Liverpool Hope University is gearing-up to celebrate Black History Month - and here’s a run-down of all the events taking place.
Black History Month is an annual, national campaign ‘to honour the too-often unheralded accomplishments of Black Britons in every area of endeavour throughout our history.’
The movement’s mission is to provoke people to ‘Dig Deeper. Look Closer. Think Bigger’ when it comes to issues of race and equality.
And Hope will mark the important month with a programme of discussions organised by the School of Humanities, the School of Social Sciences, and the Students’ Union (SU).
The Students’ Union has planned eight events and an ongoing project with the Library and Creative Campus in honour of Black History Month.
Stephanie Trujillo, Vice-President Welfare & Community, said: “Working together with Afro-Caribbean Society (ACS) and the inter-university Black & Global Majority Student Network (BGMSN), we have chosen the themes of ‘Education for Non-Black People’ and ‘Black Celebration’ for the month. These themes set up a framework to create and plan exciting and thought-provoking talks, tours and events that all students and staff are invited to attend.
“Black History Month is a time to celebrate Black culture and to recognise joy as an act of resistance to the violence and hate Black people have faced historically and continue to face in the present day.
“I think it’s really vital to continue learning about Black History from around the world, including Liverpool’s ties to colonialism and slavery. As a non-Black person, I think education is key to supporting positive change, and listening to our Black peers is the first step.
“In solidarity, the SU has also hung up a Black Lives Matter flag by its office by the Lecture Theatre Complex, as we are committed to anti-racism and decolonisation within higher education, which is a life-long commitment.”
You can access the SU's events on this Eventbrite link.
For full details of what Hope has in store, read below:
Oct 6th, 11am-4pm - Freshers’ Fair
(Sports Hall, Hope Park)
Hope’s Afro Caribbean Society (ACS) and the North West inter-university Black & Global Majority Student Network (BGMSN) will have stalls at the Freshers’ Fair which is taking place all day in the Sports Hall at Hope Park. Pop along, meet the team, and make plans to get involved.
Oct 13, 6pm-7pm - Online Meet and Greet
(Via Zoom)
This is your chance to really learn everything you need to know about Hope’s societies - with the added convenience of the session being online and via Zoom. You’ll get a real insight from Stephanie Trujillo, Vice-President Welfare & Community in the Liverpool Hope Students' Union, as well as Sarah Kake of Hope’s Afro Caribbean Society.
Oct 14, 7pm-8:30pm -
Keith Lamar: “The Power of Black Joy and Self-defined Narratives”
(Lecture Theatre Complex, Room B, Hope Park)
Keith Lamar is an inmate currently incarcerated on America’s ‘Death Row’ - and who claims he’s been wrongfully convicted. Keith has spent close to three decades in solitary confinement at a so-called ‘supermax’ prison in Ohio, US. He’s slated for execution by the state on November 16, 2023. And yet LaMar has long protested his innocence, attracting many supporters, and claims racism and economic inequality resulted in the justice system failing him as a Black man.
This session, hosted by the SU’s Stephanie Trujillo, will feature a short documentary and a live Q&A with Keith from his cell in the US. The conversation will highlight the importance of Black joy and self-definition and Keith’s reflection on these themes, further explored in his book “Condemned”.
Oct 16, 1pm-2:30 pm - National Museums Liverpool : Guided tour of the International Slavery Museum
(International Slavery Museum, Royal Albert Dock, L3 4AQ)
National Museums Liverpool have invited students to participate in their events for Black History Month and will offer a guided tour of the International Slavery Museum.
As the Museum itself points out: “Hear the untold stories of enslaved people and learn about historical and contemporary slavery.” Free entry, donations welcome.
Oct 18 - 5pm-6:30 pm - “How to Rise Up: Talk and Performance by Ashleigh Nugent”
(Venue to TBC - Details to be announced on the Hope SU website/social media)
Ashleigh Nugent is an acclaimed writer, performer, and Creative Director at RiseUp CiC. Liverpool-born Ashleigh won rave reviews for his 2020 book LOCKS, a novel based on the time he spent his 17th birthday in a Jamaican detention centre. And here Ashleigh will give a dramatic reading and interactive Q&A.
Oct 19 - 6pm - Michelle Charters - Director of Kuumba Imani Centre.
(EDEN Building, Hope Park)
Michelle is CEO of the Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, a multi-purpose and multi-cultural Community Centre located in Toxteth, Liverpool,
And here Michelle will speak about the Black Sisters movement of the 1980s.
Oct 20 - 2pm-4pm - Bluecoat Colonial Legacies: Heritage Tour
(The Bluecoat Arts Centre, 8 School Lane, L1 3BX)
Tavia Panton, Project Facilitator for Colonial Legacies, will host a tour of the arts centre and its ties to slavery, followed by a reflective writing/sketching workshop.
Oct 21 - 12 noon - Careers Centre: “Navigating Careers at Hope: Opportunities for BGM Students at Hope”
(Venue to TBC - Details to be announced on the Hope SU website/social media)
Hope’s Senior Careers Advisor Chris Biggs will give an introductory session on career development opportunities that link with Black History Month.
Oct 25 - 6pm - Black Music Scene
(EDEN Building, Hope Park)
Renowned former club DJ and agent Les Spaine will speak about the black music scene in the 1970s and 80s. Les enjoyed Residencies at The Pun Club and the legendary Timepiece Club in Liverpool before moving onto a career in the music industry working for EMI, Motown and Capitol Records. He’s worked with such legends as Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie, The Commodores, Rick James, Jermaine Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Billy Preston, Syreeta Mary Wilson, as well as David Bowie and Tina Turner.
Oct 26 - 6pm-7:30pm - “The Anthony Walker Foundation - Anthony’s Story and Anti-Racism in 2021”
(Lecture Theatre Complex Room B, Hope Park)
The Anthony Walker Foundation was established in 2005 following teenager Anthony’s unprovoked, racially motivated murder. This event will feature a recent documentary produced by the BBC followed by a panel discussion with representatives from the Foundation, Hope’s Afro-Caribbean Society and the Black & Global Majority Student Network.
Oct 30 - 2pm til late - “Inside Voices” - Launch Party with Melodic Distractions Radio
(Melodic Bar and Coffee Shop, Constance St, Liverpool L3 8HB)
Recent Hope graduate Louisa Patterson-Brown was the University’s former BAME officer and Secretary of the Afro-Caribbean Society (ACS). She and the BGMSN's youngest Member, Lethu Mpetha,17 have been handed their own show - called ‘Inside Voices’ - on the Melodic Distraction internet radio station, with studios a stone’s throw from Hope’s Liverpool city centre Creative Campus. And Louisa will host a launch party while celebrating the one year anniversary of the BGMSN.
Oct 1-31 - Decolonisation in the Curriculum
(Library Spaces/ Creative Campus)
The library, Creative Campus, Students’ Union, ACS, and BGMSN are working on a decolonised reading list and on filling the display cases to celebrate Black creatives; this is an ongoing spanning the whole year which will feature other themes of anti-capitalism and intersectionality.
** Download the black history month 2021 flyer (PDF)