Age UK looks to the past with Black History Month event

Elderly residents were invited to share their stories in celebration of Black History Month this Wednesday. Age UK Islington hosted the workshop at the Drovers Centre.

The charity partnered with Every Voice, an anti-racism grassroots organisation, which ran the talk and photography exhibition of African, Caribbean and South Asian nationals who lived in the UK during the 19th century.

Andrea Sinclair, activities and partnership coordinator at Age UK, believes that sharing stories can enhance one’s wellbeing. “To talk about things from their past and have other people interested in them, it gives a kind of validity to their memories,” she said.

One of the attendees, Eunice Braithwaite came to the UK from Barbados in 1958. While living in North London she encountered some instances of discrimination, like being ignored in shops, but added it “never affected me”. Eunice recalled memories of gathering water as a child and how she struggled during her first days in the UK, “to see where I lived and then to come here, I was crying”.

Andrea says that sharing personal stories is not something that people regularly do. “They’re not really asked to share their memories about their past very often. This gives them a sense of confidence and self-esteem to have their stories valued as much as other people’s,” she said.