SU marks Black History Month

Last week saw a programme of events to mark Black History Month at Warwick. Organised by Students’ Union Welfare Officer Sami Wannell, a diverse range of talks took place between 19th to 23rd October. Topics covered included the Black Panthers, corporate imperialism, African history and contemporary migration.

Black History Month, which is celebrated each October in the UK, was set up by Carter G. Woodson to commemorate the role in history of the African diaspora and allow black people to celebrate their origins as free peoples with their own unique cultural identities. Black History Month was originally established in the 1920s and has now been running for 30 years in the UK.

The week started with a talk by Jim Hensmen, who gave an insight into his experience of the Black Panthers, a radical political party. His talk included background information and the history of the group.

On Tuesday, there was a screening of Malcolm X, a three-hours long biopic of the controversial Black Nation of Islam leader.

Reflecting this year’s theme of international peace and justice, Yasmin Khan of anti-poverty charity War and Want gave a talk about “the frightening drive towards a privatisation of warfare.” Her talk covered the many British companies complicit with corrupt governments around the world, and in particular, private security firms exploiting conflict situations for huge profits, thereby facilitating further violence and poverty. She also touched on the effects on communities in Palestine and Colombia of such unethical enterprise.

Antonio de Jesus Nones gave an impassioned and dynamic speech concerning the legacy of colonialism and security conditions in Africa today. He expounded the view that Africa, as the only non-nuclear continent has the moral authority to lead nuclear disarmament.

He also raised the possibility of African unity, with the creation of eleven “super states,” in order to rid the continent of Western neo-colonialism. Antonio expressed ambivalence about the relevance of Black History month but also conceded its usefulness. “It is good as space to celebrate, but I’m not sure if it helps or hinders us.”

Almamy Taal, the second speaker at the presentation, disagreed with Nones’ view that an apology from the European powers is necessary to emancipate Africans from the psychological and material burden of slavery. Rather, he emphasised a need to move on from the past to remove divisions of race but also suggested that a wider understanding of the past is necessary to understand contemporary African migration.

The talk finished on a positive note, with a message of peace and openness between races.

Unfortunately, the debate on multiculturalism planned for the end of the week was unable to take place due to the ill health of all three speakers.