Westminster’s Black History Year reaches five-year milestone

The initiative was launched in 2020 when the University’s BHY steering group came together to plan for Black History Month in October. As plans developed it became clear that Black history should not be relegated to a single month of recognition. As a result, the group, comprised of Westminster’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) colleagues, allies and the Students’ Union, continued their work across the academic year through a continuous stream of events, stories and initiatives that reflect the richness of Westminster and beyond. Throughout its five years BHY has brought people together to learn from each other, share stories and confront ongoing issues for equality, diversity and inclusion.

The first event held to mark the start of BHY was a talk by Dr Miranda Kaufmann, a historian, freelance journalist and author. Her talk centred on her longstanding research into the presence of free Black people who lived in London during the period of the Tudors and into the time of the early Stuarts.

Since then, the University has hosted an array of eye-opening, engaging and fun events that have brought people together from across Westminster and the community to discuss key issues, learn from each other and share their own stories. All in attendance have had the chance to learn from and share space with Black historians, musicians, executives, writers, artists, thinkers, academics and Westminster’s own alumni.

Many initiatives have also come from BHY over the years, including BHY Create, Beyond Books and the BHY Research Network.

The most recent event was titled Racism in the Beautiful Game. This event saw Marcus Gayle, a former professional footballer and current Club Ambassador at Premiere League team Brentford FC, and Kadeem Simmonds, sport journalist and the first Black person to become Sports Editor of a daily national newspaper, offer their unique perspectives on how racism has affected the sport and the work football’s clubs and their organisational structures are doing and should be doing, to combat racism.

Looking forward, the next event in the calendar is BHY Celebrates which will take place on 9 October. The event will commemorate the richness and significance of Black History Month through music. Attendees will have the chance to immerse themselves in an evening of culture, unity and celebration and pay homage to remarkable musical achievements and creativity of the Black community.  

Dr Deborah Husbands, the Chair of the BHY team, said: “The BHY programme is a sector-leading example of what it takes to recognise and celebrate the histories and contributions of Black people in not only the UK but the entire globe. Our programme is highly regarded for its consistency and quality, and demonstrates the power of collectively working to achieve our aims. We look forward to eventually seeing the first decade of a successful venture that was sparked by one globally impacting incident – the murder of George Floyd.”  

Professor Dibyesh Anand, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Employability, said: "Our commitment to fostering an antiracist culture at our institution has been aided significantly by the BHY programme. Without papering over the persistent challenges of inequities in higher education sector and the wider society, the programme offers us glimpses into the vibrancy of history, culture and movements of Black people."  

The introduction and development of BHY directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.  

Find out more about Black History Year at the University of Westminster. 

Black History Year presents: The Conversation