By Paul Ejime
Every October, Bournemouth University (BU), southwest of England celebrates the Black History Month with various events bringing together staff and student, and diverse community members to underscore the educational institution’s commitment to initiatives that value and promote universal human dignity.
A regular attendee will find it difficult to choose the favourite from among the annual events. They are mostly very interesting, interactive and captivating, often eliciting a commitment to act, connect and contribute to efforts that promote universal human dignity.
Events this year, held from 21 to 22 October, under the theme: Honouring Our Communities, which were coordinated by the University’s Race Equality Network, co-chaired by Dr Emmanuella Ejime-Okereafor and Dr Laura Iannuzzi and supported by several partners, including the Dorset Equality Council, did not disappoint.
The programme showcased staff and students’ research, projects, allyship, collaboration and community impact; Community Voices and Exhibitions; two enthralling films – Grey Matters and Unseen and Unheard – followed by panel discussions and Q&As, and recognition/celebration of Community Champions and allies.
Professor Alison Honour, the Vice-Chancellor and CEO, who has prioritised the Black Month at BU, set the tone, by emphasising that the 2026 theme, “…invites us to look more closely at something we can sometimes take for granted: the communities that shape, support and sustain us. It is about people, Black people. It is about celebrating the people who care and who show up every day for others and make a difference, including those whose contributions too often go unseen or unheard.”
“It is also an opportunity,” she said, “…to reflect on how we all play a role in advancing race equality and creating inclusive communities – something we very much want to continue doing at BU.”
Established in 1992, now with an estimated student population of 17,000 from more than 130 countries, BU is famous for its work in the media industries.
“I am proud to lead an organisation that hosts these events, and I am proud of the diversity represented in our community, among our staff, students and our partners, many of whom are in this room,” VC Honour affirmed.
She recalled that earlier this year BU hosted a Race Equality Roundtable that brought together community partners, public sector organisations and colleagues, “to explore how we can work together to create meaningful change.”
One of the areas of discussion, she said, was “digital exclusion and its disproportionate impact on some members of our local communities, including people from minority ethnic backgrounds.”
“We have much to be proud of, both in the work already happening across our university and in the partnerships we are building with our communities. We also recognise that there is more to be done,” the VC noted.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 2023/24 data showed that of the estimated 23,000 professors in the UK, only 250 were Black, made up of 180 males and 70 females.
Honour said in the “wider social and political context… the current climate can feel increasingly difficult and uncertain.” “Many colleagues across our University sector, and wider, have been deeply affected and saddened by the death of Jason Ardy,” Africa’s youngest University professor, who took his own life over racial slurs and pressure linked to alleged plagiarism.
“This brings into focus why events like these matter – having spaces to come together, honour our communities, share stories and take meaningful action,” she added.
Dr Samanta Iwowo, a Principal Academic in drama and film production for television at BU, anchored her reflections on her personality as an Igbo woman from Nigeria, “shaped by indigenous African philosophies of communal existence and responsibility. I am also someone who migrated to the United Kingdom in pursuit of education and whose journey eventually brought me to Bournemouth.”
She said that “…honouring our community involves, beyond celebrating/curating community histories and contemporary cultures and advancement, a particular ethic of engagement, underpinned by a reciprocal respect and responsibility.”
Quoting an Igbo proverb, which “holds that when a fowl enters a strange land it first stands on one leg,” she explained the nexus between the investments/resources which an “educational investor,” like herself brought from home to a new environment, “…leaving behind familial and familiar structures of support,” while “The receiving institution, in turn, provides education, expertise, networks and opportunities…,” which may “…yield returns.”
“It is therefore, a relationship of mutual investment, even though the resources and institutional authority available to each party are unequal,” Iwowo added.
She noted that “…learning from locals requires more than identifying the most visible or institutionally powerful voices. It also means recognising whose interpretation of the community has become dominant, whose experiences complicate that interpretation, and whose perspectives may have been excluded.”
The first film, Grey Matters is the story of a Black woman, Vivienne Randall; her experience living with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), a complex and often misunderstood condition affecting the brain and the body.
Despite her pain, Randall had the presence of mind to archive episodes of her attacks/seizures, which the producer said were very helpful in the production. The story underlined what role such films can play in “ensuring that conversation about health, disability and care reflects the diversity of the communities they affect.”
The second film “Unseen, Unheard,” is about six Black women with breast cancer, family support, resilience, and inequality. They shared their complex and personal stories of how identity can affect experiences of care.
During one of the panel discussions, Keith Witers, a Digital Communications Lead with the Wessex Cancer Alliance working in collaboration with the BU and University Hospital, Dorset, listed different types of cancer, the myths, and how the risk factors can be reduced, such as “not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, enjoying the sun safely, cutting down on alcohol, eating more wholegrain and high fibre, and being active.”
He also explained where to find accurate and reliable information on how to reduce the risks, the importance of spotting and reporting the condition early, available support and screening programmes.
Emma Leatherbarrow, Inequality and Involvement Strategic Lead, also from the Wessex Cancer Alliance, offer hints spoke on the diagnosis and general experiences of care for Black and Asian women.
Some attendees sought clarifications on the presentations, while the panellists, including Liz Smith (Personal Care Lead), and Viv Alivizda (a Deputy Chief Nurse), urged strong community involvement to raise awareness, and addressing the differences in experience of care.
James Taylor, Chaplain of University Hospital, Dorset, underscored the need for the involvement of faith-based organisations in the collaborative efforts to raise health care awareness and finding inclusive solutions.
In his presentation, Rupert Ogwuazor, Chairman, Nigerian Community in Dorset (NCD), said the Black History Month “is not only about looking backwards. It is also about recognising the contribution Black communities are making today – and shaping the history that future generations will inherit.”
“Communities do not need institutions to give them a voice,” he said, adding that “being present is not the same as being seen, speaking is not the same as being heard, and being invited into a room is not the same as having a meaningful voice in what happens next.”
Ogwuazor said that community leadership “…has taught me that people want three things – a sense of belonging, dignity of being recognised and confidence that their experiences matter.”
He urged the audience to “See, Hear, Value, and Act.”
There was light refreshment for guests, who also enjoyed Jollof, a rice dish popularized by three West African countries, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal, served by Nativ Bournemouth.