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27TH OCTOBER 6PM

100 GREAT BLACK BRITONS

Patrick Vernon, OBE, will be speaking with us at the REN, to discuss his new book: 100 Great Black Britons. 

He joined us earlier this year, in conversation with Professor Olonisakin on Windrush Day, to discuss the Windrush Generation and we are delighted to have him back. Visit our YouTube channel to watch a recording of the event.

PROMO VIDEO HERE &

SIGN UP HERE 

 

30TH OCTOBER 1PM

THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

HARRIET TUBMAN'S GREAT GREAT GREAT NEPHEW RETURNS

We're excited to welcome back, Dr A.J. Brickler III, who will be joining us to discuss the Tuskegee Airmen, the first black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps. 

Dr Brickler III, alongside his son, Dr Alex Brickler IV joined us earlier this year to discuss the amazing legacy of their great great aunt,           Harriet Tubman. The recording from this talk will be released on our YouTube channel soon.

PROMO VIDEO HERE

& SIGN UP LINK HERE 

 

 

 

EACH DAY

EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2020, WE WILL BE POSTING AT LEAST ONE POST ON INSTAGRAM, TWITTER AND YAMMER ABOUT OUR BRILLIANT AND TALENTED COMMUNITY HERE AT KING'S WITH BLACK/AFRICAN/CARIBBEAN HERITAGE. We've created a padlet, check it out HERE (and get in touch if you want to be a part of it RaceEqualityNetwork@kcl.ac.uk). Follow the stories on REN TWITTER  and REN INSTAGRAM.

 

BLACK LIVES MATTER

We spoke to photographer Carla Choppy, who has been covering the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, and will be releasing a recording of this interview.

We will also be hosting an online exhibition of her work with a Q&A session.

DATE TO BE CONFIRMED

 

REN BOOK CLUB 

Our REN (Race Equality Network) Core Committee Member Alexandria Mitchell is launching a BOOK CLUB which will kick off this BLACK HISTORY MONTH. Check it out HERE.

 DATE TO BE CONFIRMED

 

 

PAST EVENTS

20TH OCTOBER MIDDAY 

ACADEMIC CAREERS: Celebrating Professor Olonisakin

The Race Equality Network will be celebrating Vice-President and Vice-Principal International and Professor of Security, Leadership and Development at King’s, Professor Olonisakin, on her incredible career and achievements to date, in and outside of King's.

TO SIGN UP AND SEE OUR PROMO VIDEO, CLICK HERE              (link to sign up is in the description of the video)

 

21ST OCTOBER 6PM

MEET HANNAH AJALA, FREELANCE JOURNALIST

Hannah Ajala is currently a freelance journalist and has recently spent most of the year travelling across West Africa working on a range of stories and broadcasting for organisations such as the BBC. Hannah is passionate about shedding more light on engaging stories about marginalised communities, which has led her to reports on positive and uplifting international stories. Hannah is also the founder of We Are Black Journos, an events and networking platform connecting and celebrating Black journalists. She wanted to create a safe space and platform for Black journalists, who shockingly only make up 0.2% of journalists in the UK. We Are Black Journos has gained more recognition since 2018, and she looks forward to growing it further with the help of the ever growing network and supporters.

 

Our Race Equality Network Co-chair Alexandria Mitchell will be interviewing Hannah Ajala. Audience members will have the opportunity to also ask questions. So join us for this LIVE ONLINE EVENT by signing up via this link (available in the description of our PROMO VIDEO) 

 

23RD OCTOBER 2020 

The Sickle Cell Society & The Race Equality Network at King's College London, Talk Sickle Cell & Blood Donation

The Sickle Cell Society is delighted to be joining The Race Equality Network at King’s College London, to provide an informative presentation on:

• Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD)

• History of Blood donation

• The urgent need for black and mixed-race blood donors, and

• How you can sign up to save a life: bit.ly/scsgiveblood

Speakers:

• Dunstan Nicol-Wilson, Community Advocate

• Dr Grace Redhead

Register to Join Our Event HERE

Overview

Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD) is the most common serious inherited blood disorder in the world. In the UK, it is estimated that around 15,000 people are affected. Anyone can have SCD, however in the UK most people with SCD are of African or Caribbean heritage.

During this interactive session, we will provide an overview of this sometimes overlooked condition, explain why ethnically matched blood is needed to save the lives of people most severely affected by SCD and explain how you can get involved in our projects and help us ‘turn up the volume on blood donation’.

This event will be delivered virtually using Zoom.

Help us to Turn up the Volume:

We are seeking one or two ‘Sickle Cell Champions’ to help us ensure that the opportunity to sign up as a potential blood donor following our presentation reaches as many people as possible. The role is simple and short term.

After our presentation we ask you to share our link and supporting information with as many of your personal contacts and networks as possible, highlighting the urgent need for more black donors to join us via this link: bit.ly/scsgiveblood

If you are super keen and want to be more involved, we can support you to arrange a group blood donation session for your colleagues or friends.

