Bolton: 'Friendship and unity' as Black History Month launches in Great Lever

The celebration of African and African-Caribbean history will be taking place over October with a series of events across Bolton.

Saturday’s event at Bolton Cricket Club in Great Lever was marked by music, talks and food all centred around the Black experience in Britain and marked another step in the Bolton Black History Group’s growth.

Group organiser Marlene Stringfellow with Cllr Thomas and community champion Mandy Jelenje (Image: Newsquest)

Marlene Stringfellow said: “Our group started as a result of George Floyd last year and there was a bit of an uprising at the time and there needed to be greater understanding between the races.

“We come with friendship and unity and try to get together in a fun way as well.”

She added: “From five, we now have 119 members, many of them online.

“They’re scattered, some are abroad, some are in London but they’re all still wanting to keep a connection with Bolton and what we’re doing.”

The Bolton Black History Group (Image: Newsquest)

Traditional African music was played live by Manchester based guitarist and singer Samuel 'Papa Sam' Maitland, who was followed by a playlist comprised of all kinds of Black music from reggae and hip-hop to dance and disco.

Samuel 'Papa Sam' Maitland (Image: Newsquest)

The launch also featured exhibitions centred around inspirational figures in Black history around the world.

Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko and African American abolitionist Harriet Tubman were both celebrated as were Bristol bus boycott leader Roy Hackett and Britain’s first black woman MP Diane Abbott.

Cllr Thomas with Papa Sam (Image: Newsquest)

A huge contribution to this and other events in the Black history calendar was made by community champion Mandy Jelenje, who also spent the day organising children’s activities and African story telling sessions.

She said: “Sometimes there is not enough history that is being told about the Black community, or in some cases it has been swept underground and people may not know that throughout history there have been Black inventors, engineers, explorers.

The crowd also heard a series of speeches (Image: Newsquest)

“So Black history really helps to tell that story and helps to show young people what they can become.”

Former mayor of Bolton Cllr Linda Thomas was present to experience the culture on display for herself.

She said: “It’s always wonderful to come here, everybody’s always so welcoming, so friendly, there’s always excellent food.

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“And it’s just lovely to hear about some of the iconic figures that they’re talking about, making sure they haven’t been forgotten.

She added: “It’s just so important for community cohesion that societies like this exist and that they go on bringing people together.”