On Monday 17th October staff and young people from across our projects got together to celebrate Black History Month.
The evening started with delicious Caribbean food at the Leicester Afro Caribbean centre, before moving on to the wonderful Curve theatre to watch the stunning “Black is the Colour of my Voice”:
Inspired by the life of Nina Simone and featuring many of her most iconic songs performed live. Apphia Campbell’s acclaimed play follows a successful singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. She reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
Staff and young people found the performance, exhilarating, powerful, soulful, moving, and inspiring.
It made me think about how the struggles in the 60’s are still here today
I had never heard Nina Simone’s music but have now put her on my playlist, it was so powerful and moving
The whole evening was sick, the food, the music, it was so good
Since coming to the UK from Sudan, I have never been in a theatre, I want to come back
I thought it was going to be boring, how wrong was I, she was so good
As we develop our youth work, we are keen to explore how we can partner with arts organisations to offer the diverse groups of young people we work with opportunities to learn and develop.
Once again, tonight showed me, how good the arts are at engaging young people in issues, igniting their thirst for knowledge, and making learning and self-discovery an enjoyable experience, this is something I really want our work to build on
Neetu Squire Head of Community Development, Leicestershire Cares
For more Black History Month events https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/listings/region/east-midlands/leicester/
For more info on Black is the Color of my Voice http://bitcomv.com/
For more info on how we partner with young people and community groups https://www.leicestershirecares.co.uk/about-charity/our-approach/