Words by Rume Otuguor and Priscilla Appiah
(n.b. This is an extracted version for the purpose of readability)
If you donÔÇÖt know already, October is Black History Month in the UK. ItÔÇÖs a month that means a lot of different things to many different people, but its essence lies in the memorialisation of past events in black history which shape our present. Quench Features sat down with ACS President Priscilla to discuss what it means in today’s climate, how we progress and much more.
Hi Priscilla!
Firstly, I want to congratulate you on becoming president for ACS this year! ItÔÇÖs a huge role that comes with a lot of responsibility. Can you give us a summary of your vision for the society?
I want it to be a society where you can go, you can have fun but it’s also an inclusive safe space, by doing things like reaching out to a lot more other societies than we did last year to do more collaborative events, hosting events that we wouldn’t have hosted last year be that academic or inclusive ones such as pride-based events etcetera. I want it to be a thing for ACS where you leave it enriching yourself in some way. For example, IÔÇÖm hoping to make an alumni network so if people do finish uni, if there’s someone else who is in first year, they can be like oh, I have a third year or a contact who’s graduated who can give me the mentoring and advice that I might need.
I feel like it’s hard enough as a black person to get up a leg up in life as it is, networking is important in day-to-day life and ACS is such an amazing opportunity for that. But I feel like it hasnÔÇÖt been realised so I just wanted it to be a thing of at least just laying the foundations so whoever is to follow me can continue the work hopefully.
“It can be a place where black students can really grow and enrich themselves in different ways.”
Ok so BHM has finally rolled round again and this time the theme is Time For Change: Action not Words. Especially in the here and now, this really resonates with me. What does it mean for you in this current climate and who do you think needs to hear this message the most?
I think in this current climate it just means not doing performative things or doing things just for the sake of saying, ‘I’ve ticked off my Black History Month box’. I think it’s very easy for societies and businesses to be like ok – Black History Month has come around, let’s put a quote up by Martin Luther King- something like that. Ok youÔÇÖve done that but what have you actually done? Because yes, youÔÇÖve put that quote up, yes, you’ve put that picture up but what difference, what change has it made? So, for me it was a thing of like, everything we’re doing this Black History Month I want it to be with the intention of – so we’re doing this event, how does it benefit us, what difference does it make?
I feel like the issue sometimes is, when people talk about differences, they want like revolutionary, rah rah rah things but I feel like sometimes it’s just as little as… showing that Black people are multifaceted.
“I think sometimes, there’s the issue of the stereotypical roles of ah this is what a black person is and thatÔÇÖs it. But some people are bookworms, some people like grunge rock. Just like a white person is multifaceted and has so many aspects to them, thatÔÇÖs what I want to show that black people are too.”
So, I was first introduced to BHM in primary school. Did you have BHM in your primary school and how about secondary? What was the focus on and was there any difference between these 2 stages of education?
So, in my primary school, we actually didnÔÇÖt have Black History Month, it wasnÔÇÖt something that was acknowledged. Mostly it was about WWII and we’d do a lot of Holocaust Memorial based things.
But when I went to secondary school it was the first time that I was properly introduced to BHM but even then, it was slavery, racism, Harriet Tubman – it was just the ones that we all know. I kind of would dread BHM coming around because I lived in a predominantly white area. I was one of the only I think three black people in my year group and it would be a thing where like in lessons it was the stereotypical ÔÇÿoh god we’re gonna talk about black historyÔÇÖ – you’d get the look and all of that which is like… it just made me feel a type of way. It went from not being acknowledged to all of a sudden – a neon sign over my head every single time black history was talked about which kind of just felt awful really.
So, in contrast to that experience, do you feel it’s presence here in campus at all and if not, what more do you think can be done from the authority figures?
I don’t know if this is just my school but I haven’t actually heard a single lecturer or a single tutor acknowledge the fact that it’s Black History Month. With things like that it’s like, this is an important time, this is a time that we celebrate black history and if it’s not acknowledged then it has to be through the extra-curricular things that people do. For example, the SU, I’ve been working with some people for BHM things and they’ve been amazing. They held a stall yesterday and we’ve got a couple more stalls in a couple of days. If it wasn’t for the fact that these people are taking a proactive stance to try and do those things because they’re genuinely interested, I feel like it would have been basically nothing because last year when I was on committee, I felt that there was not much or there was very little done for black history.
I donÔÇÖt know if thatÔÇÖs just me and what I’m seeing because obviously different people see different things but I feel like it’s definitely something that can be worked on. And it should be a thing where students are approached and asked, ÔÇÿok what do you want to see?ÔÇÖ, and the university should celebrate it a lot more.
“Yes, the demographic is low in terms of black students but we’re still a part of the university. We’re still paying our tuition, we’re still active members of uni.”
I: Yeah, I definitely agree because you do Law don’t you?
