To mark the start of Black History Month at Hackney Archives, this year’s CLR James Legacy Lecture will be delivered by Joy Francis, executive director of Words of Colour, writer and literary activist. The CLR James Legacy Steering Group, which has instituted this prestigious and inspirational annual event, will open the lecture.
Joy is also the brainchild behind the book Challenging Britannia: Black British Women Speak Volumes, edited by GPI Trustee Sharmilla Beezmohun and recently published by the George Padmore Institute. The 2026 theme of Black History Month is ‘honouring our communities’ and this book of powerful interviews honours seven dynamic and pioneering older Black British women in the arts, who have made an enormous contribution to the arts in the UK and beyond (see details below). Copies of Challenging Britannia will be available for purchase at the lecture, where Joy will also be signing books.
Date: Saturday, 3 October 2026
Time: 6–7:30 PM
Venue: Hackney Archives, second floor of Dalston CLR James Library, London E8 3BQ
Age group: All ages
Price: Free
Access information: Accessible
Public transport: Dalston Kingsland Station
Book tickets here on Eventbrite
The seven groundbreaking women creatives working in television, music, dance, theatre, photography and literature are:
* Paulette Randall, theatre and TV director;
* Dominique Le Gendre, contemporary classical music composer;
* Ingrid Pollard, photographer and multimedia artist;
* Sharon Watson, dancer and choreographer;
* Anni Domingo, actress and novelist;
* Verna Wilkins, children’s writer and publisher;
* Valerie Bloom, Jamaican-language poet and writer.
The life experiences of these artists are compelling and fascinating, providing an abundance of lessons on confronting barriers still all-too prevalent in the British arts scene. The interviews with creative entrepreneur Joy Francis tell the tales of long successful careers and hard-earned triumphs, set amid the challenges of navigating issues of gender and the ongoing fight for racial equality and social justice.
‘A fantastic initiative highlighting the living legacy of older Black women artists and creatives, whose narratives continue to be underrepresented … [and] whose entrepreneurial work deserves attention.’ - Bernardine Evaristo, 2019 Booker prize-winning author
‘In these fraught times, it has never been more important to redress this imbalance and hear the hidden diverse voices around us — particularly those of older black women’ - Sharmilla Beezmohun, co-founder of Speaking Volumes and editor of Challenging Britannia
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