ON October 24 2025 we gathered in The Great Hall of Ulster University’s Magee campus for our fifth annual Black History Summit.

As in previous years, it was a fabulous day of discussion followed by a musical fusion where Kenya met Ireland in the form of Maasai singer Nelson Ngotiek and Irish star Ritchie Remo.

Our guest speakers on the day included Zita Holbourne who travelled from England to be with us. As well as being a writer, multi-award-winning artist, educator, community activist and trade union leader, Zita has done momentous work in exposing the Windrush Scandal.

Joining her on the podium was Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association. Ms Williams curates education programmes, arts events and walking tours to promote awareness of Black Scottish history and links between Scotland and the Caribbean.

Rajvi Glasbrook, senior implementation manager for the Welsh Government Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, also addressed the Summit. Rajvi worked on the ‘Cynefin’ report which made the teaching of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories mandatory in the Curriculum for Wales.

The event was moderated by Lilian Seenoi Barr, Chief Executive of the North West Migrants Forum, while the panellists included Dr Naomi Green, one of the researchers on our Black Heritage NI: Hidden History Project, Ulster University researcher Seun Awonuga and Daniel Sanusi, organiser of Ulster University Students’ Union’s first-ever Black History Month.

Closing remarks were by author and activist Chantelle Lunt, also a researcher on our Hidden History Project.

We want to put on record our thanks to everyone who contributed to make the event a success and to National Lottery’s Heritage Fund, British Council, Ulster University and Housing Executive for their support.

Black History Summit 2024 was a special event for numerous reasons.
It was the first time that we took the event out of Derry, moving it instead to Ulster University Belfast. This opened it up to individuals and organisations who otherwise may not have made the journey to the north west and as a result, brought us the largest crowd our Summit has ever attracted.

It was also notable for the fact that our key speaker was Kenneth B Morris, great-great-great grandson of social reformer, author and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Mr Morris made the trip from New York purely for our Summit, a commitment we were deeply humbled by.

And it was an opportunity for us to officially launch our ‘Black Heritage in NI: The Hidden History Project’, made possible by The National Lottery’s Heritage Fund.

A truly momentous day and one that saw our Black History Summit move to a new level in terms of exposure.

Our annual Black History Summit for 2023 took place in Ulster University’s Magee campus, Derry, on October 21 2023.

Around 100 people gathered in the Great Hall to hear why the diverse experiences of black and minority ethnic communities and individuals should be taught as part of the school curriculum.

Among the speakers was Dr Ebun Joseph along with Dr Hyab Yohannes and Professor Charlotte Williams who travelled from Wales for the Summit.

Those in attendance were told that it was really important the lessons from the event did not stay in the room.

“Share them with your families, friends, share them on your social media,” said our Chief Executive Lilian Seenoi Barr.

“The more we share, the greater the chance we have of building a more inclusive society.”