Why black history month matters?

    

Voices from the Faculty: Why Black History Month matters

Makeda Bent, Professional Programmes Officer, Academic Centre

Black History is important to me because it is a time when we are given the opportunity to learn about many of our contributions and accomplishments. One of my inspirations from history is Harriet Tubman who was born into slavery and escaped to Philadelphia. Harriet also helped other slaves to escape and put her life in danger never forgetting to help others when she was free.  

Michelle Robinson, Faculty Health & Wellbeing Lead

BHM is important for me as a time-sensitive observation of our past, present, and future profiles in a rapidly evolving time of change. Our past reported his-tory is littered with less than celebratory events which document our mass global movements and few improvements. There have been positive role models highlighted in the history of nursing (Mary Seacole), business and transportation (Harriet Tubman) but we would be hard pressed to mention few others after Malcom X, Martin Luther King, and Marcus Garvey who became political activists. In the worlds of science and technology we have Lewis Latimer who invited the carbon filament for the lightbulb or Gerald. A. Lawson who invented the modern Home Video Game Console. Save for the recently celebrated sporting, athletic, and musical heroes there are countless other giants of black origin who are not celebrated.

As obvious as it sounds the need to celebrate BHM will exist as long as the presence and impact of the great are denied. A living legend is Patricia Bath who created the laser which removes cataract lenses – her invention has changed vision worldwide and continues to do so. BHM matters most of all because the change I want to see does not have to be large-scale and mountainous. Changes that matter to me can be a number of small actions which become widespread successes that are celebrated daily not annually. I would like to see more black academics on King's walls all year round – we have enough black academics here to make that small change – black students and staff in the King's community seeing reflections of themselves on the walls on every campus should not be an unattainable aspiration. 

Spencer Duvwiama, third year Biomedical Science BSc; Diversity & Inclusion Student Ambassador; Vice-President of Welfare, Bioscience Students' Association 2016/17

From a young age I have always been familiar with the celebration of Black History Month. I have always been accustomed to the idea of celebrating BHM, with my parents taking me to community centres where a wide range of activities and talks take place, all towards celebrating our culture and history.

However, growing up in London, I have been taught plenty of negative stereotypes about black people from my environment, whether it be from the media, or from the attitudes reflected by my classmates from my time in school. Black History Month has taught me to not accept these negative stereotypes, that there are plenty of positive contributions to society from black people.

My mum and dad are my inspiration and together with BHM, have reminded me that I should never be made to feel out of place, when striving to achieve the best for myself and by doing so, hopefully contributing positively to my society.

James Frater, second year Medicine; Publicity Officer for the African & Caribbean Society

Growing up in Jamaica, everyday felt like Black History Month (BHM) to me. The school curriculum was rich in black history and we were always taught to be proud of our history. At home, my great grandparents would tell me about our independence, our emancipation and their perspective on things I had learnt at school.  

BHM is one of the most important and exciting times of the year. It has been so easy, living in a Western society to: completely forget about where you came from, have your culture watered down or have the stories of your ancestors be told from a skewed Western perspective. BHM gives you the opportunity to appreciate the culture and history that you have.

For me, it is a time of celebration – to look back at all the hardships that we have endured and be grateful for how hard our people have worked to ensure a better future. It also gives me an opportunity to reflect on what we can do to continue the work of the generations before us …for the generations after us.

Kawal Rhode, Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Black History Month for me is an opportunity to remember the struggle of peoples that have suffered in their right to basic liberties due to domination. When we see this in modern society, it is inspirational that the past teaches us how to overcome these injustices. Being of Black and Minority Ethnic origin, I look for inspiration to the stories of the struggle of independence of the Indian people from British rule, the struggle of the Black right to vote in America and the dissolution of the apartheid regime in South Africa. BHM is an opportunity to remember such stories and to learn how to find solutions for the ongoing struggles in our modern society.

Barbara Falana, second year, Medicine; Member of the African & Caribbean Society (ACS) committee, working as a publicity officer for marketing and Head Blogger for the ACS Society

Black History Month is important for many reasons. Firstly, it is a time where we can specifically celebrate the past achievements of black pioneers and innovators. This can range from the very famous i.e. the Martin Luther King’s of the world, all the way to the not-so-famous (sometimes understated) black individuals, who also have a direct impact on our lives i.e. the mothers, teachers and such. In this fabulous month of October, we can reflect on the many struggles and sacrifices made by these people in their inexorable strive for equality.

And still, in spite of all of these achievements, we mustn’t simply rest on our laurels.

Really and truly, Black History Month can be used as a platform for growth.

In this month, it is particularly important that we encourage and inspire those within the black community. Because it is the next generation of black individuals who will continue to break down more doors and revolutionise the way ‘being black’ is seen today. All in all, Black History Month can be whatever you, as an individual, take from it. You may feel shocked, optimistic or even bemused. But the most important thing is that Black History Month will always make you reflect and feel something.

And this, along with some hard work and dedication, can see YOU next on the list of black pioneers and innovators too.

A massive thank you to Sandra Myers-Edward, who is Project Manager for Diversity & Inclusion. She worked tirelessly on this project and we appreciate her efforts greatly.

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/lsm/athena/black-history-month-voices-from-the-faculty.aspx