BEDFORD MUSEUM
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THE
FRONT ROOM
Black
History Month in Britain began as a way of developing black teenagers’ cultural
identity. Although they have been born and brought up British the traditions
and heritage of their parents’ country of origin also shapes their identity.
The month of October was chosen to celebrate Black History Month and over the
past ten years it has become a festival of education and entertainment across
the country. It not only looks at the past but also present experience and future
aspirations.
Black
history is as vast and diverse as white history – many histories are shared
regardless of colour. Parish Registers for Bedfordshire reveal that Bedford’s
African Caribbean population was evident from the seventeenth century onwards.
For the purposes of Black History Month 2001 we have chosen to focus on one
particular story. With the help of members from the Bedford Caribbean Senior
Citizens Club, some of the first people to arrive from the Caribbean islands
in the 1950s and 1960s and still living in Bedford, we have recreated a front
room. In many ways it is typical of the era providing an intimate portrayal
of how we used to live. However, each item in this particular room set tells
a unique and personal story related to people’s aspirations in a new country
or their desire to preserve traditions from back home. Bedfordshire Youth Service
has also assisted with the making of the exhibition by setting up interviews
between the first arrivals and younger people so that the thoughts and feelings
of the West Indian population in Bedford in the 1950s can be revealed in their
own words throughout the display.
The
exhibition will also include a hands-on activity to learn about Caribbean health
remedies, food and beauty treatments, an interactive digital archive of photographs
and memories charting the history of Bedford’s black residents from the 1950s
to the present day and a video, The Unknown
Journey, made by Bedford Community
Arts which again records the memories of life back home and upon arriving in
the UK.
To
launch the exhibition a celebration of African Caribbean culture and heritage
will be held at Bedford Museum on Saturday September 29th. Members
of the Bedford Caribbean Senior Citizens Club, who have helped to create the
Front Room, will be present to talk to the public about the display. Caribbean
food can be sampled whilst entertainment is provided by a story-teller and a
Gospel Choir. These events will take place between 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm.
Images
available on request