Which forms of knowledge are universities willing to sustain, and whose intellectual traditions are treated as expendable?

As Black Studies faces growing pressures within UK higher education, this community conversation explores what’s at stake when Black intellectual traditions are erased.

Together, we will explore what it means to defend Black Studies as a vital site of knowledge production, and examine the gap between public commitments to diversity and inclusion and the private failure to value or protect Black people.

We will reflect on what it means to be Black in academia and the personal and collective impact of navigating violent institutions shaped by colonial legacies and structures of whiteness. 

We invite students, academics, educators, activists, and community members to reflect on the importance of Black Studies and the collective responsibility to protect and nurture Black intellectual life.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/defending-black-studies-tickets-1991422880443?aff=erelexpmlt

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Birmingham City University has decided to cut the MA Black Studies and Global Justice course. This decision follows the closure of its undergraduate Black Studies programme in 2024.

Professor Kehinde Andrews, who helped develop the Black Studies courses, has launched a petition calling for the reinstatement of the postgraduate programme and the protection of 5 Black members of staff facing redundancy.

Please follow the link below to read more and sign the petition.

https://www.change.org/p/save-black-studies-at-birmingham-city-university