Mayor of Harrow Nana Asante was delighted with the inaugural Mayor’s community open day which took place this weekend.

The open day was held at the Civic Centre, in Station Road, Harrow, and celebrated diversity in the community, with storytelling sessions about black music in London, a documentary about race and the launch of British Black Music Month.

Cllr Asante told the Harrow Times that launching the open day would help bring more people to the Civic Centre.

She said: “This is the people’s town hall and they should feel like this is a welcoming place to come, not just a building for the council.

“I hope that the community day can make people realise this is their space.”

Filmmaker Toyin Agbetu, whose documentary ‘Beauty Is...’ was shown at the open day, said the documentary had taken him three years to make and looked at body image and impact of skin bleaching.

Author of Sounds Like London: 100 years of Black Music In London Lloyd Bradley hosted a question and answer session about his book.

He said: “I am delighted to come to Harrow and show support for the british black music month here.

“Black music has been a part of London’s culture since the First World War when the Southern Syncopated Orchestra brought jazz to the capital.

"Following the wave of Commonwealth immigration, its sounds and styles took up residence to become the foundation of the city's youth culture.”