We're pleased to be joining up again with the Students' Union to celebrate Black History Month with a new series of events in October.
Events throughout the month include workshop sessions, focus groups, talks with alumni and public figures, film screenings and more. All events are free to attend but as space is limited for some, you'll need to register your attendance beforehand. Please follow the ticket links below to book your place.
Joyful Futures: An Exploration of Afro-futurism and Black Joy, with Renée Jacobs
Mon 17 October 11:00am - 1:00pm
In this two hour interactive workshop, we'll explore afro-futurism and the Black Joy movement. Facilitated by Renée Jacobs, Founder of B in Bath. Participants will be encouraged to actively participate in imaging and designing joyful Black futures. This workshop has been developed out of a fatigue Renée personally felt from talking about Black history, and the often traumatic themes that confront us when we consider racism and the Black experience in the UK (and globally).
Dr Agata Vitale: What's racial trauma? What can we do about it?
Tues 18 October 11:30am - 12:30pm
Dr Agata Vitale is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at Bath Spa, and will discuss how racial trauma affects individuals, including their nervous system, bodies, identity, as well as their relationships with their ancestors, families, and whole communities.
The work of Resmaa Menakem (My Grandmother's Hands), Tony Morrison (Beloved), and Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me) will be used to foster a discussion on racial trauma. We'll also examine how the power of creative interventions can heal individuals and communities affected by racial trauma.
BEMSCA (Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizen Association) Focus Groups
Weds 19 October 11:00am - 3:30pm
BEMSCA (Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizen Association) has represented the needs of the Black and Ethnic Minority community in BaNES for nearly 30 years, supporting more than 180 members through weekly activities at Fairfield House, supporting people at home, and by working with a broad range of charities, community groups and local specialist care services across the county.
BEMSCA want to hear about your experiences and views around the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, and medical services. They are particularly keen to hear from Black and Ethnic Minority students and staff. With appropriate permissions, they'll aim to share these experiences with local health authorities so they can fully understand how students and staff have been affected by COVID and how this might influence current and future COVID protocols.
There are three sessions (one for staff, one for students and one for both staff and students), each lasting an hour. To book your place, please visit the event page.
Film Screening and Q+A: Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)
Weds 19 October 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Allison Williams and Daniel Kaluuya star in this horror written and directed by Jordan Peele. With their relationship becoming serious, Rose (Williams) invites her African-American boyfriend Chris (Kaluuya) to meet her parents Missy and Dean (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford) as part of a weekend getaway at her family home. Initially, Chris thinks that the family's overly friendly behaviour is due to their nervousness about their daughter's interracial relationship, but when he then finds out that a number of black people have recently gone missing in the neighbourhood, he begins to realise there is something much more sinister going on.
The film will be followed by a Q+A session on horror.
Triggers: Strong violence, gore, sex references, racism, lanuage.
Online talk and reading with Andreena Leeanne
Friday 21 October 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Join students and staff from the University of Bath online for a reading and talk with Andreena Leeanne.
Andreena Leeanne is a lived experience speaker, poet and author. Her collection of poems, CHARRED: A survivor speaks her truth to inspire, was published in October 2020 and shortlisted for a Polari First Book Prize in 2021.
This event is organised by University of Bath.
In conversation with: Harry Mungala
Tue 25 October 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Bath Spa alum Harry Mungala studied a Master's in International Education and graduated in 2019. He now lives in Zambia and trains teachers there. Join us in conversation with him as he reflects on his experience at Bath Spa, what he's doing now and how he got there. There will also be a Q+A at the end of the session.
This event is online.
In conversation with: Nathan Ghann
Weds 26 October 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Nathan is Programmes Director at The Educate Group and Associate Consultant with Advance HE. Previously a lecturer in Business Enterprise, he went on to hold the position of Student Success Lead at the University of Hertfordshire and co-led the Office for Students funded project ‘Addressing barriers to Student Success: using a value-added metric and inclusive curriculum approach’.
Join Nathan as he talks to us about how Bath Spa can make Black History Month not for just the month, what senior leaders can do for black students and staff and looking at the next steps in Higher Education.
This event is online.
Film screening and Q+A: Selma (Ava Duvernay, 2014)
Weds 26 October 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Produced by Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt's company Plan B (12 Years A Slave ) and Christian Colson (Slumdog Millionaire ), this acclaimed film tells the true story of the pivotal moment in Dr Martin Luther King Jr's epic civil rights struggle - the 1965 protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to secure voting rights for African-Americans.
Starring British actor David Oyelowo (The Butler, A Most Violent Year) as Martin Luther King Jr alongside Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth and Oprah Winfrey, the 2015 release of Selma celebrates the 50th anniversary of the passing of the voting rights act and this triumphant story of the power of the people.
The film will be followed by a Q+A session.
Triggers: Moderate violence, racist language, infrequent strong language.
Film screening and Q+A: The Color Purple (Steven Spielberg, 1985)
Weds 2 November 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Based on the Novel The Colour Purple by Alice Walker, this compelling and cherished classic tells the story of Celie. Raped by the man she calls father, her two children taken from her and forced into an ugly marriage, she has no one to talk to but God, until she meets a woman who offers love and support.
The film will be followed by a Q+A session.
Triggers: Some moderate references to sex/nudity, incest and rape.