This October marked our first Black History Month since launching our new community engagement project, which aims to build stronger relationships with Black families and communities.
This project is all about open dialogue and conversation, reducing stigma and barriers to adoption, and creating space to work collectively to address racial disparities.
As part of our commitment to listening, learning, and creating space for meaningful conversations around adoption, we were proud to take part in a range of events that celebrated Black heritage, identity, and community. It’s been busy! More importantly, it’s been a great start to this journey, and we’re excited about what’s to come.
YAAs events this Black History Month
Sheffield African Caribbean Mental Health Association (SACMHA) Celebration Event
We began the month by attending SACMHA’s Black History Month celebration, a warm and welcoming space where community voices were front and centre.
The event was rich with storytelling, music, and shared wisdom, reminding us of the importance of embedding lived experience in research and decision making, inter-generational dialogue and cultural pride.
South Yorkshire Police & Fire Service Event
We were invited to attend and speak at South Yorkshire Police and Fire’s Black History Month event. This event focused on representation, equity, and building trust.
Skye, outside the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Training Centre at their Black History Month event.
We talked about the racial disparities in adoption, highlighting that black and dual ethnicity children wait longer in care and are less likely to be adopted. We know there is motivation to adopt across all communities, but that some face additional barriers which we need to be open to talking about and addressing.
Ray, YAA Chair of Trustees at the South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Training Centre at their Black History Month event.
We shared our approach to working with communities to solve problems together. It was encouraging to see these institutions engaging in open dialogue about race, identity, and adoption. The event featured inspiring speakers and showcased the importance of inclusive leadership.
Conversations with some of our key steering group members: Delroy and David
One of the highlights of the month for me was recording a special session with Delroy and David—two incredible voices in the community more generally, but especially for our own community steering group.
Skye, David and Delroy shared their thoughts this Black History Month
Their reflections on identity, adoption, and belonging were deeply moving and will be part of a wider project to spark conversations within Black families around adoption. Keep an eye out for the recording as we’ll be sharing it soon!
Doncaster Chambers Charity x Business Speed Networking
We joined the Doncaster Chamber of Commerce networking event to share more about our free workplace workshops on adoption.
Skye and Louise at Doncaster Chamber Speed Networking at The Holiday Inn, A1
These sessions are designed to create safe, open spaces where colleagues can learn, reflect, and talk about adoption, including the technicalities of adoption leave and the adoption process.
It was also a chance to introduce our plans for a new crisis fund, which we hope to build in order to offer one-off support to families in need.
The conversations were energising and opened up new possibilities for partnership and awareness-raising.
Sheffield Cathedral Black History Month Event
Skye and Delroy at Sheffield Cathedral’s Black History Month celebration
We were honoured to attend the Black History Month event at Sheffield Cathedral, which offered a reflective and spiritual space to celebrate Black heritage. The evening included poetry, music, and powerful testimonies that reminded us of the importance of faith and culture in shaping identity.
Conversations with Libraries and local community spaces
Throughout October, we connected with local libraries and community spaces to explore how we might be able to partner with them all year-round—not just in October. These conversations opened exciting possibilities for future collaborations, including storytelling sessions, curated book displays, and safe spaces for dialogue. Let us know if there’s a library or community space near you that you’d like us to connect with.
We also received recorded book recommendations and a reading from one of our very own adoptee’s, Isla who introduced us to some of her favourite books promoting Black people and their stories.
Watch these on our Facebook and Instagram pages!
Halloween Fun on The Moor
So if that wasn’t enough, we rounded off the month with some light-hearted fun. We hosted a stall at Sheffield Moor’s Halloween Trail! We brought sweets (so so so many sweets!), games and some Paddington Bear themed crafts and opened up a fun space to raise awareness about adoption.
It was a joy to see families engaging with our activities, and we loved bringing a bit of fun to our community engagement work.
Keep up to date on our project on our dedicated page!
Looking Ahead: What’s Happening in Your Area? What Should We Do Next?
While our focus this October was largely in South Yorkshire, we know that Black History Month was celebrated in many different ways across the county.
We’d love to hear from you—what happened in your area? What conversations were sparked?
And what should we do next to keep the momentum going?
You can contact me about events or more about the project at skye@yorkshireadoptionagency.org.uk