P: Yeah
I: I do Journalism and Sociology and I.. journalism not so much, they don’t really do things like that but I know for sociology when I went into the building for the first time this semester, they had these big posters around the main corridor of black icons in Welsh history and I was like really shocked, I didnÔÇÖt expect it from them.
P: It’s sad that we get shocked because it should be a thing of it’s expected, it shouldn’t be a thing of oh my god, their doing something small, but itÔÇÖs because we don’t see those sorts of things.
Speaking of BHM in Cardiff University, what is the ACS doing to commemorate this month? Are there any events coming up that the people should know about?
Yeah! So, the ACS are doing a couple of things to celebrate Black History, some of the things we’re doing in collaboration with other people but what the ACS’s main message is, is that Black History is not just in one month so some of the events and things that we’ll do which will be linked to BHM wonÔÇÖt actually happen in Black History Month. So, things like Afrogene which is our main event to celebrate black history and black culture.
I: That’s a great event!
P: Thank you! And we’re trying to make it bigger and better this year. There’s a lot of planning, we started planning it in July so a lot of planning is going into that just because we want it to really showcase black culture and history. So that’s one of the main ones but we’re not going to do that in October because we don’t want it be a thing of where people associate black history with one month. But we do have things like we’re gonna be trying a black academia wine and cheese night where we hope to invite professors, lecturers and students to network and mingle over wine and cheese. There will also be drinks like elderflower as well for people who don’t drink.
“We want it to be that black history is every single month of the year because black people shouldn’t be put in a box.”
Next week, we’re starting our Black History Month book club. We’re doing that in collaboration with the student union because I’ve just been working with Ashley who is the VP of Heath Park quite closely to do some of these events. The book we’re doing is called The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney. Join the book club!
Everyone will be given a free book; we’ll have hot chocolate and pastries and it’ll be from six to half seven. So, they’ll be a mingling session, we’ll read a little bit of the book and then we can hear feedback. Then we’ll just have some parties throughout October and the year because we wanted it to be a thing to celebrate.
On Monday the 24th October between 5 and 7 is when the documentary screening is, it’s called Sons of Injustice and the film maker’s called Dale Williams. It’s telling the case of Mahmood Mattan who was wrongly convicted of murder and ended up having a miscarriage of justice where he was hung.
“I feel like whenever people think of miscarriages of justice, they automatically think of America, George Floyd etc. but the UK also has rampant cases of miscarriages of justice, but it’s just brushed under the rug.”
We know people like reading, we got a book involved, movies are a nice way to wind down and have a chat, the documentary I think is just very impactful and important and then like the spoken word thing is like something different. We’re just trying to make sure that different groups are represented within ACS, it just means that different people can come and enjoy.
Is it exclusively for ACS people or is there some for ACS members and others open to everyone?
So, we made the decision, that we wanted to open it up to everyone; I didnÔÇÖt want it be a thing where people feel like because theyÔÇÖre not an ACS member, they couldnÔÇÖt sign up. And then I also felt like even if someone’s not an African or Caribbean person and they still want to come along, this is another way they can be taught something about black history without us having to educate. You can come along and learn: this is also an aspect of black culture, this is also an aspect of black history and just immerse yourself in it. So, we’ve opened it up to everyone so that it’s a bit fair and collaborative really.
Blackness is a loaded identity, both politically and personally. We have a history of trauma but also of collective spirit and joy. Black joy is a phrase that has recently come into parlance. Can you describe to me what that looks like in your view and why itÔÇÖs important?
A celebration of our authenticity and who we are and the fact that we have overcome so much and sometimes we’ve overcome the adversity without it being acknowledged. Because I feel like sometimes, it’s easy to overcome something when the people/ the person whoÔÇÖs done that to you have been like ÔÇÿyes, we put our hands up, we’ve done thisÔÇÖ, but itÔÇÖs to take the step to be gaslit or have things not be acknowledged and then still to overcome it and be at the top of our game in so many things. For example, Serena Williams, she’s the G.O.A.T when it comes to tennis, she’s inspirational! It’s just like to do all of that, still have setbacks but then be unapologetically us, I’d say thatÔÇÖs what it means.
Because it would be so easy to hide and to just be like you know what, all of this that we’ve gone through as a collective, we’re just gonna be like no.
“It’s the fearlessness that we all still have that I feel like exhibits the joy and the achievement and the culture that we are.”
This is something that was asked to me recently so I want to ask you. How would you change the world in 2 words?
Create love! I feel like when there’s love, joy and peace and everything is borne out of it.
A huge thank you to Priscilla for agreeing to do this interview. Look out for the events that are still to come which you can keep up with on the SU website and Cardiff ACSÔÇÖs Instagram page. Afrogene is one that you definitely donÔÇÖt want to miss and remember everybody is welcome! Lastly, Black History Month is every month and should never be forgotten.
