Authority
The Black History Forum will:
- be responsible for making decisions necessary to fulfil its stated purposes and to ensure effective delivery of its objectives across the borough
- provide strategic advice and informed guidance to support and shape Black history cultural programming and offer constructive feedback to enhance its impact and relevance
- conduct its activities alongside the principles and procedures outlined in these Terms of Reference
Purpose
The role of the forum is to enable opportunities for programming, co-curation* and promotion of cultural Black History throughout the year, that enables:
- education and awareness
- celebration of heritage
- dialogue and discussion
- community empowerment
- inspiration and role models
- cultural preservation
*Co-curation is defined as the collaborative process of developing, organising, and presenting cultural/artistic exhibitions, programs, or events – with the active involvement of many stakeholders. Co-curation involves partnerships and shared decision-making with two or more individuals or groups.
Black History Forum groups
The Black History Forum will consist of the Black History Forum and the Black History Forum Steering Group.
The role of the steering group members is to provide strategic guidance, oversight, and support for the wider Black History Forum
The members of the Black History Steering Group are:
- Wesley Pemberton – Head of Culture, LBE
- Cllr Chinelo Anyanwu – Cabinet member for Culture, LBE
- Dionne John – Black Heritage Hub
- Stephanie Toryima – Caribbean and African Health Network
- Lorna Graham – Creative Consultant
- Cllr Margret Greer – LBE
- Louisa Bourlet – Public Health, LBE
- Mervin Cato – Nexus
Black History Forum membership
Existing Black History Forum members will be required to opt in to the formalised forum, working towards these terms of reference.
LBE Head of Culture will write to all individuals currently on the Black History Forum mailing list asking for them to opt in and provide a deadline. It should be noted though, that members can opt in after this date – but until they have, they will not be included on direct coms relating to the group.
Being a member of the Black History Forum offers a meaningful opportunity to engage in year-round programming that promotes education, celebrates heritage, fosters dialogue, empowers communities, highlights role models, preserves cultural traditions, and provides a valued platform for sharing feedback and shaping future initiatives.
Role of individual members
The purpose of each forum member:
- Actively opt in to the Black History Form
- All individuals are expected to uphold professionalism, communicate openly, and work collaboratively, demonstrating accountability, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to achieving the purpose of the forum
- Actively take part in group discussions, events, or projects – through ideas, feedback, and collaboration, not just attendance
- Encourage a culture of feedback and constructive criticism. Members should feel comfortable sharing thoughts but should do so respectfully.
- Provide feedback to the group after the completion of a project that has been delivered by forum members
- Members should be open to collaborating with others, valuing diverse perspectives and contributions
- If they wish to no longer be a member of the Black History Forum, members should notify the LBE Head of Culture
Governance
The responsibility of chairing meetings will shared among forum members, rather than being held by a single individual.
The chair for the next forum meeting will be a standing agenda item.
If in the case that no forum members wish to be chair, the meeting will be chaired by the Cabinet Member for Culture or the Head of Culture.
Tenure
The Forum will operate from April to March.
These Terms of Reference and purpose of the forum will be reviewed to assess whether the forum is working as imagined in this Terms of Reference and whether the purpose and format continues to serve members.
Meetings
The wider Black Heritage Forum will meet at least three times a year.
The majority of meetings will take place online via Teams, link and agenda to be sent by LBE Officers, but the forum will aim to meet face to face at least once a year.
Quorum: 50% of forum members required for a meeting to proceed, of which no more than 30% to be LBE officers which excludes LBE members. If on occasions these are not met, the meeting will be postponed.
Standing agenda items will be agreed by BHF steering group with other agenda items added based on objectives of the panel.
If agreed by all forum members in attendance, meetings will be recorded. The chair will offer members the opportunity to request that meetings not be recorded at the start of each session.
Conflict of interest
Any conflicts of interest must be signalled to the Chair, no later than the start of the meeting in question.
The conflicted member must leave the meeting when the item is being discussed and must not take part in any decision relating to it and this must be noted in the minutes. These provisions also apply should an unforeseen conflict of interest become clear during the meeting. Any report or advice the member gives in the matter must be noted in full in the minutes.
In the event that the matter is likely to recur at regular intervals, or that member is frequently conflicted by different matters, the member should resign (or be asked to resign) from the BHF to preserve its independence.
Examples include:
- Personal affiliation conflict: A member is closely related to or in a personal relationship with an individual or organisation being proposed as a partner for a cultural event – their ability to remain impartial may be compromised
- Reputational conflict: A member has publicly expressed strong views or affiliations that could be seen as conflicting with the values or objectives of the forum, potentially undermining its credibility or neutrality
- Intellectual property conflict: A member stands to benefit from the use or promotion of their own creative work (for example, a book, film, or exhibition) as part of the forum’s programming
- Frequent recusal: A member finds themselves regularly unable to take part in discussions due to recurring conflicts, which may hinder the forum’s ability to function effectively and independently