The Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) co-ordinated the first Black History Month programme in Scotland 19 years ago, and in recent years, Black History Month has gone from strength to strength, with partners across community, voluntary and public sectors contributing dozens of events every October. Last year's programme included over 60 events, spanning cinema, exhibitions, radio shows, art, poetry, walking tours, debate, theatre, science and dance.

This year has been a challenging one for all of the organisations who take part in Black History Month, including CRER. The impact of Covid-19 and changes to our funding mean that this year's programme is, by necessity, a pared-down version. However, in the spirit of quality, not quantity, we've assembled a fantastic range of events. Thanks to all of our creative and innovative contributors, we have talks, podcasts, storytelling, poetry, music, exhibitions and more. If you're running an event that's not currently featured, drop us a line at BHM@crer.org.uk.

As always, we recognise that one month a year is not enough. Black History is Scotland’s History. We campaign throughout the year for authentic recognition of Black History in history and heritage spaces, and perhaps most crucially, in our education system. Our vision is that within the next decade, Scotland will have its own national museum of empire, colonialism, slavery and migration. Combining interactive exhibition spaces with an archive and learning centre, this can bring together the threads of the currently fractured narrative on Scotland's Black History. 

In the meantime, we'll make the most of this year's amazing programme from the comfort of our armchairs, and look forward to celebrating the 20th anniversary of Scotland's Black History Month with you in 2021!

Parveen Khan, CRER Chair and Sandra-Deslandes-Clark, CRER Vice-Chair