Glasgow University Students Representative Council

Hello and welcome to Black History Month!

I’m Ella, VP Student Support at the SRC, and I’m here to tell you what’s happening for Black History Month.

Following the murder of George Floyd in the USA this year the Black Lives Matter movement spread around the globe. It’s important that we keep up the momentum to continue the fight for change, and at the same time heighten public awareness of the massive impact of Black people and Black voices on the history of our country.

This month is all about celebrating and empowering our Black community at the University and beyond and we’re excited to be collaborating on a series of events with the Students of Colour Network, the GU African-Caribbean Society and the Queen Margaret Union.

All throughout October, we have a bunch of great events taking place online which you can watch or participate in. Events will be available to all students via our Glasgow Student Events site: https://glasgowstudent.native.fm.

To sign up for an event you just need to register with Native and then grab a ticket. Tickets may not be live to begin with and more events will be added as the month goes on so keep checking the site for updates!

Here is a rundown of what is planned so far:

• Intersectional Panel Discussion: Being Queer and Black | GUSRC, SoCNET
  Tuesday 6^thOctober, 6pm, Zoom
  ‘This student-led panel explores the intersectional experience of being Queer and Black.’
• Decolonising the LGBTQ+ Sphere Workshop | GUSRC, SoCNET
  Thursday 8^thOctober, 5.30pm, Zoom
• Intersectional Panel Discussion: Being a Black Woman in Society Today | GUSRC, SoCNET
  Tuesday 13^thOctober, 6pm, Zoom
  ‘This student-led panel explores the intersectional experience of being a black woman in today’s society.’
• Crash Course on History of Colonialism | QMU, ACS
  Wednesday 14^thOctober, 6pm, Zoom
  ‘A workshop with Dr. Peggy Brunache to shed light on the history of Colonialism.’
• Movie Screening – 13 | QMU, ACS, SoCNET
  Friday 16^thOctober, 6pm, Netflix Party
  ‘In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyse the criminalisation of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.’
• Intersectional Panel Discussion: Being Black in the Arts | GUSRC, SoCNET
  Tuesday 20^thOctober, 6pm, Zoom
  ‘This student-led panel explores the intersectional experience of being black in the arts.’
• How To Be A Better Ally | QMU, ACS
  Wednesday 21^stOctober, 5pm, Zoom
  ‘Join us for this workshop to learn how to be a better ally.’
• Decolonising the Arts Workshop | GUSRC, SoCNET
  Thursday 22^nd, 5.30pm, Zoom
• Intersectional Panel Discussion: Being Black and Scottish  | GUSRC, SoCNET
  Tuesday 27^thOctober, 6pm, Zoom
  ‘This student-led panel explores the intersectional experience of being Black and Scottish.’
• Entertainment Night | QMU, ACS, SoCNET
  Friday 30^thOctober, 7.30pm, Online
  ‘Join us for an entertaining night. Some music followed by slam performances.’

Throughout this month we want to be broadcasting the lived experiences of our Black students. We’re planning to put out short videos from students who tell us what Black History Month means to them. If you’d like to be involved please get in touch with me by emailing vp-support@src.gla.ac.uk

We also reached out to the UofG Race Equality Champions Mrs Bonnie Dean and Professor Satnam Virdee for a short statement:

‘As your Race Equality Champions and co-convenors of the Race Equality Group at the University, we would like to take the opportunity to introduce ourselves and welcome you to celebrate Black History Month 2020. At the University of Glasgow, we are fully committed to promoting racial equality and providing a work, learning, research and teaching environment free from racism or racial tension. In our roles as Race Equality Champions, we are here to support the ongoing development of the race equality work at the University of Glasgow, including the co-chairing of our Race Equality Group which has student and staff representatives and acts as a channel of communication where race equality issues can be raised and addressed or referred to appropriate bodies for action.

Although our Black History Month events may be taking a different format this year, we are thrilled to share with you an exciting schedule with a variety of events, organised by our staff and students, which can be enjoyed from the safety of your own home. From our annual James McCune Smith Memorial Lecture, the launch of the Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies, ‘Creative Conversations’ with black and minority ethnic writers, public talks, discussions and movie screenings, our 2020 schedule is packed full of different events to mark this annual commemoration of the history, achievements and contributions of Black people in the UK.

For a full listing of events, please visit our Events Website.

We look forward to welcoming you to our Black History Month events throughout October.’

Like so much right now our plans for this month have been impacted a lot by COVID-19, however we hope that you’ll still enjoy the online events we have planned and that you’ll find them useful and empowering.

Best wishes,

Ella McCabe
GUSRC VP Student Support 2020-21