To opt-in, contact: Tracy Williams, tracy.williams@sicklecellsociety.org

 

26th OCTOBER 2020 MIDDAY

The Abolitionist Curriculum

Lecturer Dr Jon Ward will be discussing his incredible work on decolonising the curriculum and what this means for the future of education in the U.K.

Sign up via the link HERE

 

A CONVESATION WITH TWO BLACK SCIENTISTS AT KING'S 

Join us as we host important conversations focusing on careers.

In conversation with: two black scientists at King's, followed by a Q&A session: SEE the PROMO video  and sign up (sign up link in the PROMO VIDEO DESCRIPTION. 

 

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REN WEBSITE

REN YOUTUBE

REN INSTAGRAM 

REN TWITTER 

 

WHY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER IN THE UK BUT IN FEBRUARY IN THE US? WHO STARTED IT ALL? WATCH OUR VIDEO

You gotta also read this post from BlackHistoryMonth.org.uk - it's great.

If you are troubled by the recent events and would like to leave a message of support and solidarity for your colleagues,

you can post here 

THE PURPOSE of King's Race Equality Network (REN) is to promote and advance race equality at King's! It seeks to provide networking opportunities and support both the personal and professional development of all members. As a network we aim to create a space for identifying and tackling cultural & diversity issues around university policies and practices through supporting the implementation of Kings Race Equality Action Plan.

As a network we value the importance of building a community that embraces relational power, transparency, knowledge sharing, respect and equality.

 

• To support with implementing the actions outlined within Kings Race Equality Action Plan

• To promote and represent the interests of BME staff and students

• Develop tangible and practical solutions for changing the way in which race is discussed at King's

• Working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders who share our ethos

• To develop a thriving online space for members to connect and share resources

• Celebrate the achievements and successes of those internally and externally fighting for race equality

• Create a cultural shift within the university towards open and honest conversations about race

We are grateful for the support and mentorship from the following people:

Dr Renee Romeo

Dr John Narayan

Professor Evelyn Welch

Syreeta Allen 

Professor Funmi Olonisakin

Dr Victor Fan 

Race Equality Network members are of every ethnic background.

EVERYONE is very welcome to join. 

We have some focused groups for people who come from specific ethnic backgrounds as sometimes this is needed to work on very specific projects as part of the work and healing we are trying to achieve but the network is for everyone. Our core committee has members from many different ethnic backgrounds, with all the different skin tones (black, brown, white and everything in between), and are from many different nationalities. 

 

CORE COMMITTEE TEAM

Our core committee network team has 7 members:

• Alexandria Mitchell - committee member 

• Michael Bankole- committee member 

• Rebecca Brown - committee member 

• Zahra Khan - committee member 

• Olivia Timeyin - committee member

• VJ Sidhu - co-chair

• Jenny Agha Innamaa - co-chair 

• Whitney Robinson (one of our former co-chairs) has now left King's and is at UCL. She continues to be a valued supporter and friend of our network. We will be working with Whitney on her 'women of colour in the workplace' series, so watch this space for information on that.

 

Email us RaceEqualityNetwork@kcl.ac.uk

Follow our new INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

Follow us on TWITTER

Watch our past events on our YouTube channel

 

So far there are 210 people (and growing fast) from King's College London who are part of the wider Race Equality Network family.

 

HOW TO JOIN? King's College London staff and PGR students can join the network by joining our YAMMER GROUP (this is also good one for all the internal events that are not advertised externally).

Not staff/PGR but still want to join? Though the network is a staff and PGR network, we work closely with undergraduate and master students on many different projects. Master and undergraduate students are welcome at many of our events. If you are a master/undergraduate student and want information on our events/just to get in touch, email us RaceEqualityNetwork@kcl.ac.uk 

MICHAEL BANKOLE

 

MICHAELA TRANFIELD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Join us for an enchanting musical afternoon with Santoor maestro and composer - Abhay Rustum Sopori.

Abhay represents the fabled Sopori - Sufiana Gharana of Kashmir, the exclusive traditional Santoor family of India with its roots spanning over more than 300 years. He learnt music under the Shaivaite - Sufi tradition Guru-Shishya Parampara from his grandfather Pandit Shamboo Nath Sopori, the great Master musician hailed as the ‘Father of Music’ in Jammu and Kashmir, and also from his father Pandit Bhajan Sopori, the legendary Santoor virtuoso and music composer.

The Santoor is a trapezoid shaped musical instrument closely associated with Jammu & Kashmir. It derives its name from the name Shata- tantric, meaning a Veena of hundred strings. It consists of a hollow box with twenty five bridges, each having four strings resting on it. It is played with the help of two wooden mallets known as mezrabs and usually accompanies Sufi music.

There will be a short musical performance followed by Q & As.

This event has been organised by King's Race Equality Network as part of the South Asian Heritage Month celebrations.

 

SIGN UP HERE

We have so much planned for this month and we will be announcing everything here, so stay tuned, subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter to get all the information. You won't want to miss this!

 

CELEBRATING KING'S STAFF AND STUDENTS WITH SOUTH ASIAN HERITAGE.Everyday, we will feature more stories HERE

King's Staff & Student Community with East/Southeast Asian heritage all welcome for this online coffee morning .

