A photographic exhibition displaying the beautiful aspects of natural black hair was just one of the highlights enjoyed on a cultural history walk on Westside this month.
The Canal & River Trust worked with the Black Heritage Walks network to host the tour called Let’s Walk – Birmingham Black History.
The free 3km walk on Wednesday 13 October celebrated black heritage by showing how it’s linked to Birmingham’s canal network, the rise of the industrial revolution and cultural arts.
Westside BID’s Luisa Huggins joined part of the walk and explained how she was fascinated to visit a photographic exhibition by Sumaya Ali called ‘Your Hair is Good Hair’ at The Birmingham Contemporary Art Gallery, in Unit 5 of the Utilita Arena.
The exhibition, which runs to 3 November, contains portrait-style photographs that tell the artist’s journey towards “accepting and celebrating the natural curl pattern and texture of her hair”, while also “challenging the media’s projection of a singular hair aesthetic”.
Luisa said: “It was an honour to attend a section of this walk and see how many businesses have embraced black culture.
“I was particularly impressed with photographer Sumaya Ali’s exhibition and felt it empowering to see natural black hair showcased in its natural form. It was incredible to see it honoured in this way.”
The Black Heritage Walks network is led by Dawn Care and her colleagues to highlight the achievements of the African Caribbean community in the UK.
It focuses on the stories and history of the Windrush generation in Handsworth. It was originally launched in 2018 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Empire Windrush ship’s arrival to the UK carrying passengers from the Caribbean back in 1948.
The network found that despite having a large black population and rich heritage, Birmingham didn’t have any black heritage walks on offer at the time. Based on this, they decided to speak to local people, visiting archives and heritage sites, to create history walks from a British Afro Caribbean perspective.
● To get involved with future Black Heritage Walk Network events, email blackheritagewalksnetwork@gmail.com or visit www.blackheritagewalksnetwork.com/
● For more information on Sumaya Ali’s ‘Your Hair is Good Hair’ exhibition in Westside, click here: www.birmingham-cag.uk/your-hair-is-good-hair/
