Clear Channel celebrates Black History Month 2020

This year, all activities will be centered around three guiding principles – Education, Action and Celebration - to deepen everyone’s understanding and knowledge, take action where possible, and celebrate Black history and culture too.

Caroline Forbes, Specialist Partner and founding member of The Culture Club said: “We wanted the program we put on to be in tune with recent events but remain authentic in the activity we support and run. The campaigns, our project partners, and the sessions we have lined up, we hope go some way in representing what we at Clear Channel do to help amplify the voices of Black people and culture in the UK and around the world.”

Clear Channel’s program of activities for Black History Month includes:

• The Black Farmer and 56 Black Men campaigns

Throughout October Clear Channel will be supporting campaigns to help amplify important messages and promote businesses from within the Black community across our digital estate nationwide.

We’re thrilled to partner with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of the The Black Farmer food brand and the only Black farmer in the UK. For Black History Month, he is launching a limited edition of sausages, with packaging featuring two Black British heroes: Mary Seacole, a Jamaican nurse who cared for British soldiers during the Crimean war, and Lincoln Orville Lynch, a decorated RAF air gunner during the Second World War. The products will be available from all leading supermarkets and proceeds from their sale will be donated to two Black charities: the Black Cultural Archives and the Mary Seacole Trust.

As part of our partnership with 56 Black Men, we will be supporting a brand new campaign by Cephas Williams. The campaign officially launches on 9th October and further details will be revealed in due course.

• Supporting Black-owned Businesses 

Following the success of our Business As Unusual initiative that saw us offering free advertising to local businesses during lockdown, Clear Channel will be evolving the scheme to specifically support Black-owned businesses around the UK, helping them to grow and flourish. While the new initiative will be fully unveiled later this year, we’re delighted to have a first Black-owned business on board in time for Black History Month.

We will be partnering with the publisher of Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy magazines – first of their kind publications that aim to empower young Black girls and boys while supporting their parents and carers too.

Serlina Boyd, Founder & Publisher, said: “I am thrilled to be featuring our magazines on the Clear Channel platforms. As a fast growing brand I think that Cocoa will really benefit from reaching a wider audience who may have never heard of our magazines.”

Clear Channel will also be hosting a number of internal events, including talks with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones (The Black Farmer) and Serlina Boyd (Cocoa Girl & Cocoa Boy), hosted by staff, as well as a panel on allyship.

Plans are under way for an industry panel event later in October with more details to be announced soon.