A look at Black History Month 2022: Taking Up Space
Jamie-Lukas Campbell
For me, Black History Month is about taking up space and celebrating the achievements of my ancestors and those of the African diaspora. It is a time for celebration and pause to reflect on the Black individuals who take up space and leave the door open for those who come after them.
Earlier this week, the Students’ Union and the African Scholars Research Network (AfSRN) led a Black History Month celebration supported by Queen’s Public Engagement Unit and Diversity and Inclusion. The event championed Black scholars’ contributions to the greater academic community and the world whilst enjoying a taster of local African food.
Staff and students alike were introduced to the AfSRN’s mission and encouraged to sign up to join the growing community of researchers based at Queen’s whose interests span education, intersectionality, law, conflict, chemistry, and medicine.
Globally, Black people still face discrimination in education, the workplace, health care, housing, and public life. The global movement in response to the killing of George Floyd in the U.S. in 2020 and the conversations it inspired only two years ago is emblematic of this. According to a UN report, “there were 6 stop and searches for every 1,000 White people, compared with 54 for every 1,000 Black people” in the UK.
Black people have traditionally been excluded from aspects of public life or faced discrimination and continue to – and Black History Month, while celebratory in nature, is an opportunity for Black individuals and allies to reflect on the Black experience and how we might work together to undo the structural injustices of the past that persist today.
When I was a young teen considering my future, I recalled the words of a White colleague who scrutinised my decision to go to university. He warned me that people like me (see: Black) would best be served in jobs in a vocation or a trade skill. He suggested that I would not excel academically and regret my decision to attend university. I was a child. His comments rang in the back of my mind for quite some time at an impressionable young age. He and his racist mindset became an unnecessary challenge that I had to overcome in addition to the fear and hardship I already faced as a teenager processing the idea of my future. That said, I defied his expectations, graduated magna cum laude from university, and eventually served as an aide to then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-first lady Michelle Obama. But I should have never been forced to encounter that colleague’s racism in the first place.
As author Mia McKenzie writes, “[Black children] never get to be innocent.” Years later, a kind mentor offered me some sage advice. They told me to “take up space.” I was reminded that it’s crucial for Black individuals and traditionally excluded people to take up space and a seat at the table. Since then, I adopted the mindset that if there’s no seat at the table, I must bring one. Singer Jessie J said something that I think about quite often too. She said, “if you’re sitting at a table where you don’t feel like you’re being fed, even if you’re bringing a plate of food, you politely just leave.”
Her words ring true. In the case of education and academia, if students and researchers aren’t being ‘fed’ through authentic opportunities to see their work included or supported, they lose interest and go elsewhere. That’s one of the reasons why I encourage students to recognise and participate in Black History Month events, such as the celebration we organised for the Queen’s community. Our international campus must reflect an appreciation and thoughtfulness of the diverse cultures that impact the lens through which our students and researchers see the world.
I want to work alongside my colleagues to continue to ensure that Black researchers and academics here at Queen’s feel comfortable and confident taking up space. Recognising the historical context by which Black people fought to be included in public society despite racially motivated abuse, institutionalised racism, and prejudice is integral to fostering authentic communities of inclusion from which Black scholars and scholars of colour can thrive.
This recent Black History Month celebration here at the Students’ Union was a moment for pause and reflection of that historical context that situated front and significant the contributions of outstanding Black academics and the scholars here at Queen’s who admire them.
Happy Black History Month every month.
Featured image courtesy of Andrew Towe/Parkway Photography
Jamie-Lukas is the Postgraduate Officer in the Queen’s Students’ Union.