Black History Month in Brighton and Hove 2026: 17 Events, Dates, Prices and How to Book
Brighton and Hove City Council's graphic for Black History Month 2026, with the theme Honouring our communities. Image: Brighton & Hove City Council
Black History Month began in Brighton and Hove on Thursday 1 October, with the Black History Month flag flying from Hove and Brighton town halls until the end of the month. Seventeen dated events are still to come between Monday 5 October and Saturday 7 November, from a spoken word night at Brighton Dome on Monday 5 October to a free two-day takeover of the Brighton Centre on 10 and 11 October, a three-film season at The Rose Hill, free storytimes at both city museums and a free Family Day Take Part on 7 November.
Two events have already happened: African Soul Rebels at the Corn Exchange on Friday 2 October, and the launch of the Black History in Church Spaces exhibition at St Luke's Prestonville on Saturday 3 October. Details were checked against the venue or organiser's own page wherever one exists, and where the council's press release and the venue's page disagreed, we have used the venue's details.
This year's theme: the people who rarely make headlines
The council says this year's programme focuses on the communities that shape, support and sustain the city, and on people whose contributions are part of everyday life but too often go unseen: volunteers who give their time without expectation, teachers, nurses and carers, and the community leaders and organisers who bring people together. The same theme, Honouring Our Communities, runs through the national Black History Month website, and the council has set it out in its own announcement.
“This year’s theme gives us an opportunity to celebrate those among us, who are working every day to support, strengthen and shape Black communities.
“It is up to us to ensure that their efforts don’t go unnoticed, that their lives are being championed every day and that they feel represented in every aspect of civic life.”
Councillor Mitchie Alexander, Cabinet member for Communities, Equalities, Public Health and Adult Social Care
The council has also published a short video on Facebook introducing the theme.
The theme changes every year. Here is how the council has framed the month over the last four years.
2023
Saluting our Sisters
The month was dedicated to honouring Black women, with a programme of library events and activities for all ages. Read the council’s announcement.
2024
Reclaiming the narrative
The focus was on recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture. Read the council’s announcement.
2025
Standing firm in power and pride
A tribute to the resilience, strength and commitment to progress of Black communities across the globe. Read the council’s announcement.
2026
Honouring Our Communities
Recognising the everyday contributions of Black volunteers, teachers, carers, nurses and community leaders. Read the council’s announcement.
Every event, week by week
Tap a week to open it. Each entry has the time, venue, price and a direct link to book or find out more. Brighton Dome's wider autumn programme is in our Brighton Dome autumn 2026 guide.
This week: 5 to 11 October
5 events · Brighton Dome, Brighton Museum, The Rose Hill, Brighton Centre
MON 5 OCTOBER · 8PM (DOORS 7.15PM)
STATUS FLO: Black History Month
Studio Theatre, Brighton Dome · Tickets from £7 up to £14.50 · Age 14+
Brighton spoken word artist AFLO. the poet hosts a Black History Month edition of her STATUS FLO series, joined by poet Maureen Onwunali and featured artist Mark ‘Mr. T’ Thompson, winner of the BARCO Bash slam. Brighton Dome lists a limited number of low-income concession tickets and describes the night as a chilled performance.
TUE 6 OCTOBER · 11AM TO 3PM
Stronger and healthier together: an Aging Well Festival event for racialised minorities (50+)
Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, BN1 1AF · Free refreshments
A day to try new wellbeing activities, learn more about health and wellbeing, and find out what support is available from the council and partners across the city. For more information, email hello@bridgingchange.co.uk or call 01273 234808.
WED 7 OCTOBER · 3PM TO 4.30PM
Repatriation and Shared Heritage: Making Connections between Brighton and Botswana
Museum Lab, Brighton Museum · Free with Brighton Museum admission, members free
In May 2026, Brighton & Hove Museums repatriated 45 objects to the Khama III Memorial Museum in Botswana. This talk follows their journey and includes the premiere of a new short film, followed by a panel on what shared heritage and repatriation mean for communities. The panel is Portia Tremlett, Curator of World Cultures at Brighton & Hove Museums, JoAnn McGregor, Professor of Human Geography at the University of Sussex, and Bert Williams MBE and Suchi Chatterjee of Brighton & Hove Black History. If you pre-purchase admission online, select the right date and time.
WED 7 OCTOBER · 7PM TO 10.30PM
Soul to Soul: Cinematic Routes of Return, opening film
The Rose Hill, Rose Hill Terrace, BN1 4JL · Advance £8 to £12, £15 on the door, pay what you can
Sandpit Collective and The Rose Hill open a three-film season with Denis Sanders's 1971 concert film Soul to Soul, which documents African American and Ghanaian musicians meeting in Accra, with performances from Wilson Pickett, Ike and Tina Turner, Santana and Ghanaian artists. The season continues on 14 and 21 October.
