Image Credit: Michael Gribben
The Oxford Student
The Oxford Student
Black History Month has just ended, and very few people can claim to
know much about the contribution that black people have made to this
country. Even fewer still, can claim to know that the black presence
dates back centuries, and in fact thousands of years. Yet black people
are still associated with newness, their presence questioned, and the
need for a ‘black history month’ constantly challenged. Indeed, black
history should be just history, just as white history is not named as
such. So too should black history be every day, every month, and play a
natural part in British history and memory.
But how many of you know
of John Blanke, who was a royal trumpeter at the courts of King Henry
VII and VIII? Or John Edmonstone, a lecturer at Edinburgh University who
taught Charles Darwin? Or Princess Sarah Bonetta Forbes, God daughter
of Queen Victoria? These examples highlight the lack of knowledge we
have of the black Britons of the past. But what about the black Britons
of the present?
Presently, conversations
with regards to black representation are being had as it pertains to the
media, education, and the professions whereby the dearth of black
people in prominent positions across society is shockingly low. In
matters of education, Britain’s elite universities have been criticised
for their under-representation of black students at these universities.
Whilst things are slowly improving, the representation of black British
students at the postgraduate level is dismally low. I’m currently
reading for an MSc in Social Anthropology at Keble College, and can say
that whilst I have encountered a few black postgraduate students, I have
come into contact with only one who is British other than myself – so
far, the rest have been international students. Not only are the fees
high – I had to resort to crowdfunding to take up my place – there is
also a lack of access to loans which would enable one to pursue a
postgraduate education. In addition to this, many have certain ideas
about who can attend places such as Oxford or Cambridge.
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