Young Nate joins students to celebrate Black History Month

Left to Right: Marya Sheik, Fatima Abas, Maryam Hajinoor, Fadumo Ali, Danielle and Franklin Dos Santos

Energy, vibrant costumes, dance, and song were in abundance when the Students' Union at Waltham Forest College staged a culture and music show in celebration of Black History Month.

A fashion parade of students wearing the national costumes of Somalia, Nigeria, Ghana, Congo and Brazil set the tone for the performances.

Fatima Abas, a health and social care student, wore Somalian costume and also sang a duet with Joselyn Meade, who is studying on the same course.

A highlight of the show was an energetic display of Brazilian dance by Franklin and Danielle Dos Santos, a brother and sister act who perform together professionally. They danced the samba and the capoeira.

Franklin, a former catering student at the college, explained that both dances have their roots in Africa and were brought to Brazil by the slave trade.

There were no Mixed Messages when emerging urban music star Young Nate topped the bill. The teenager from North London has a new single called Be the One which is due to be released next month.

Students danced and screamed as he performed some of the songs that have had listeners to Kiss FM and MTV Base compare him to R&B superstar Usher, including I Wonder and Mixed Messages.

The show, held in the Student Common Room at the college’s main campus in Forest Road, Walthamstow, is one of a series of events held throughout October to celebrate Black History Month.

Young Nate turned up with chart artist and producer Sound Bwoy, now his manager, and they performed some songs together.

He said he likes to support events in colleges that are putting out positive messages to young people, like anti-gun and knife crime campaigns and Black History Month promotions.

“It is very important for me to be here showing love to the people that have shown love to us,” he added.

“It means a lot to me as a young black person to do something positive with the talents that I have and to show that discipline and hard work can take you to where you want to be in life.”

Sound Bwoy, who went to school in Walthamstow, explained that his protégé had got up from his sick bed to perform at the event. He told the students: “Even if you are sick, go to college. It is important.”

Sisters Marvi and Naylor Moshwe and their cousin Nzambi Mossanka, who are all studying health and social care at the College, performed a traditional Congolese dance called Techno Malewi.

Deji Odenunmi, studying business, wrote lyrics called Dear Mum about a difficult time in his life which he performed as a mixture of rap and song with his friend Kenan Nderede, who is studying sport.

Kenan said: “I was born in Uganda and Deji is from Nigeria. There are a lot of mixed backgrounds at this College and it is important we understand each other’s cultures.”

Black history goes back a long way in Walthamstow

Students who took part in a black history walk around Walthamstow learnt that black people have been living in the area for hundreds of years.

Records kept at the Vestry House Museum and St Mary’s Church in Walthamstow show that black people were buried in the churchyard as long ago as 1693.

Peter Ashan, the museum’s learning and outreach officer who conducted the tour, said that 17th and 18th century burial records show that several people were buried with the name Blackman and Blackmore.

“This was a common surname given to black people who lived in the workhouses of Walthamstow at that time,” he added.

He explained that Walthamstow was then home to the very rich, including bankers, merchants and even slave traders, some who would have had black people as servants.

“Baptism records from the 1730s also show there was a family, Hugh Blackmore and his wife Annie, who lived in Chingford as free people,” he said.

The walk was one of a series of cultural events organised by Waltham Forest College in October to celebrate Black History Month.

When Nana Mensah, studying IT and life skills, was asked when he thought black people first settled in Walthamstow his answer was 1947.

“It has given me an understanding that there have been people of different cultures living here for a lot longer than I thought,” he said.

Seven students with a range of learning difficulties and disabilities were among those who took part in the tour.

Their teacher Rosita Matyniowna said: “This walk has enabled us to develop links for students within the community that are going to help to enrich their college programme.”