Sunderland Lit and Phil Society to host Black History Month Event
Written by Hannah Rooney on 29th October 2025
Sunderland Literary and Philosophical Society (‘Lit & Phil’) is set to host a panel celebrating Black History Month tomorrow (Thursday 30 October).
The event, from 6.30 to 9.30pm, will be held at the Sea Change Café, at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.
The Sunderland Lit & Phil – re-established in 2025 after being gone for 150 years – is working with Station East Poetry and the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to deliver a night of discussion, reflection and celebration.
The event is a special addition to their regular schedule of discussion groups designed to foster community in Sunderland.
Society founder Auburn Langley said: “Having lived all over the world, I’ve seen what living in harmony and division looks like, and Sunderland has yet to get to grips with its growing diversity.
“At Sunderland Lit & Phil we aim to bring people together to discuss topics affecting our city, and October is Black History Month.”
Auburn said the event was suggested by Mwelwa Chilekwa, from Station East Poetry in Gateshead, who she’d met at King Ink Spoken Word, a spoken word and poetry night held every month in Sunderland.
The panel features several guests who work and live in Sunderland, invited to “share their insights, their struggles, their hopes and predictions for the city”.
They include:
- Coun Stephen Lewis-Elms, the first black or mixed-race councillor on Sunderland City Council;
- Godstime David, a communications strategist and journalist who enjoys investigative reporting;
- Folasade (Sade) Fasoyiro, founder of the Sunderland-Nigerian Family online group and an Early Help Family Worker for South Tyneside Council;
- Adewunmi Adeoye, a sabbatical Officer for the University of Sunderland’s Student Union and host of the International Students Show here at Spark Radio.
Attendees can also participate in a question-and-answer session and hear work from Station East Poetry.
The event will become part of what Auburn describes as Sunderland’s “incredible history of activism”, citing anti-slavery activist Celestine Edwards and the boycott of slave-made sugar by the Quaker women of Sunderland.
“As an organisation, we are here to listen and serve the people of Sunderland, bringing thoughts and ideas out into the open,” she said.
“Black History Month is a powerful tradition. It’s a sorely-needed opportunity to highlight and correct the failings of our past, while celebrating achievements of the black community.”
If the event is successful, Auburn said she would “be honoured” to host it again next year.
Free tickets are available here: Sunderland Lit & Phil Society presents: Black History Month Special Tickets, Thu, Oct 30, 2025 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite
