Black History Month: What it means to be Black, British and working-class

OUR STORY: Bacary Mundoba, left, and Chiedu Oraka

A hard-hitting four-part series of documentary films by two Black musical artists from Hull is being released by arts organisation Back to Ours.

The first episode is shared as part of Black History Month 2020.

Written, directed and presented by Bacary Mundoba, lead singer with “Afro-codhead-skank crossover” band Bud Sugar, and Chiedu Oraka, grime-influenced rapper and MC with the Lockdown collective, Black Kings upon Hull is a no-holds-barred insight into their Black British experience.

Although both are making waves as musicians, poets and artists outside their home city, their identities are far removed from the traditional Black British narrative – outside, that is, London, Birmingham and other major UK cities, Back to Ours said.

In the first film, Bacary and Chiedu reveal what it was really like to grow up mixed-race and Black on council estates at different ends of Hull, as “a product of the working class”, a “product of African heritage” and a “product of Britain”.

Both grew up with strong single mothers and few or, in Chiedu’s case, no Black peers.

Both experienced racism – of the deliberate and the unthinking varieties - on a daily basis in the city that proudly and publicly honours its famous slavery abolitionist son, William Wilberforce.

Both have grown up with the fallout of systemic racism and the knowledge that, 22 years after his death in custody on the floor of a Hull police station, the family of Black ex-paratrooper Christopher Alder is still fighting for justice.

Bacary said: “The Black Kings upon Hull film series is about generating conversation and giving something unexpected – it’s about trying to bring people together, and point out that there are more similarities than differences.

“We want people to see the Black experience outside of your most popular destinations, not one that’s centred around London, around street culture.

“Often, what is presented is the white perception of what it means to be Black – where you’re supposed to live, how you’re supposed to talk, what your musical style is supposed to be. Our skin colour isn’t the be all and end all to our story.”

Chiedu said: “Hull is meant to be William Wilberforce’s city. We still meet people who don’t expect Black people to be from Hull, or from Yorkshire. We’re talking about some real sensitive issues in these documentaries.

“We’re offering up our personal lives for the sake of other people’s learning. We’re telling you about our childhoods and stuff we’ve dealt with. Being Black and British is not one homogenous thing, it’s a multifaceted situation, so by sharing the unique Hull experience, we’re giving more information overall.”

Louise Yates, director of Back to Ours, said: “The Black Kings upon Hull documentary film series shares an important message about the diversity of the Black British experience that none of us should ignore.

“At Back to Ours, we’ve had the pleasure of working with Bacary and Bud Sugar, and Chiedu and the Lockdown collective many times before – to sold-out crowds at live gigs and in ground-breaking artistic works.

“I’m very proud of these films and of Bacary and Chiedu for opening up these vital conversations about what it means to be Black, Yorkshire and working class. Watch out also for a guest appearance from Chiedu’s mum, whose powerful words speak volumes about the struggles her family has faced.”