Oxford University are putting on three events for the second half of Black History Month which cover a range of serious and celebratory issues around racial diversity and incusion.
Professor Paul Gilroy, director of UCL's Centre for the Study of Race and Racism, covers the most serious aspects in his lecture on the history of antiracism in Britain. His research topics are diverse and multidisciplinary, challenging the silencing of Black British history and bringing these strands back into focus. As this year's Holberg Prize winner, and author of a number of influential books, Gilroy is adept at identifying racialised thought and assumptions and drawing attention to processes and practices that should change.
Focussing on the first half of the twentieth century, a day of talks at Jesus College focus on Normal Manley. Manley was an Honorary Fellow at Jesus in 1958, and had been a Rhodes Scholar in his college days. Explore the life of this notable statesman, and his time in both Britain and Jamaica, through presentations and a theatrical performance by Kuumba Nia Arts and Unlock the Chains Collective. Registration is free, and includes refreshments.
TORCH put on some fabulous events. Their Calypso evening to celebrate the 70th anniversary of MV Empire Windrush docking at Tilbury in June 1948 still rings in our ears. Their latest event features Chineke!, a majority BME classical music ensemble founded by double bass player Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE. There's a Q&A, with Nwanoku in conversation with Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey, and a concert of familiar classical works and less well known ones by BME composers. Again these events are free, and registration is recommended.
Press coverage of Oxford University and issues of racial diversity is not often positive, and it is well recognised that its colonialist history is problematic. But it's also important to recognise the work of the University's Equality and Diversity Unit, the BME Staff Support Network, and TORCH to host events with great scholars and musicians, and engage with the issues of a fractured and unequal world.
