Events mark Black History Month
Black History Month will be marked on campus in October with a programme of events including a talk by former Great Britain athlete Colin Jackson, Eid and Diwali celebrations, a poetry workshop, music and dance sessions, film screenings, lectures and discussions.
Former athlete Colin Jackson will be giving a talk on campus as part of Black History Month.
The programme kicks off today (Friday 4 October) with a poetry workshop by former Sussex student Dean Atta, now an award-winning poet and playwright.
The first of four Monday-evening film screenings by the Film Appreciation Society, on 7 October, will give staff, students and visitors the opportunity to see Horace Ove’s 1975 film Pressure, which explored the assimilation (or otherwise) of Caribbean people into British society.
Secrets and Lies (14 October) and Young Soul Rebels (21 October) will be shown on the following two Mondays. Students and staff will be able to suggest via social media which film to show during the final slot on 28 October, with a vote taking place the week before. All screenings will be in the Asa Briggs 2 lecture theatre in Arts A, from 6pm.
The Turkish Society will also be showing a film, Baa Baa Black Girl, on 24 October.
A series of talks and discussions will be held throughout the month.
On 8 October, the International Development Society will host speakers from the campus-based Institute of Development Studies (IDS), who will explore the impact of a ‘brain drain’ on developing countries.
The same evening, Sussex historian Professor Clive Webb will assess British race relations and the American civil rights movement.
The next day, on 9 October, former champion sprinter and hurdler Colin Jackson will be at the 500-seat Jubilee lecture theatre to deliver his talk: 'Dare to Dream: Lessons for Sports, Business, and Life’.
The African and Caribbean Society (ACS) is presenting a talk on 16 October with Tony Warner about how young adults are brainwashed by films, computer games and advertising.
Statistics show that a Black entrepreneur is four times more likely to be denied a bank loan. On 23 October, Frederic Nze will visit campus to explain how he recognised this problem and came to provide finance for under-banked and unbanked communities in the UK.
Those looking for something more active can enjoy a Brazilian-themed night by the Sussex Capoeira Angola Society (4 October), try out Cuban salsa (14 October) or come along to ACS’s showcase on 25 October.
The Careers and Employability Centre has organised a careers talk on 17 October with SEO London, who help students from under-represented ethnic minority communities to secure internships and jobs.
Student societies will also be celebrating major cultural events on the global calendar.
The Islamic Society is hosting an event on 15 October to mark the religious holiday Eid al-Adha.
Black History Month at Sussex will then continue for a couple of days past the end of October, with a Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration organised by the Mexican Students’ Society on 1 November, and the annual Diwali celebrations on 2 November, in conjunction with the Indian Student Society.
Black History Month at Sussex is being co-ordinated by the Students' Union, working with University staff.
For more information, go to the Students' Union’s Black History Month web page.
Black History Month is held every October in the UK. It aims to:
- promote knowledge of Black history, culture and heritage
- disseminate information on positive Black contributions to British society
- and heighten the confidence and awareness of Black people in their cultural heritage.
It has now grown to over 6,000 events.