Authors Chika Unigwe, Kei Miller, Nii Ayikwe, Tessa McWatt and Tony Wade MBE top the bill at Black History Month

Published: 1 October, 2010
by TERRY MESSENGER

AUTHOR Chika Unigwe, who wrote a celebrated account of life among African women lured to Europe to work as prostitutes, is among writers contributing to Black History Month, which begins today (Friday).

Ms Unigwe and seven other authors will be giving free book readings at Waterstones, in Islington Green, and libraries in the borough as part of the annual festival celebrating the achievements of black people.

Black History Month in Islington also features free film screenings, ­cuisine-sampling and art exhibitions.

The celebration begins with a conference today at 10am in the Assembly Hall, in Upper Street, about health inequalities affecting black people.

There will be a family fun day –  the “Spark in the Park” – at Paradise Park, Mackenzie Road, Lower Holloway tomorrow (Saturday) from 11am to 4pm, featuring music, theatre, arts and crafts, face-painting and a bouncy castle.

Evening book readings will be held at Waterstones throughout October, featuring Ms Unigwe, Kei Miller, Nii Ayikwe, Tessa McWatt and Tony Wade MBE.

Ms Unigwe lived in Antwerp’s red light district to research On Black ­Sisters’ Street, her fictional account of the lives of African prostitutes.

Black hair products and cosmetics entrepreneur Tony Wade will be reading from his inspirational guides to business success, while his fellow authors will strike a more cultural note with excerpts from their fiction about leper colonies, “the mystical heart of Africa” and “secrets of the body”.

There will also be children’s book readings at libraries with authors Eileen Browne and Ngoma Bishop.

On Thursday there will be a film screening of Motherland – a documentary fusing the history, culture and ­politics of Africa. Also on the bill is Diaspora Diaries, about the spread of African people across the globe.

The film screening event begins at 6.30pm at St Mary Magdalene Church, Holloway Road and includes a Q&A session.

Full details are available from ­council offices and libraries and ­attendance at some events needs to be pre-booked.