The University is proud to host the historian, broadcaster and film-maker, Professor David Olusoga, OBE, as he reveals the absence of Black history and Black role models in Britain’s education, and explores how Black Britons stamped their presence and their experiences on to the UK’s story over the past 50 years.

Taking place online on Wednesday 6^th October at 5pm, the free-to-attend event, ‘Black & British with Professor David Olusoga’, is the University’s first ‘An Evening With’ guest lecture of the 2021-22 academic year.

Agenda:

- 17:00 – Welcome from Vice Chancellor and introduction of Professor David Olusoga
- 17:05 – Professor Olusoga’s lecture
- 17:35 – Q&A with Vice Chancellor
- 18:00 – Thank you and close

Hosted by Professor Rebecca Bunting, Vice Chancellor, the event is set to be of great interest to all those with an interest in Black British history, social and political history and the education system.

Ahead of the lecture, Professor Bunting said: “We are excited to be hosting the upcoming public lecture with historian, Professor David Olusoga, OBE. His work around Black British history and culture is inspirational and something we’re certain our students, staff and the public will admire. We are proud of Bedfordshire’s diverse student body and staff, and hope that this event with Professor Olusoga will offer our University community something positive to take away, think about and explore further.”

Professor Olusoga is a British-Nigerian historian, broadcaster and film-maker known for his BBC series, A House Through Time, and his contributions to the Oxford Companion to Black British History. As well as writing for The Guardian, The Observer and for BBC History Magazine, he is also the author of Black & British: A Forgotten History which was awarded both the Longman-History Today Trustees Award and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize. He was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to history and community integration, and is a Professor of History at the University of Manchester.

Of this important annual celebration, Professor David Olusoga, OBE, added: “Since its introduction into Britain in 1987, Black History Month has come of age. Thanks to the efforts of campaigners, historians, activists and teachers – often working at a local level – Black Britons have managed to inscribe their history back into our shared national story, overcoming centuries of selective amnesia. It is important we celebrate Black history but also that we recognise that making Black History Month into what it is today is in itself an enormous achievement.”

The public, students and staff are encouraged to sign up to this insightful online lecture. The event is free to attend but people should register online via Eventbrite. Registered individuals will be sent instructions of how to join nearer the event date.

Bedfordshire takes great pride in its diverse student and staff body and will be showcasing the achievements and positivity of its Black community during Black History Month with a central Proud To Be Black campaign. It will feature a gallery of ‘proud’ students, staff and alumni on a dedicated campaign webpage which will be live on the University’s news pages from 4^th October.

A special Beds Bulletin news show on Radio LaB – the University’s community radio station – will also be airing on the 30^th September, celebrating the arrival of Black History Month, and the Race Equality Network will be hosting a webinar on 7^th October with Professor Charles Egbu who is thought to be the UK’s first Black Vice Chancellor.

For more information about the University’s Proud To Be Black campaign and its Black History Month celebrations and events, follow @uniofbeds on Twitter and Facebook.