1987, Black History month (October) was founded to celebrate and highlight the Afro-Caribbean and Asian contribution to our history and culture. But 25 years on, how important is Black History Month when it comes to celebrating black achievement or highlighting prejudice and inequality - and should we separate black success from the mainstream anyway? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by a panel of speakers at the first event in a new series of Sussex Salons. The public debates, involving expert opinion and questions from the audience, focus on hot current affairs topics and draw on the expertise of University academics and leading commentators in the fields of law, politics and sociology. Do We Need Black History Month? takes place at the Brighton Dome Studio (formerly the Pavilion Theatre) on Tuesday 23 October 2012, between 8pm and 10pm. The panel of speakers includes Sussex alumna and one of the founders of the UK Black History Month, Linda Bellos. The full panel is: Clive Webb , Professor of Modern American History at the University of Sussex, whose research interests include American and British race and the black civil rights struggle. He is currently researching two books: one on mob violence against Mexicans in the United State and another on the influence of the American civil rights movement on British race relations; Rumy Hassan , a political economist and Senior Lecturer in SPRU - Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Sussex.