SAT 10 OCTOBER · 11AM TO 9.30PM | SUN 11 OCTOBER · 11AM TO 5PM
Black History, Our History: BARCO Brighton Centre Takeover 2026
The Wing, Brighton Centre, BN1 2GR · Free tickets
BARCO, the Black Anti-Racism Community Organisation, takes over The Wing across two floors for two days of workshops and talks, a showcase of local organisations and businesses, a creative space, food, music and theatre performances. BARCO's ticket page said on 5 October that the full programme had not yet been announced. We reported on BARCO's recent partnership with the University of Brighton in this article.
12 to 18 October
3 events · The Rose Hill, Afrori Books, Theatre Royal
WED 14 OCTOBER · 7PM TO 10.30PM
Soul to Soul: Bushman
The Rose Hill, Rose Hill Terrace, BN1 4JL · Advance £8 to £12, £15 on the door, pay what you can
The second film in the season is David Schickele's 1971 Bushman, which follows Gabriel, a young Nigerian living in San Francisco, as he navigates an America fascinated by his Africanness while he is unsure where and whether he belongs. It runs for 80 minutes.
THU 15 OCTOBER · 6.30PM TO 8.30PM
The Feminist Book Club at Afrori Books
Brighthelm Church & Community Centre, North Road, BN1 1YD · Tickets from £8.30
Hosted by Dr Nat Arias, the club meets on the third Thursday of every month to discuss a title from Afrori Books' collection of Black authors through a feminist lens, covering identity, race, gender, community and social justice. The council's press release lists a 7pm start, but the Eventbrite booking page says 6.30pm.
SUN 18 OCTOBER
Kiell Smith-Bynoe: Kool Story Bro
Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, BN1 1SD · Age 16+ · About two hours including an interval
The Ghosts and Stath Lets Flats actor brings his improvised comedy show to Brighton. Each night is built from stories supplied by the audience, with a rotating line-up of improvisers and a mystery celebrity guest. It appears in the national Black History Month listings for Brighton and Hove.
19 to 25 October
3 events · The Rose Hill, Jubilee Library, Komedia
WED 21 OCTOBER · 7PM TO 10.30PM
Soul to Soul: Hyenas
The Rose Hill, Rose Hill Terrace, BN1 4JL · Advance £8 to £12, £15 on the door, pay what you can
The season closes with Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambéty's Hyenas, in which the wealthy Linguère Ramatou returns after decades away to her impoverished hometown of Colobane and offers its people wealth at a devastating price.
SAT 24 OCTOBER · 10AM TO 4.30PM
Brighton Family Bookfest
Jubilee Library, Jubilee Street, BN1 1GE · Free, refreshments available
For the first time, Brighton Book Festival is joining independent bookshops The Book Nook, Afrori Books and Little Green Pig, along with Brighton Youth Centre and Brighton & Hove Libraries, to run a book festival for children, young people and families. Expect craft, storytime, open mic, a graphic novel workshop and a draw-off competition.
SUN 25 OCTOBER
Aurie Styla: Maverick
Komedia, Gardner Street, BN1 1UN, as part of Brighton Dome Comedy Festival
The comedian returns with new stand-up material after a tour of more than 100 dates, looking at the balance between work, family and the pressures of success. It appears in the national Black History Month listings for Brighton and Hove.
26 October to 7 November
6 events · both city museums, Theatre Royal, Brighton Dome
MON 26 OCTOBER · 10.30AM, 12PM AND 3PM (20 MINUTES EACH)
Storytime at Hove Museum: Black History Month
Hove Museum of Creativity, 19 New Church Road, BN3 4AB · Free, drop-in · All ages
Expert storytellers share stories from around the world upstairs at Hove Museum. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
MON 26 OCTOBER
Lenny Henry: Still At Large
Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, BN1 1SD
Sir Lenny Henry brings his new show to Brighton on his latest UK tour. It appears in the national Black History Month listings for Brighton and Hove.
TUE 27 OCTOBER · 10.30AM, 12PM AND 3PM (20 MINUTES EACH)
Storytime at Brighton Museum: Black History Month
Brighton Museum, Royal Pavilion Gardens, BN1 1EE · Free, drop-in · All ages
Storytellers share stories from around the world in the Archaeology Gallery. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
WED 28 OCTOBER · 10AM TO 11.30AM AND 2PM TO 3.30PM
Museum Makers at Brighton Museum: Black History Month
Brighton Museum, Royal Pavilion Gardens, BN1 1EE · Free with Brighton Museum admission, drop-in · Ages 5 to 12
Arts and crafts sessions inspired by objects from the museum's world cultures collection. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult. The council's press release gives the day as Thursday, but the museum's own page lists Wednesday 28 October.
