Black History Month
Time to reflect, celebrate and champion
"Black History Month is a time for us to reflect, celebrate and champion the rich history and legacy of Black Britons both past and present. This year's Black History Month theme is 'Reclaiming Narratives'. This theme presents us with an opportunity to take ownership and control of our power, voices, and stories. We have the invitation to inspire and educate our community by offering a fresh outlook on Black history and excellence.
Although Black History and the significant achievements and contributions of people from the African Diaspora to British society should be acknowledged all year round, Black History Month serves as an opportunity to directly draw attention to this and to challenge the systems that allow racial inequality to exist in our society.
As a community, we have shown a strong commitment to improving the experiences of our Black staff and students, but we also acknowledge that there is more to do. This October, we ask you to join us in celebrating Black History Month, get involved with the array of events planned and to challenge yourself in thinking about how you can be an ally to our Black community."
Oluwakemi Hassan, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partner
Black History Month is about celebrating Black excellence. This year's theme, Reclaiming Narratives, also encourages listening and, for myself and I hope others, educating myself as an ally and supporting equity through my actions. This month I'd also like to call for more people to join the BAME staff network, to help us progress important actions and to support the Chair. Our work is year-round and Black History Month allows time for focus, reflection and action."
Mandy Ure, SLT Lead for Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and SLT Sponsor for Race
Join me this special month to reclaim your narratives. Embrace your authentic self to inspire and transform, while celebrating inclusivity and diversity. Take control of your story to assert your identity and experiences, as these have uniquely shaped and defined you."
Thuy Mason, BAME staff network chair
Black History Month events
Many of the events listed below are run jointly with Kingston Students' Union.
Further information about Black History Month events
For more information about Kingston University BHM events, please email Thuy Mason.
To find out more about the Kingston Students' Union BHM events, please check the Kingston Students' Union website.
Meet the student behind the Black History Month artwork
The Black History Month artwork has been created by Sustainable Design student, Trusha Oza, who explains her design process:
"The BHM branding uses bright colours, playful and bold typography to represent the joy of decoloniality. I attended a workshop at the University of Westminster where we shared images and objects that bring us decoloniality joy. Participants shared powerful stories of strength, family, food, culture, etc which was the main inspiration behind the identity design. The design aims to evoke a positive feeling of decolonisation and at the same time show strength in fighting colonialism.
My process involved working with keywords, creating a visual mood board, sketching and finally working on Adobe Illustrator to create logo options. I had the most fun designing this logo, the process gave me joy."
News carousel
Resources
- Black History Month UK official website.
- BBC Alt History: Writer and historian David Olusoga presents a series of short films exploring critical moments in Black British history from 1919 that have been forgotten or rarely discussed.
- TED talks: How to recognise your white privilege – and use it to fight inequality – Peggy McIntosh, Anti-racism activist, scholar.
- TED talks: The Danger of a Single Story – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
- White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (PDF).
- Black Cultural Archives: Telling the story of the Black British experience.
Reading list
- Noughts and Crosses series by Malorie Blackman.
- Resisting Racism: Race, Inequality and the Black Supplementary School Movement by Kehinde Andrews.
- White: Essays on Race and Culture by Richard Dyer.
- Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain by Peter Fryer.
- How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.
- Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.
Students and staff can find a wider list of resources and suggested readings by logging into the iCat online library with their Kingston University username and password.
