Students celebrate Black History Month 2023

October marks Black History Month in the UK, providing our students with the opportunity to learn, share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.

This month along with learning about inspirational black women, students also learned how to make African masks along with a little bit of African dancing.

Two students painting a mask

The students made masks from the Dan tribe who are located in the Ivory Coast. They were asked to paint a white line down the middle of the mask, followed by another going across the mask. This second line denoted unity and heritage and was intended to be specific to QAC and its students.

Student painting a mask with red dots

There were various colours used and they all had different meanings:

  • Red signified anger or aggression (to frighten others away)
  • Blue denoted peace and comfort
  • Gold was a display of wealth and power

There were some fantastic masks on show and the students had great fun making them.

Black History Month 2023 is a momentous occasion to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to British society. There is a different theme each year, which aims to highlight a particular area.