FRI 30 OCTOBER · 10AM TO 11.30AM AND 2PM TO 3.30PM
Museum Makers at Hove Museum: Black History Month
Hove Museum of Creativity, 19 New Church Road, BN3 4AB · £7 per child or three advance tickets for £15 · Ages 5 to 12
The same arts and crafts sessions, inspired by the museum's world cultures collection, this time at Hove Museum. Children under 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
SAT 7 NOVEMBER · 11AM TO 6PM
Family Day Take Part 2026
Brighton Dome Concert Hall Foyer, Corn Exchange, Studio Theatre and Brighton Museum · Free · All ages
Produced by African Night Fever, this free celebration of arts, culture and heritage honours the city's diaspora communities with workshops, performances and global cuisine. Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult. The council's press release gives an 8pm time, but Brighton Dome's page lists the day as 11am to 6pm.
Black History in Church Spaces
The Diocese of Chichester is marking the month with an exhibition founded by its Racial Justice Co-ordinator, Vitalis Ngwambi. It opened at St Luke's Prestonville, 64 Old Shoreham Road, BN1 5DD, at 2pm on Saturday 3 October, with Kwesi Ochosi, Project Coordinator and Archivist at Lambeth Palace Library, billed as keynote speaker and poet and artist Marie-Paul Duwai-Sowa as special guest.
The exhibition tells five stories that connect Black history, faith and church buildings across the diocese: the SS Mendi, the troopship that sank in 1917 with the loss of more than 600 Black South African servicemen and is remembered by a plaque at St John the Evangelist Church, Newtimber; the abolitionist Olaudah Equiano; Roque Ferdinand, a servant and formerly enslaved man whose eighteenth century memorial at St Mary Magdalene Church, Madehurst, is one of very few surviving memorials to a Black man in a Sussex parish church; the Uganda Martyrs, 45 Christian converts, 23 of them Anglicans and 22 Catholics, who were executed for their faith; and Project Spire, the Church of England's work for healing, justice and repair.
The diocese's page does not list regular opening hours for the exhibition, so contact vitalis.ngwambi@chichester.anglican.org or call the diocese on 01273 421 021 before visiting. The programme closes outside the city on Sunday 25 October, with a commemorative service at 11am at St Mary's Church, Slindon, BN18 0RB, then the dedication of an interpretive panel beside the Roque Ferdinand plaque at 3pm in Madehurst. Speakers include Professor Alan Lester of the University of Sussex and Alysia Lara, Interim Deputy Director of Racial Justice for the Church of England. Food is served after the service, and the diocese asks people to book for catering.
Book the closing serviceDiocese of Chichester exhibition page
The Civic Leadership Programme meets for the first time
Thursday 1 October was also the first meeting of the council's Civic Leadership Programme, which it runs with Operation Black Vote to increase Black and Asian representation in civic roles such as councillors, magistrates, school governors, trustees and public appointees. We covered the July launch at Afrori Books in our earlier report.
“Through a happy coincidence, the first meeting of the Civic Leadership Programme takes place on Thursday 1 October, intertwining Black history with a glimpse into the future.”
Councillor Mitchie Alexander, Cabinet member for Communities, Equalities, Public Health and Adult Social Care
Applications for this first group have closed. Operation Black Vote's programme page gave a deadline of 23 August 2026 and describes a six-month course for 30 participants, built around six to 12 non-consecutive days or evenings, free to join with travel and food costs covered. Participants choose two to four areas of public life to focus on, from school governors, police and crime panels and magistrates to NHS boards, charity trustees and councillors, and finish with a graduation event, a certificate and a place in the organisation's alumni network. For updates on future groups, email brighton-hove@obv.org.uk or see the programme page.
Reading, listening and exploring at home
Brighton and Hove's libraries have a specially curated selection of books for Black History Month, and you can also download eBooks and eAudiobooks through BorrowBox. Library events, including the Family Bookfest on 24 October, are listed on the council's libraries events page, and Brighton and Hove's full programme of events is on the national website's Brighton and Hove listings page.
For the city's own history, Echoes of Brighton's Past collects stories of Black and Asian communities in Brighton and Hove and across Sussex, with Dr Bert Williams MBE, a local historian and community advocate, at its heart.
READ MORE FROM IMJUSTBRIGHTON
→Council Launches Civic Leadership Programme With Operation Black Vote
→Brighton and Hove City Council Cuts Ethnicity Pay Gap to Zero
→Brighton Dome autumn 2026: full line-up, dates and how to book
