More than a month – Shaquita's Black History Month round up
October was Black History Month which allows people to celebrate, educate and reflect on the past and how it has shaped the future. We chose the theme of education, aiming to provoke thoughts and discussions to engage with students. I really enjoyed our first event of the month; the Anti-Slavery walk around Liverpool followed by a trip to the international slavery museum. It was an insightful and eye-opening experience that showed Liverpool’s dark history regarding slavery, and how it continues to educate people about it to this day. By 1795, Liverpool controlled over 60% of the British, and over 40% of the entire European, slave trade. Liverpool gained huge wealth from the slave trade and profited with over £300,000 a year through the trade thanks to the ease of access with the ports which are now known as the Albert Docks. There are many popular streets in Liverpool that are named after well-known slave traders such as Bold Street, Sir Thomas Street and Roscoe Street – so, next time you take a walk down one of these popular streets, you should look at the architecture and statues and reflect on whether it’s a good or bad thing that the names of these people are still branded on the city years later.
As part of my manifesto, I aim to create a pledge with a set of actions for the University to follow to take steps towards Decolonising the curriculum. Decolonising the curriculum means that we are looking for ways to remove the institutionalised colonialism that is within education. Examples of this could be diversifying reading lists to ensure more than just westernised perspectives are explored within course content. For the pledge to be reflective of the student voice, it was important for me to create a student-led working group on Decolonising the curriculum, so I arrange a Coffee, Cake and Change Things meeting during Black History Month. This project will be impactful, not only for students today, but also for students in the future. The Decolonisation pledge will be presentation at LJMU’s decolonial research conference on 11th November where I have been invited to present my research and represent the student voice. See you there!
Finally, myself and President Marie decided that something that is key to black identity is hair. This is due to negative historical and societal perceptions of black hair. We hosted an event ‘Don’t Touch My Hair’ that was led by a panel of JMSU and LJMU speakers Moni Akinsanya, Michael Thompson Clerk, Faith Tissa and Ester Akinsanya. to share their lived experiences as black people, their relationship with their hair and how to embrace it, despite discrimination they may have faced, or will still face in the future. We discussed identity, confidence, upbringing, and culture but the common theme from all panellists is black hair should be something that is celebrated and embraced rather than shamed and ridiculed for being ‘messy’, ‘unkempt’ and ‘unprofessional’. Therefore, Moni and her EDI team are working hard within LJMU to adopt the Halo code, explicitly protecting employees who come to work with natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. This discussion was shortly followed by a traditional Caribbean dinner provided by LJMU Catering: it went down a treat!
Overall, black history month at JMSU was a success and we thank everyone who engaged with our events and helped educate themselves and reflect on how black history is key to how we live today. However, we want to highlight that black history to us and to everyone is more than just a month as the adversity and different lived experiences is something that is present all year round for black people. Join me on 11th November to be apart of the Decolonise the curriculum pledge with LJMU, and book onto LJMU’s Black History Month Event on the 16th November.
