Catch up on some of the events and recordings from the Oxford Brookes University Black History Month series.
Kloe Watts, BXtra Student Editorial Assistant, runs through some of the top picks from the OBU Black History Month series.
This October, across the UK, Black History Month was celebrated as we came together to remember and honour people of colour and important events that shaped history. Black History Month is an opportunity to celebrate diversity, and to learn more about how to tackle racism and challenge negative stereotypes that may be encountered day to day. Oxford Brookes University hosted a series of events dedicated to celebrating Black history.
The Student Union ran a range of student-led events to showcase and promote black history and culture. Free films were screened every Friday in the Kennedy room of the John Henry Brookes building on Headington Campus, including The Photograph (dir. Stella Meghie, 2020) and Disney and Pixar’s Soul (2020).
Alongside Free Film Friday, on Saturday 23 October the Student Union also hosted a ‘Modelling Masterclass’ in ‘all things body positivity and self-confidence’ led by entrepreneur and CEO Ladyboss.
Alongside our student-led events, a series of sessions was put together by the BAME Staff Network and their voluntary project team.
This included a session on 19 October in which musicians Rebeca Omordia and Leon Bosch discussed their influences and impact. Rebeca Omordia changed the face of classical music by founding the African Concert Series in London, and featured within this series a collaboration with Leon Bosch, creator of ‘The South African Double Bass‘ project. You can catch the recording of this session, including examples of their music, here.
On 20 October Professor David Olusoga, OBE, an award-winning author, presenter, and professor at the University of Manchester, delivered a talk which brought to life challenging issues and educating insights on the future of Black British history.
Image: Professor David Olusoga OBE
Have you ever wondered what it is like for BAME entrepreneurs to build a business, and what challenges are involved in being a woman of colour in business? Lettija Lee, Sherilyn Carter and Elizabeth Solaru discussed their own entrepreneurial journeys and shared what they learnt along the way. Lettija is an entrepreneur and presenter currently working in brand strategy for Apple and Dreamville; Sherilyn Carter specialises in personal brand development and social media marketing, and Elizabeth Solaru is the multi award winning founder of Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium and the Luxury Business Emporium. You can watch the recording of the session here.
For the big finale and closing event of Black History Month, civil rights activist, social entrepreneur and elected official Ambassador Andrew J Young came to Brookes! Young worked closely with Dr Martin Luther King and has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion d’Honneur. You can watch his talk here.
You can find details on all of these events and more, and find other session recordings, here.
Black History Month is an annual celebration, so if you’ll be at Oxford Brookes next autumn, keep an eye out for the 2022 Black History Month event series!
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