After months of collaboration and hard work, KCL Intersectional Feminist Society is proudly presenting the BME Women, White Uni Conference on this Saturday, the 31st of October.
This has been a project that aims not only to promote diversity within university institutions and spaces – as part of the larger ambitions of Black History Month – but also to advance the discussion, and celebration, of the experiences and achievements of Black and ethnic minority women.
As part of a broader effort to “increase the visibility of BME women on campusesâ€, as Sophie Neal, KCL IFemSoc President, explains, the project started out as a poster campaign that collected the stories, interviews, and photographs of BME staff, students and alumni at King’s.
Having encountered numerous “difficulties and bureaucratic problemsâ€, Sophie says, with being able to use KCL spaces, highlighted the fact that there was “no awareness†of these issues. The situation was only exacerbated by the ‘Meet the Professors’ campaign last November, which served as a “validation†of the problem being articulated by IFemSoc and the “need to broaden conversations on these issuesâ€.
Furthermore, the question of “resistance from KCL administration†had also been emphasized by Hareem Ghani, KCL IFemSoc Co-Vice President, who has said that “accountability on the part of KCL administration is something that needs to be raisedâ€.
The conference aims not only to “celebrate the experiences and achievements of BME womenâ€, in the words of Shruti Iyer, KCL IFemSoc Co-Vice President, but also to address questions surrounding the “cultural and institutional representation of Black and ethnic minority women†in the university space. Awareness is hoped to be raised by asking questions through workshops such as ‘Why is my curriculum white?’ and exploring how BME women in Tech are particularly under-represented. The event will include some incredible speakers – ranging from Dr Shirley Thompson whose music was featured in the 2012 Olympic Ceremony – to film director Cecile Emeke and head of the Black British Academics Network, Dr Deborah Gabriel.
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