'I’m honoured to be recognised for championing Leeds’ black heritage'
Inspirational heritage hero is honoured as part of national campaign
An inspirational Leeds heritage champion will be honoured as part of a national campaign to mark Black History Month.
Cultural heritage producer Susan Pitter and co-founder of Out Of Many People is among the list of of names - including Windrush campaigner Professor Sir Patrick Vernon OBE, Rev Rose Hudson Wilkin CD MBE, the first Black female Church of England bishop, and the late MOBO Awards founder Kanya King CBE - to be honoured.
More than 650 people were nominated by the public as part of the Black History Month (BHM) Honouring Black Britain campaign for their contribution to Black British life.
This year’s theme, ‘Honouring Our Communities’, recognises the people making a difference through their work, service and commitment to others, with Susan among those profiled in the Black History Month UK Magazine.
Susan Pitter has spent three decades preserving and championing Caribbean and Black British cultural heritage in Yorkshire. Through exhibitions, projects and events, she has helped raise the profile of Black storytelling, community narratives, arts and culture across the North of England and beyond.
Susan Pitter, of Leeds-based Out of Many People, said: “I was surprised to say the least when I found out that I was among those chosen.
“To be mentioned in the same breath as so many inspiring men and women, from trailblazers no longer with us recognised for their remarkable legacies, to people I have looked up to for years and those doing brilliant work in their fields today, is genuinely humbling.
“I really believe that if we fail to include all our communities in the storytelling of our cities, if they are not represented fairly, then we fail to tell a true story of our nation.
“Black culture in its many forms and genres continues to shape global and British life and culture. Black history is British history. I am fortunate and proud to be able to play my very small part in championing and preserving that truth.”
The projects Susan has overseen includes Eulogy, a 2019 heritage project created with Out of Many People co-founder Dawn Cameron and Jamaica Society Leeds exploring the city’s first generation Jamaicans; the hugely popular Rebellion to Romance exhibition in 2022, which explored the lives of second-generation West Indians growing up in Leeds during the 1970s and 1980s; and Likkle Lit Fest, a festival of Black literature for children and young adult readers in Yorkshire, held in Leeds earlier this year.
In 2020, she was also one of eight National Lottery Heritage Heroes whose images were projected onto Stonehenge in recognition of their work.
Black History Month UK runs the annual national recognition initiative Honouring Black Britain, profiling some of those chosen in Black History Month UK Magazine – a national publication that celebrates Black history, arts and culture across the UK in October.