Elevating the voices and work of Black academics at the University of Westminster.
We invite you to the first annual event: BHY Researchers Network presents Amplifying Black Scholarship!
The Black History Year Steering Group established the BHY Researchers Network with a dynamic mission: to elevate the voices and work of Black academics at the University of Westminster.
We are thrilled to announce our inaugural conference: "Amplifying Black Scholarship" hosted by the BHY Researchers Network and supported by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, Professor Andrew Linn. This exciting event will shine a spotlight on the exceptional contributions of Black researchers at Westminster, from inspiring doctoral students to distinguished senior academics. This is a pivotal moment where we will recognise the invaluable contributions of a group that has been historically marginalised in higher education.
According to a revealing report published by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) on 13 July 2021, Black staff are significantly less likely to have their research submitted to the REF compared to their white counterparts. They also face barriers to becoming principal investigators or co-investigators, publishing in high-quality journals, and securing grants—all crucial steps for career advancement in academia.
The BHY Researchers Network is dedicated to addressing these disparities by providing essential support for Black academics, including tailored training sessions and writing retreats focused on developing research and grant writing skills. Join us in this exciting journey to amplify Black scholarship and create a brighter, more inclusive future in academia!
Key speakers will include Professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng and Mykaell Riley.
Organising Committee
- Dr Deborah Husbands
- Dr La Toya Quamina
- Dr Mykaell Riley
- Kate Theophilus
- Sara Hafeez
Please note: By participating in this event, delegates acknowledge and grant the right to record, film, live stream, photograph or capture your likeness and to disseminate this without any further approval from, or any payment to the delegate. Black History Year retains all rights in any images.
Recordings and images may be used by the event organisers on their website and social channels.
Location
University of Westminster, Cavendish Campus, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW
About the speakers
Professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng
Professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng is a proud British-Ghanaian Londoner, who hails from Nottingham.
She is a Professor in Applied Sociology, and Associate Dean for Student Success in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences (FLAS) at the University of Greenwich, where she has worked since 2005. Louise’s research challenges negative narratives around Black academic attainment. Other research interests include ethnicity and identity, and sociological auto/biography. Currently, she is collaborating with staff and students from our Animation BA Hons programme on an animated auto/biographical exploration of my journey to professorship, entitled ‘Our Kid from the North of the South of the River’, which will be shown at this event. Louise was also her institution’s inaugural Undergraduate Research director which was housed in FLAS between 2018–2022. In this role she oversaw 25 staff-student collaborative projects and shared best practice internationally, including at the Council of Undergraduate Research in the US. Prior to this Louise successfully led the BA and Combined Honours Sociology programmes. Everything she does informs her teaching, support of students, and work as an Associate Dean.
As Louise always says, there is more to her than her job. She has a ‘diverse’ music taste, consisting of late 60s African highlife, 90s rave and hip hop to 2010s bass house and anything in between. Louise has been a Nottingham Forest Supporter since she was four, and is very pleased about our progress!
Mykaell Riley
Mykaell Riley is Director of the Black Music Research Unit (BMRU), which he established at the University of Westminster in 2012.
On the back of several smaller grants, in 2016 he landed his first major award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Titled Bass Culture, the project focused on the history and impact of reggae music in the UK. The first output in 2017 was the Grime Report, in partnership with Ticketmaster and Live Nation, resulting in a change in London Metropolitan policing. In 2018, he staged the Bass Culture Exhibition, the UK's largest exhibit on the impact of Jamaican music. In 2019 he released the 'Bass Culture' documentary film, an intergenerational journey through Soundsystem culture, from Ska to UK Grime music. The overall project was shortlisted for The Times Award 2021, and contributed an Impact Case Study to the REF2021. One of three projects that led to CREAM (Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media), at the University of Westminster, being ranked 1st for Impact in the UK by THES.
