Don’t Call Me Scary! brings author and communications professional Monique Pennie to Newcastle City Library for a Black History Month conversation about identity, assumptions, resilience and finding the confidence to define yourself on your own terms.
The event forms part of Newcastle Libraries’ official Black History Month programme for 2026.
Pennie’s work draws upon her experiences as a Black woman, mother and professional who has spent decades navigating environments in which assumptions about race, identity and belonging can influence how people are perceived and treated.
At the centre of the discussion is a deceptively simple question: what happens when the story being told about you does not reflect who you actually are?
It is a question that connects with a much wider Black British experience.
For generations, Black people in Britain have challenged stereotypes that attempted to define them before they had the opportunity to define themselves.
Those stereotypes have appeared in many forms — in popular culture, workplaces, education, advertising and everyday conversation.
Some have been blatant. Others have appeared through assumptions, comments or behaviours that may seem small in isolation but can have a powerful cumulative effect.
Today these experiences are often discussed through the language of microaggressions and unconscious bias.
Pennie’s work focuses not only on recognising those moments but also on developing the confidence and language needed to respond to them.
Her approach centres around noticing what is happening, naming it clearly and then finding a way to navigate forward without losing your own sense of identity.
The conversation also explores resilience, authenticity and the challenge of entering professional and social spaces that were not necessarily created with Black people in mind.
That makes the event particularly relevant during Black History Month.
Black History Month is not only an opportunity to look back at significant figures and events from the past.
It can also provide a space to consider the experiences of Black people living and working in Britain today — including the quieter, everyday experiences that rarely appear in traditional accounts of history.
Through personal experience and discussion, Don’t Call Me Scary! examines how assumptions about Black identity continue to operate and how people can challenge them.
Taking place at Newcastle City Library, the event offers an opportunity to hear a contemporary Black British perspective on identity, representation and the importance of retaining your own voice.
For Newcastle Libraries, it forms part of a programme specifically created to mark Black History Month 2026.
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