Leeds University Union held a successful event last week to celebrate the launch of the annual Black History Month which takes places every October.

The launch lasted from 9pm-2am and involved a variety of events and performances by students. Each week of this month the union will focus on a particular angle, with Week One titled ‘Why Black History Month?’ and the month ending with ‘Celebrating and Looking Ahead’.

A wide range of events will take place throughout October and include a seminar by BAFTA and MOBO award-winning Hip-Hop artist, AKALA, and a ‘Heritage Corner Walk’ with writer and actor Joe Williams. A talk entitled ‘Narcissus and other Pall Bearers: Morbidity as Ideology’ by Wole Soyinka, a  Leeds graduate and Nobel Prize winner,  took place on Thursday 8th October.

A panel discussion called ‘Why Is My Curriculum White?’ and chaired by Education Officer Melissa Owusu will take place during week four and follows on from the UCL campaign. Gemma Turner, the union’s Equality & Diversity Officer, commented: “I’m excited for this year’s Black History Month which is set to be the biggest and best yet. We’ll be covering a wide range of issues including why Black History Month is relevant today, intersectionality, such as LGBT, disability and mental health and the Prevent agenda. I’m really pleased to have so many student led performances, events and discussions planned from African Caribbean Society, Black Feminist society, Black Minority Ethnic liberation coordinators and more. ”

(Image: CCTV-Africa.com)

Shamima Noor