17 October 2017•Update: 17 October 2017
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
A group of schoolchildren in front of dozens of photographs on display in the lobby area of south London’s Lewisham Library, listening to a staff member explaining what they are looking at.
“I would like you to pair up and choose one favorite photo and you have to tell me ” the librarian tells the children.
A black boy with a plaited fringe raises his hand to speak. He says the photo of a young black boy posing in a Victorian-era suit with shiny shoes and long white socks is his favorite because he looks like himself.
The boy’s classmates giggle but they are intrigued by the images arranged across three panels.
The 10-year-old in the photograph was a prince who visited Queen Victoria’s Britain. Prince Alamayu of Abyssinia -- modern-day Ethiopia -- had posed in a photo studio on the Isle of Wight just before his return home in 1869.
This photo was one of 29 images put on display at the library to mark Black History Month, which is celebrated in the U.K. every October. Originating in the United States, Black History Month in the U.K. is now in its thirtieth year.
Black History Month celebrates, recognizes and values inspirational individuals and events from within Britain's BME (Black and minority ethnic) communities according to a supporting publication, bHM Magazine.
Another image on display in Lewisham was a black woman -- Victoria Randle -- with her two children who have gotten dressed up especially for the photography session in 1901.
Sargano , a “renowned lion and tiger trainer” from the 1870s, is another portrait that easily attracts the attention of the young visitors in Lewisham.
Dressed like an army officer with medals on his chest, the pride of Sargano in taming wild animals can easily be seen in his eyes.
These photographs have come from the archives of the Royal Collection Trust for the first time in over a century. The pop-up exhibition is offering a “unique snapshot of African, Caribbean and South Asian lives in Victorian Britain”.
The portraits, all printed on original photography canvases, were previously unseen for over 125 years and only went on display to mark Black History Month.
Lewisham Library's exhibition is one of many events to mark the month. There have been countless other events, such as talks, concerts, and exhibitions. Some will continue for the whole month of October.
Pegasus Opera Company based in Brixton -- an important center of black culture in south London -- put on a show to celebrate the black presence in opera earlier in October.
On the big screen, Britain on Film on Tour will “explore the vital history of Black Britain throughout the 20th century,” by bringing together films from 1901 to 1985, offering “incredibly rare, little seen and valuable depictions of Black British life on screen”.
Many other meetings, and performances will continue to celebrate the month in major U.K. cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Belfast.
The pop-up exhibition in Lewisham will remain open for visitors until Oct. 22.
