One does not expect to be met with a mini-carnival of a drummer and 2 steel pannists playing calypso music behind 2 costumed dancers handing out sweets when they arrive at Charing Cross station in Central London.

However, this was precisely the scene on the midday of 16th October 2021. Cheerful music, energetic dancers, and a welcoming, positive atmosphere for all who entered the station. I arrived there from the Bakerloo line and as fellow passengers and I rode up the escalators into the open hub of the station, I noticed many classic tube-commuter expressions of non-emotion quickly turn to open-eyed curiosity and smiles. A few commuters even joined the performers and danced along to the care-free calypso music of the steel pans and soon a small impromptu party formed in Charing Cross’ central hub.

This free spectacle was all in celebration of Black History Month. Passers-by of this big central London station would hear the music, see the dancers and be happily imbursed in aspects of Afro-Caribbean culture:

The dancers' winged black outfits decorated with golden sequins?

  • Inspired by Caribbean carnival wear. Wings are popular pieces at carnival as they represent the many species of colourful birds native to the islands

The metal pan-like instruments?

  • Steel pans which came about in Trinidad after, in 1880, the British colonialists banned the playing of traditional African percussion music and instruments. In response, Afro-Trinidadians created their own percussion instruments using frying pans, oil drums and other metal pieces which have over time developed into the versatile steel pans we have today

The groovy instrumental music?

  • Calypso which also originated in Trinidad and was developed by enslaved Africans labouring on plantations and became closely linked to Afro-Trinidadian identity

Additionally, behind the performers were displays honouring 2 important Black figures in British history.

One was Asquith Xavier who moved to England after World War 2 and after being denied a role as a train guard due to the colour bar he campaigned against racial discrimination and helped the 1968 Race Relations Act be passed which made it illegal to refuse public services or employment to someone because of their ethnicity.

The other was Mary Seacole who in 2004 was voted the ‘Greatest Black Briton’ and was a British-Jamaican healer who, of her own volition and after being denied by the war office to join the nursing contingent, set up the “British Hotel,” a behind lines resting place for British soldiers, during the Crimean War (1853-56) where she nursed many British soldiers back to health.

Prior to this event, I had no idea about any of the things I wrote about above nor can I recall learning about the struggles surrounding racial inequality in Britain in my schooling. This, in principle, is what Black History Month is about and was one of the causes for the purpose of this performance.

Black History Month campaigners believe that the value of the contribution by people of African and Caribbean origin is understated and unappreciated by today’s society. They aim to raise awareness and curiosity about black history and increase black representation in school curriculums. This public performance in central London was a source of spontaneous bliss and curiosity for many but also served as a reminder of the racial inequalities that are rooted throughout history and present day.