A Bury St Edmunds event celebrating Black culture will feature artists and performers
Bury St Edmunds for Black Lives is hosting its first event, Sounds of Colour, on the October 16 from 7-11pm at the Folk Café, in Fornham St Martin.
Owner of the Folk Café, Ali Barker, reached out to the group and kindly offered her café as a venue during Black History Month and said she would share news of the upcoming night with her customers and followers.
Evelyn Polk, the group’s founder, said: “This event is a chance to celebrate Black talent and culture both within the county and the wider country. We aim to make Bury St Edmunds a leader in racial equality and recognised for its achievements by other rural towns.”
The event aims to bring people from different cultures together and celebrate differences. An event like this may be a first in Suffolk and would become a positive way for a small town such as Bury St Edmunds to celebrate the diverse make up of its residents and visitors.
During the pandemic, Bury St Edmunds for Black Lives had organised multiple events, including the protest on Angel Hill following the death of George Floyd, a protest march back in July of this year and a Black History Month talk at the West Suffolk College.
The award-winning group, which earlier this year received the Untold Hero Inspirational Leader award from West Suffolk College, felt it was important to host an event where Black talent was a focal point rather than a source of entertainment at the end of a night which, said Evelyn, the group had fallen prey to at other local events.
“We are often asked to participate in things to tick the diversity box. Diversity at these events should be a given, it should at no point be an after-thought,” she said
Bury St Edmunds for Black Lives hopes this event is a chance for the local community to find out more about the work it does, come and talk to the team and enjoy the evening.
There will be performances from the likes of percussionist Seneke Sillah, DnB artist Ella Sopp and works by visual artists.
There is still space for Black contributors who wish to perform or have an installation or stall.
BSE4BL is also still looking for sponsors of the event – to register your interest please email bse4bl@gmail.com. Free tickets can be booked on Eventbrite.
Folk Café address; The Drift, Fornham St Martin IP31 1SL
Socials
BSE4BL Social Media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – @BSE4BL
Afrika’s Instagram – @affygreen, Facebook – @afrikagreen
Folk Café – insta @folk.cafe, Facebook – folkcafe
Read more: News from around Suffolk
Read more: News from Bury St Edmunds
Read more about what's on around Suffolk
