As part of our ongoing support and celebration of Black History Month the Library and Learning Services Student Engagement team (you may know us better as the UniSkills team) would like to share with you our reflections and how we have further educated ourselves in light of the re-emergence of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in early 2020.
Since May 2020 the Black Lives Matter movement has established itself front and centre in the public consciousness. The recognition that even in the 21st century not all lives are equal, and the acknowledgement that everyone has a responsibility to take a stand against racist ideas and behaviours swept across the globe.
Initially social media was awash with messages of support, campaigns and hashtags, however, as time passes and life moves on, it is important that this message does not get lost. As we enter Black History Month (October) now is a good time to reflect on what we have all learned and what we can do next.
The Student Engagement team support students with their academic skills, and we recognise that education is one way we can increase our understanding and challenge our assumptions. Our team have been educating ourselves further about issues of social justice, civil rights and black history, and starting to understand how we can become better allies to people of colour.
We have learned that educating ourselves comes in many forms, not just reading. It is important for us all to talk to people who come from different backgrounds, listen carefully to their experiences, watch documentaries, listen to podcasts, engage with TED talks, challenge racist behaviour and microaggressions, and keep the conversation going. Here is just a small selection of the resources we have engaged with:
Non-Fiction
- DABIRI, E., 2021. What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition. United Kingdom: Penguin Books Limited.
- KENDI, I. X., 2019. How to be an AntiRacist [Kindle eBook]. Vintage Digital.
- HIRSCH, A., 2018. Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging. Vintage Publishing.
Fiction
- BENNETT, B., 2020. The Vanishing Half. London: Dialogue Books.
- CARTY-WILLIAMS, C., 2019 Queenie. London: Trapeze.
- DARÉ, A., 2020. The Girl with the Louding Voice. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
- EVARISTO, B., 2020. Girl, Woman, Other. London: Penguin.
- JALALUDDIN, U., 2021. Hana Khan Carries On. London: Atlantic Books.
- NZELU, O., 2021. The Private Joys of Nenna Maloney. London: Dialogue Books.
- REID, K., 2020. Such a Fun Age. London: Bloomsbury Publishing
Articles
- MOHDIN, A. and CAMPBELL, L., 2020. Young, British and Black. The Guardian [online]. 29 July.
- NUNNALLY, S. C., 2018. (Re)Defining the black body in the era of Black Lives Matter: the politics of blackness, old and new. Politics, Group, and Identities. 6 (1), pp. 138-152.
TED Talks
- How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time – Baratunde Thurston
- An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter – Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi
Netflix
We recognise that we are just skimming the surface of all the information and resources out there and would love to hear your ideas about what we should be reading, watching or listening to. Please get in touch with your suggestions…
Instagram: @EHUlibrary
Twitter: @EHULearnService
Email: [email protected]
And don’t forget to visit our Black History Month Online Reading List for further inspiration and resources.