Black History Month
Throughout October, we celebrate Black History Month.
Black History Month (BHM) began over 20 years ago, and it is rooted in the anti-racism movement. Black History Month (BHM) encompasses the history of Black people in this country; people who often have a direct link with Scotland through slavery, colonialism, and migration. Black History Month focuses on people whose sacrifices, contributions, and achievements against a backdrop of racism, inequality and injustice are often overlooked or forgotten about.
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Advancing race equality at Strathclyde
As a socially progressive and people-oriented organisation, the University of Strathclyde strives to be an inclusive community which recognises the potential, talents and contribution of all people.
We greatly value the diversity of our student and staff populations, and seek to create a culture where everyone is welcome and thrives within our institution, and are treated fairly and with respect.
We're committed to creating an environment for students, staff and visitors in which behaviours that detract from the safety and collegiality of our University are not tolerated. The University will take prompt action in response to any alleged discrimination, victimisation, or harassment based on race and ethnicity, nationality, and religion and belief.
Our commitmentRace Equality Steering Group
The Race Equality Steering Group (RESG) was established in September 2023 with the goal of advocating for and ensuring an inclusive, welcoming, and equitable working and learning environment for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) students and staff. The RESG will actively promote racial diversity in our teaching and learning while improving educational and employment outcomes for BAME students and staff through our culture, structures, and processes.
The RESG is the successor to the Race Equality Working Group (REWG), which was convened to inform the advancement of race equality work at Strathclyde. From 2020 to 2022, the University’s Race Equality Working Group led a program of sector scoping, consulted with staff and students, and analysis of ethnicity data. The three main strands of the recommendations are Challenging Racism, Representation, as well as Belonging and Visibility.
In September 2023, the University established the permanent Race Equality Steering Group (RESG) to carry forward this work and implement the recommendations, reporting directly to the University’s central EDI Committee. The RESG is chaired by Professor Churnjeet Mahn and sponsored by the university’s Equality Champion, Professor Douglas Brodie.
To proactively address matters of race equality, the university has appointed a Senior Race Equality Officer. This recent addition to the Equality and Diversity Office underscores the University's determination to better understand, address, and challenge existing racial disparities. For more information about the RESG or matters of race equality at the University of Strathclyde, please contact Jennifer Ba (Senior Race Equality Officer) at: Jennifer.ba@strath.ac.uk.
Report & Support
If you experience or witness bullying, harassment and violence on campus and/or relating to university staff and students, you can report this via Strathclyde’s Report & Support system. Reports can be made anonymously.
Union Black: Britain’s Black cultures & steps to anti-racism
Through our ongoing partnership with Santander Universities, Strathclyde staff and students have the unique opportunity to participate in a free e-learning course developed by leading Black academics, artists and activists in partnership with the Open University. This course will take six to eight hours to complete and is designed for students and staff in UK universities and the Higher Education sector. You do not need any previous knowledge or experience to study the course.
Union Black aims to provide learners with an understanding of the origins and experience of Black British history and culture, and a critical appreciation of the concepts of intersectionality and race as a social construct. The course celebrates and provides personal insights into the lived experience of Black British history and culture, by looking beyond the commonplace narratives (for example, slavery and oppression) to positive and affirming stories of the role and impact of Black people, from Tudor times to today.
Enrolment is free and you have until May 2024 to complete the course. Any technical issues, please contact santander.universities@santander.co.uk.
All learners will receive a certificate of achievement upon completion of Union Black which you can add to your CV or share on social media.
Enrol to Union Black courseBlack History 365 Playlist
This playlist includes a list of films, documentaries and radio programmes celebrating Black history. Login using your University details.
Listen to the playlist-
AllofOctober
Archives and Special Collections Exhibition - Andersonian Library, L3
This exhibition showcases one of the Library’s historical collections, the papers of plantation owner Hugh Lang, and features correspondence from his daughter Ann: child of Hugh Lang and a formerly enslaved woman.
This year the Library has published a full catalogue for the collection which greatly aids its discovery. More information can be found in this blog.
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26Oct2023
Academic-community partnerships for environmental justice (online or on campus)
This event brings insights from traditional knowledge in South Africa and Namibia, and celebrates our sisters’ research as a contribution to Black History Month. The discussion will showcase two exciting academic-community partnerships and will draw connections to inform environmental justice work in Scotland.
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27Oct2023
Allyship Workshop: From Apathy to Advocacy (online)
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm. Learn the importance of allyship, the difference between a diversity champion and a diversity ally and learn about the allyship continuum. The workshop will include case studies and role plays in which participants, given scenarios are asked to discuss. The session will end with the development of an allyship toolkit and a discussion of the global implication of allyship.