October 2022 sees Queen Mary University of London marking Black History Month with its biggest celebration yet, including many collaborative activities to engage, inspire and educate its students, staff and wider community about this important annual event.
Black History Month celebrates the successes and achievements of Black people and recognises their outstanding contributions to British life and globally. It was founded to recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the UK over many generations.
Dr Philippa Lloyd, Vice-Principal, Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Queen Mary says: “The UK-wide theme of this year’s Black History Month is ‘Time for Change: Action Not Words’, explaining that for a better tomorrow, we can’t just focus on the past. There’s an ongoing need to collaborate around a shared common goal to achieve a better world for everyone. Diversity has been in this University’s DNA from our founding. And now, we’re extremely proud to ensure that our value of inclusivity is weaved into all that we do. We open the doors of opportunity to anyone with the potential to succeed.”
An emphasis for Queen Mary will be Hate Crime Awareness Week which takes place in mid-October and aligns with Black History Month. Hate crimes are targeted at someone because of hostility or prejudice towards about their race or ethnicity, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity. Queen Mary has introduced Report + Support, a confidential online helpline for staff and students to report incidents and seek support information.
2022’s Black History Month programme at Queen Mary includes various sessions organised by student societies, alongside University staff who are hosting events which range from lunch and learn sessions with academics to engaging workshops. The University will fly a red flag to mark ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ at its Mile End and Whitechapel campuses on 21st October.
Black History Month will also see the inaugural meeting of Queen Mary’s Race Equality Staff Network, where people with shared identities and backgrounds can connect with colleagues and make positive change across the University.
Dr Philippa Lloyd concludes: “Our work throughout October is wide-ranging and engaging - it’s about listening, dialogue and securing understanding. It’s pleasing to see so many parts of the University organising talks and sessions that give us all food for thought on issues of race, and of making changes that benefit all.
“And while October is the focus, progress is necessarily continuous. A commitment to change and to transparency are essential. We’re very aware of the challenges ahead in ensuring this inclusivity remains, and our Race Equality Action Group (REAG) gives us a structure to enable Queen Mary to make progress on the race equality agenda and to make progress in addressing relevant issues relating to staff and students.”
As an employer, Queen Mary regularly publishes Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) data including a gender and ethnicity pay gap report and an EDI Annual Report.
You can find out more below.
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/blackhistorymonth/
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