Celebrating Black History Month

There is a literary focus on activities at Teesside University during Black History Month, which is being celebrated during October.

MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) is co-ordinating Teesside University activities as part of Black History Month, which celebrates the achievements and stories of Black people across the UK and around the world.

For the past three years, all staff across MIMA and the University’s School of Arts & Creative Industries have received a weekly reading or listening recommendation relating to Black lives and histories, chosen within MIMA and the Research Centre for Culture and Creativity.

The weekly recommendations began from activities which started during the pandemic, at a time when there was growing awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement. MIMA colleagues compiled a short reading list, following discussion about reading and learning recommendations, in relation to the protests happening worldwide and the long histories and power imbalances that preceded them.

This evolved into online reading groups which staff could join remotely, as it was still a time of working at home under pandemic restrictions. The reading groups discussed extracts from Akala, Michelle Obama, Ibram X. Kendi and Gary Younge.

The programme continued to evolve, and staff across the School of Arts & Creative Industries now receive a weekly learning point on Black lives and histories. These are chosen within MIMA and include podcasts, articles, reviews, TED talks or short provocations. They are designed to be read or listened to in a few minutes per week, maybe on a journey to or from work.

23 for 23 is an eclectic compilation of some of those learning points, gathered over the past year and collected for Black History Month during October.

It features the voices of actor Daveed Diggs, author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and free diver Zandile Ndhlovu, plus reviews of exhibitions in the UK and the USA. Many of the pieces draw connections with the natural environment and with Black experiences of land, water and climate change, in keeping with the environmental thematic that runs through much of MIMA’s work.

Colleagues across the University are also invited to explore two reading lists which are available, with links to e-books and printed books in The Library, during Black History Month. They can be accessed at Black History Month October: a creative reading list and Black History Month October: a creative reading list.

Taste of Africa North East turns 20 this year, and the University continues to support Taste of Africa’s work with communities across the region, particularly in inspiring and mentoring young people. A photographic portrait by Gilmar Ribeiro of Sade Sangowawa, founder and director of Taste of Africa North East, is currently on display at MIMA as part of People Powered: Stories from the River Tees, which is a collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery.

This year the University has sponsored the Black History Youth Awards, held this month at Middlesbrough Town Hall. The University is also supporting Miss Black History: More Than The Face, a new project created to empower young women of Black origin and to elevate their voices and creative ambitions.

We Are Family is a new range of children’s books, carefully selected with friends, artists and partners, now available in the MIMA Shop. We Are Family explores children’s books which champion important conversations about loss, representation, mental health, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality. New books will continue to be added to the selection, with suggestions welcomed at the MIMA welcome desk.

The University’s Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Focus Group meets four times per year and is open to new members. If you would like to join, please contact ECD@tees.ac.uk.

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