To honour Black History Month, I wanted to write an article about an inspirational Black sporting figure. The choices were plentiful; from Jesse Owens to Serena Willams, many have led the way in their respective sports as we as a sporting community continue to strive for racial equality. However, in the end I settled upon…
Black History Month Special, Features
Black History Month: what it is and why it matters
The month of October marks Black History Month in the UK, an annual observance originating in the United States, during which the Afro-Caribbean communities are celebrated and landmark events of black history are remembered. It is a celebration of the history of the African diaspora, the collective term for the African communities dispersed around the…
Comment
Vice Chancellor signs BME charter
The university has committed to signing Advance-HE’s Race Equality Charter. The move was made by Vice Chancellor David Richardson on the last day of Black History Month. The Equality Challenge Unit, the division of Advance HE responsible for the charter, states that the charter exists to provide ‘a framework through which institutions work to identify…
Arts
Review: Ballet Black at Norwich Theatre Royal
The first thing that jumps out at you when watching a Ballet Black performance is how there is not a single white dancer on stage. The ballet industry is one of the least ethnically diverse art sectors and it is common to see almost all-white companies in theatres. Seeing seven incredibly talented people of either…
Arts
Venue reviews: Nightclubbing at Norwich Playhouse
Nightclubbing was an emotional performance full of funky futuristic beats, heart-wrenching spoken word poems and astonishing visuals. All 45 minutes of the piece were unpredictable and thrilling to watch. Featuring the tunes of Grace Jones, the performance is centered around black women’s experiences of racism and heteronormativity. The storyline is based on an incident when…
Comment
Black History Month
Wandsworth Council’s renaming of Black History Month, a tradition that’s over 30 years old, to Diversity Month has unsurprisingly prompted no shortage of responses, many of which were less than positive. It’s odd it’s happening now, four years after the change actually took place. However, the move did raise some interesting questions about the event…
Black History Month Special, Uncategorized
Diversity in the creative industries
‘White, male and middle class.’ There’s always something so poignant about a power of three to emphasise a point, isn’t there? But perhaps the use of the word ‘power’ here may also emphasise a hint of irony, for this triple threat can often act as a hindrance to many individuals striving to work within a…
Black History Month Special
Reggae, Windrush, and Black History Month
I’m Ryan Jordan – your Ethnic Minorities Officer. The theme for this year’s Black History Month is the 70th anniversary of Windrush: a notable period in history in which the ship MV Empire Windrush carried several hundred individuals from Caribbean countries to the UK. Its first voyage took place in 1948, however it’s not only…
Film
Britain on film: Black Britain, hosted by Creative Matters
Ranging from 1901-1985, across different regions in the UK, ‘Britain on film: Black Britain’, beautifully encapsulates the black journey of joy and struggle. From ‘A Nigerian Wedding in Cornwall’ (1964), to an interesting discussion into the ethics of marijuana in ‘The Jan People’ (1981), the film explores deep and heart-breaking issues that black people faced…
Latest Comments