Black History Month (BHM) is an annual celebration of the successes and achievements of the Black community and a time for recognising their impact in society.
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is proud to support Black History Month by hosting commemorative events and activities open to its students and staff. NTU also shared its educational resources with staff and students as part of its commitment to reinfocring its focus as an anti-racist institution.
A commitment to a year-round series of events
The university recognizes that Black history experience is not limited to one month each year, and it has made a commitment to work year-round to host a diverse series of events and resources to help ensure an equal future for everyone. NTU is dedicated to working to strategically advance equality, diversity and inclusion, and to support a culture of engagement underpinned by respect. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team recognises that learning is vital to ensuring that students and colleagues understand and are equipped with skills and competence to support inclusion and fairness.
Workshops focusing on issues of race and identity
For Black History Month, NTU organized the following workshops:
- NTU Global Drumming workshop
- NTSU Empowerment Hoop Workshop
- NTU Global Book Club
- Financial Freedom and Preparing for the Future (Microsoft and Nationwide)
- Writing Masterclass with Jude Yawson
- Why Diverse Zines Matter: Make your own zine workshop
- Gospel Choir Workshop: Join award-winning British gospel artist Freddie Kofi for a free gospel workshop.
Hosting talks from mental health to a history of racism
NTU also hosted talks for both staff and students:
- Mental Health Discussion
- A Conversation with Jamal Jeffers: Co-founder of the Black and Minority Ethnics (BME) @ The Bar
- Critical Conversations: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race
- Climate justice meets social justice: A talk on race and colonialism in the age of the Anthropocene
- NTSU Book Launch: “The Cream: Stir It, Watch It, BUT…!” by Mitzie Simms-Williams
- Dr Leila Kamali: The History of Racism in Britain
- Celebrating Black Climate Heroes (NTU Green Academy)
Nottingham Trent University's commitment to diversity
As a university and alongside the Nottingham Trent Students’ Union (NTSU), NTU is firmly committed to sustaining a highly effective learning and working environment characterised by fairness, equality of opportunity and the valuing of diversity. For example, NTU's African Caribbean Society, ACS, aims to educate and unite diverse students from NTU and the University of Nottingham, and The New Black Society strives to bring together a community of like-minded people with a progressive mentality to succeed in the face of adversity. The NTSU has also conducted a research project on the experience of Black students at NTU, which resulted in a position paper on the black attainment gap.
The University currently holds and is continually advancing its work in the Race Equality Agenda, Athena Swan Bronze Award (gender equality), Stonewall Diversity Champion (LGBT) and as a Disability Confident Employer.
Black Leadership Programme to empower students
NTU's Black Leadership Programme is a collaboration between Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Nottingham Trent Students’ Union (NTSU). The programme is designed to empower Black second-year undergraduate students to gain confidence and become resilient leaders through a series of hands-on events and community-building activities. Successful applicants get access to valuable events and opportunities, building the skills to become effective leaders.
Offering self-education resources
A dedicated space for self-education resources has been developed for our NTU community to benefit from. This online platform features educational videos, information articles, recommended reading lists and more, encouraging students and colleagues to continue to make informed decisions and continue to make an active contribution to making NTU an inclusive environment for all.
NTU staff have access to an Anti-Racism and White Privilege learning module as part of staff's essential learning, with an 'Understanding Racism' learning module available to all NTU students. Both offer the opportunity to explore and build an understanding of what Racism is and how it can be positively combatted.
Meet the NTU researchers breaking down barriers
NTU's community of researchers aim to break down barriers and tackle society’s problems. Meet some researchers who are working to celebrate, give agency and create a legacy for the Black community in Nottingham.
Panya Banjoko's work has focused on the African Caribbean community
Panya is a PhD researcher in NTU’s School of Arts and Humanities. Her thesis is around Politics in Poetry and the Role of African Caribbean Writers and Networks in the 1970s and 1980s.
Panya is a key figure in Nottingham’s arts and culture community, establishing Nottingham Black Archive, which aims to collect, research and preserve Black history and heritage in the region and is the first organisation of its kind in the city.
Patricia Francis has explored how the voice and opinion of women has often been muted
Patricia is a PhD Researcher working across the School of Art & Design and School of Arts and Humanities.
Her research is a creative-critical analysis of the muting of dissenting women’s voices focusing on the women involved in the 1984-1985 miners’ strike and those involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.