The next person to feature in our Black History Month series is your BME officer, Samira Abdalla. Samira has been working hard to curate a series of talks, film screenings and exhibitions that celebrate BME individuals at UCL (and elsewhere!) and tackle important issues that are relevant to them.
What does BHM mean to you?
The first thing BHM means to me is recognition. Black people are often kept out of the narrative and you just have to look at who is writing history and how that is reflected in the national curriculum. The stories of Black people are often kept out of history and if they are in history, they are not from the perspective of black people. The second part is a celebration of all the great things that black people have achieved and the significance of black people beyond the normal conversations around slavery that you see in year 11.
Why does this exhibition mean to you?
I remember early on in my Geography degree we focused on the concept of space and we talked about the way that space is not a container for society. Space acquires meaning through what happens in it. UCL is a very white institution - an institution with a problematic history. You look back at Eugenics and how it related to colonialism. Even as you walk past and through the University as a student all the artwork is portraying white people and a lot of the buildings are named after Eugenicists and white supremacists. These all add up to the ways that space acquires meaning at UCL. The exhibition is, in essence, a way for black people to take up space at UCL. I think on the surface these may just look like pictures but I think it is a very radical thing that Moise is doing - it is reinventing the meaning of the space and occupying the space - on one hand, it is a protest and the other it is a celebration and it is definitely empowering. It may seem subtle but when you think about the number of people who will walk past the pictures and notice them, it is a powerful change.
Do you have a highlight of BHM so far?
Afrikan Yoga! - I am not the most sporty person but I loved it. As a student activist, you are doing so much for a cause and it can be draining, even though it is empowering, you are can be worried by a hundred different things. The reason it is my highlight is because it helped me to find peace and calm. It helped me to notice my breathing and just step back for a second. we are the most useful to others when we look after ourselves. I have not done much yoga before but it was really different. It was sick!
What BHM event are you looking forward to?
The exhibition opening on Friday (19th) there was just so much fun that went in to it, so much work. I really enjoyed working with Moise, its been amazing. Art has always been significant politically. You can't take the politics out of the art. it's been a new kind of way to express ourselves.
Join Samira and the rest of the BME Network on Friday 19 October at 17:00 in the Wilkins Building South Cloisters for the opening of the Black History Month exhibition.