Brighton’s Black History Month exhibition links the SS Mendi to Sussex

Brighton’s Black History Month programme is already under way, and one of its most thoughtful starting points is an exhibition about Black history in church spaces. Black History in Church Spaces opened at St Luke’s Prestonville, 64 Old Shoreham Road, BN1 5DD, on Saturday 3 October, with the launch beginning at 2pm. It was founded by Vitalis Ngwambi, the Diocese of Chichester’s Racial Justice Coordinator, and brings together stories that connect local buildings with events and people from much further afield.

The exhibition’s central Sussex link is the plaque remembering Roque Ferdinand, a formerly enslaved man who lived in the 18th century. The memorial is at St Mary Magdalene in Madehurst, making it a rare local reminder of the lives recorded — and sometimes overlooked — in church history. Alongside Ferdinand’s story, the exhibition looks at the SS Mendi, which sank in 1917 and caused the deaths of more than 600 Black South African soldiers. It also covers abolitionist Olaudah Equiano, the Uganda Martyrs, and Project Spire, the Church of England’s work around healing, justice and reparation.

The launch included Kwesi Ochosi, Project Coordinator and Archivist of Lambeth Palace Library, as guest speaker, with artist Marie-Paul Duwai-Sowa also taking part. For anyone who wants to follow the exhibition beyond Brighton, the programme continues on Sunday 25 October. There will be a commemorative service at St Mary’s, Slindon, at 11am, with speakers including Professor Alan Lester of the University of Sussex and Alysia Lara, Interim Deputy Director of Racial Justice for the Church of England. At 3pm, an interpretive panel will be unveiled beside the Roque Ferdinand plaque in Madehurst.

The exhibition sits within a wider Brighton and Hove programme themed “Honouring Our Communities”, which runs through October and into 7 November. The city’s Black History Month flag has been raised at both town halls, while the programme includes talks, films, family activities, performances and community events. On Wednesday 7 October, Brighton Museum hosts Repatriation and Shared Heritage: Making Connections between Brighton and Botswana, following the return of 45 objects to the Khama III Memorial Museum in May 2026. The talk runs from 3pm to 4.30pm and includes a new short film and a panel discussion.

There are also free family sessions later in the month. Storytime takes place at Hove Museum on 26 October and Brighton Museum on 27 October, with short sessions at 10.30am, noon and 3pm. Museum Makers follows at Brighton Museum on 28 October and Hove Museum on 30 October, offering art and craft activities for children aged 5 to 12. Brighton’s libraries have also put together a Black History Month reading selection, including Echoes of Brighton’s Past, and eBooks and eAudiobooks are available through BorrowBox.

For details about the exhibition or the October programme, contact Vitalis Ngwambi at vitalis.ngwambi@chichester.anglican.org or call the Diocese of Chichester on 01273 421 021. The exhibition offers a Brighton starting point for a wider conversation: from a wartime tragedy involving South African soldiers to a small Sussex memorial, the stories are held in places many local people pass every day.