Diane-Louise Jordan speaking at Cafe Koko this week

THE Town Hall has turned Black History Month into Black History Season and will hold events right up until the end of the year, a launch event was told on Tuesday evening.

The celebrations began with the Proud To Be event at Cafe Koko in Camden Town with music, poetry and talks.

Special guest Diane-Louise Jordan, who was the first black Blue Peter presenter, told the crowd: “I’m so glad Camden isn’t restricting this month to a month. Enjoy this season, celebrate this season, commend your council for actually being involved in ensuring everybody feels welcome, because without us, Camden doesn’t exist.”

The presenter used to live in Highgate and Camden Town was her old “stomping ground”.

She recalled fond memories of buying clubbing outfits at the market. She said the stalls had become “a bit boujie” (upmarket) since her youth, but added of the borough: “It’s a truly diverse place. I know this is a place where you can be yourself and that’s really important.”

She also spoke of her Making of Black Britain project, a national archive collecting stories from “every class and colour” through the generations to find out “what it really means to be British”. It is a project inspired by Ms Jordan, whose parents are from Jamaica, and her own journey of not feeling she properly fitted in in the UK or Jamaica.

Deputy mayor Nazma Rahman

Addressing the crowd after deputy mayor Nazma Rahman’s introduction, Cllr Sabrina Francis explained that the council call it Black History Season rather than “month” because its events extend beyond October to December.

She said: “Black culture is culture. Our ideas, style and influence are threaded through British life. Every single generation has shaped the space they left behind and helped get us to this point.”

Camden’s Black History Season theme this year is health and wellbeing and will involve a schedule of low-cost and free events, from DJ classes to supper clubs.