Black History Month

Black History Month: Time for Change; Actions, Not Words  

October can only mean one thing… we’re celebrating Black History Month at Kent. This year, the national theme is ‘Time for Change: Action, Not Words’ and this has never felt more pertinent. At Kent, we are committed to ensuring that all our students and staff, including our Black students and staff, have the best experience possible whilst they are with us.   

Celebrating Black History 

Black History Month is an opportunity for us as an organisation to celebrate and recognise the myriad of ways in which Black people have contributed to the arts, science, culture, history and technology of Britain and the wider world. It allows us to shine a spotlight on those achievements, and also provides a platform for staff and students to discuss and reflect on their own experiences. Our activities here are organised by a team of people that include the BAME Staff and Student Networks and representatives.   

Get involved – Black History Month events 

Events to look out for include art exhibitions, a book club, online theatre screenings, an open mic night, a coffee morning, 10,000 Black Interns project, Inspirational Speaker Ezechi Britton MBE, film screenings, a Black Owned Business Market and lots of online resources for you to enjoy and to deepen your own learning.  

Plus, don’t miss our BHM staff webinars – Introduction to Anti-Racism and Next steps to Allyship. 

Check out Kent Union’s Black History Month website for all events and resources. 

Continuing the celebrations #Black365 

We don’t just limit this celebration to one month a year. That is why we have #Black365; a series of events and activities that take place throughout the year that continue the legacy of Black History Month.  

Challenging racism also takes a university-wide approach and we know there is always more we can put in place to both be better and do better. We recently launched our Antiracism Strategy which outlined our commitment to taking action against all forms of racism at the University, and beyond. 

We also launched our work on the Race Equality Charter, the national framework which universities use to identify and self-reflect on institutional and cultural barriers that stand in the way of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and students to help us grow and improve as an institution.  

We really hope you explore and enjoy all the different events and activities that have been organised by staff and students for staff and students. We are always seeking to improve though, so if you have any ideas for the future, or feedback, please do get in contact with us on StudentEDI@kent.ac.uk 

Happy Black History Month 22!  

#BHMKent22