Black History Month is observed in October, and is usually the month that activities marking the long history of Black people’s contribution to multicultural Britain are acknowledged and celebrated.
Published: Tuesday, 14th October 2025
Many institutions create the space in October to recognize the history of Black people, celebrate their culture and highlight their contributions to British culture and society.
Black History Month is also a time to learn about the struggles of past generations of Black people and to work towards a more inclusive and tolerant future.
On a local level, Cherwell District Council has championed an inclusive Council and I am grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve residents in this community. I made history as the first Black Ghanaian Woman to be elected as Councillor in 2023 to represent the Banbury Cross & Neithrop Ward in Banbury and be profiled for my achievements for Black History Month in 2025.
Ghanaian-born and raised in Accra in West Africa, I believe that my disciplined upbringing in Ghana instilled in me, the values of hard work and dedication to duty which has stood me in good stead.
Today, I am standing on the shoulders of giants who have come before me and have paved the way for me to aspire to become a Councillor and I would like to pay homage to their pioneering role, courage and contributions.
Councillor Dr Chukwudi Okeke from Nigeria made local history when he was elected as the first ever Black Councillor in the Cherwell District Council in 2022 for the Banbury Cross & Neithrop Ward. He was later elected as the first Black Chairman of Council in 2024. He has not only been my role model but also a mentor, guiding me with practical advice and emotional support. I am very grateful for his support and guidance.
My British husband David and I arrived in Banbury in 1991 with our six-year-old son Nicholas Kweku Clarke. My family and I decided to settle in Banbury because the town is a beautiful place to live and a healthy environment to raise a family. My son and his partner Charlotte are now raising their own family in Banbury and I am a proud grandmother of two lovely Granddaughters (Poppy Ayebia and Emilia Nana Abena) and our grandson Oliver Yaw-Larbi) who all attend local schools in the Banbury area.
Reflecting on my achievements, I can say with confidence that: ‘Banbury & Oxford Have Made Me.’ Banbury is a great place to live and work and this progressive North Oxfordshire town has been very kind to me and my family. I completed my first degree at the Open University in 1998 while working fulltime in educational publishing at Heinemann Educational Books at Oxford. I went on to complete my Master’s degree at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University in 2001.
Working as an Editor in corporate publishing brought me into contact with some of the giants of African and Caribbean literature including Professor Wole Soyinka who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986 and Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah who also won the Noble Prize for Literature in 2021. I also was fortunate to have met and edited the works of other award-winning writers including Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ama Ata Aidoo and Buchi Emecheta OBE et al. I am also a published author of two children’s books (Kweku & The Goat and The Ashanti Golden Stool) both published by Heinemann Educational Books.
I started my own independent publishing company, Ayebia Clarke Publishing Limited in 2003 with my husband in Banbury, specializing in African and Caribbean writing for tertiary education. Ayebia Books are now used in schools and colleges internationally to highlight African history and the struggles and contributions of Black people in Africa and the African Diaspora. Ayebia books went on to win international literary awards including the Caine Prize for African Writing in the UK in 2007 and the Aidoo-Snyder First Prize Award for publishing Best Creative Work in the US in 2008.
In 2011, the late Queen Elizabeth II awarded me an MBE for my “services to the British publishing industry.” I was deeply humbled to receive my MBE award and I don’t take it for granted. It was an honour and a privilege to be recognized.
Working in educational publishing also opened my eyes to the importance of having a voice and the value of representation, how and where decisions are made vis-a-vis the power dynamics.
As a Black woman, I am acutely aware that representation matters because “one cannot be what one cannot see.” Providing a voice for the Black community is essential to me in that respect. I applied to become a Councillor as a way of providing a voice for marginalized groups and championing their concerns because often, in a sea of competing views, the concerns of minority communities tend to get lost in the cacophony of competing voices. Voices from the margins therefore require a local champion to fight on their behalf for their needs and I want to be that champion!
Banbury now servers a diverse community and having a representation on the Council that reflects our community will not only lead to greater understanding of minority concerns, but it will also inspire the next generation to aspire to become future councillors and that will in turn help to foster a more cohesive and inclusive society.
As an educational publisher, I feel very strongly that education holds the key to unlocking the essential values of learning about each other in a tolerant and understanding environment. Black History promotes the best talent and achievements of minorities by highlighting their contributions to British society through workshops and social events in a friendly environment that promote the cultures of our shared history.
I am grateful to Cherwell District Council and to the pioneers who have paved the way for me to be a local Cherwell District Councillor representing not only my community but all the other communities in Banbury.
Cllr. Rebecca Nana Ayebia Clarke MBE
CDC & BTC Councillor for Banbury Cross and Neithrop Ward