FRIDAY 31ST JULY 2020 AT 11AM.

This will be a safe and supportive space for members of the community to meet, discuss various topics, share thoughts, feelings, learn, celebrate diverse cultures & resources or you can simply listen in!  

Please do note that this is for our King's Community with EAST/SouthEAST Asian heritage ONLY.

TO JOIN CLICK HERE  

Any questions, email RaceEqualityNetwork@kcl.ac.uk

We invite all *Black staff members at King's to join us for our next coffee morning on Thursday 9th July at 11:00am.

This is a safe and supportive space for members of the Black community to meet, discuss various topics, share our thoughts, feelings & resources or you can simply listen in!

We especially want to provide a safe space to discuss the impact of events on our lives, and give you the opportunity to share how you feel. We'd like to hear from you and offer any support needed. To join us

SIGN UP HERE

 *Black - those of African or Caribbean descent or of more than one heritage with Black ethnicity.

This is an opportunity to hear a talk by Ranzo on the problem with the prevailing narrative of black people in the media and the work needed to repair the global misrepresentations and overly simplistic single story image of black people.

The Japan Times recently said this of Ranzo:
“In 2020, there are many books, podcasts, social media accounts and YouTube channels that offer the black perspective on life in Japan. The Black Experience Japan, however, manages something that the country’s English-language YouTube community rarely achieves — a journalistic approach to life in the country in which the creator of the video isn’t the central figure”

Thursday 16th July will be an opportunity to not only listen to a conversation between Ranzo and our Race Equality Network’s core committee member Michael Bankole but you will also be able to fully engage in the conversation during the q&a session.

SIGN UP HERE

 

 

 

We invite all *East/South East Asian students and staff members at King's to join us for our next coffee morning on Friday, 10th July at 10.00am.

This is a safe and supportive space for members of the community to meet, discuss various topics, share our thoughts, feelings & resources or you can simply listen in!

 We especially want to provide a safe space to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on your lives, give you the opportunity to share how you feel and discuss any concerns related to return to campus. We'd like to hear from you and offer any support needed.

If you have East Asian/Southeast Asian heritage and would like to join,

SIGN UP HERE

*Students & staff of East & Southeast Asian heritage including:    Mainland China; Hong Kong; Taiwan; Japan; Macau; Mongolia; North Korea; South Korea; Brunei, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand; Vietnam

We invite all *Black staff members at King's to join us for our next coffee morning on Thursday 9th July at 11:00am.

This is a safe and supportive space for members of the Black community to meet, discuss various topics, share our thoughts, feelings & resources or you can simply listen in!

We especially want to provide a safe space to discuss the impact of events on our lives, and give you the opportunity to share how you feel. We'd like to hear from you and offer any support needed. To join us,

REGISTER HERE 

 *Black - those of African or Caribbean descent or of more than one heritage with Black ethnicity.

Programme:

• 1.05pm Dr Renee Romeo  will deliver the introduction

• 1.10pm Dr A. J. Brickler III talk/lecture

• 2.10pm Professor Evelyn Welch  chairs q&a with the audience

• Closing statements by three undergraduate students:         Abigail Oyedele, Michaela Tranfield and Michael Wilson.

• Expected finish time 2.30/2.45pm (we think it will be shorter but have allowed time just in case there are any technical issues also etc) 

Event will be on Zoom

SIGN UP HERE

 

Dr. AJ Brickler is an award-winning OB/GYN who has attained numerous professional and personal accolades.

Dr. Brickler graduated Howard University’s College of Medicine in the summer of 1986 and began practicing with his father later that year.

In 1998, he joined the largest practice in Tallahassee. He is Board Certified with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and has served on numerous medical boards over his career.He plans to retire at 70.

In addition to giving presentations on his great-great aunt, Harriet Tubman, he educates community groups about the Tuskegee Airmen, an all Black fighter group, legendary for bomber escort in WWII.

Dr. Brickler is a firm believer that you can accomplish almost anything with hard work and dedication.

His chosen specialty provides the satisfaction of having patients for a lifetime and helping them with major milestones. One of his mentors, Dr. Lesalle Lefall, told him “If you just sit listen to your patients, they’ll tell you what the problem is.” Dr. Brickler took that advice to heart and starts a dialogue with his patients to understand their concerns and medical goals. When he has a hard time getting up for patient care at 1:30 in the morning, he reflects on what motivated him in the first place. Seeing a newborn take their first breath, and a new mother hold that child up to her breast, and the joy it brings is a feeling like no other. His advice to others when they have those same struggles is to find the motivation that brought you to this point.

Dr. Brickler lives in Tallahassee, Florida; USA. He lives with his amazing and supportive wife and has two sons. His grandson just celebrated his 1st birthday.

The Black Staff Community Group at King's (part of REN) would like to invite *Black staff at King's to our first coffee morning this Thursday 25th June at 11am.

This will be a safe and supportive space for us to discuss various topics, say whats on your mind, share resources or for you to simply listen in.

We especially want to provide you a safe space to discuss recent events and give you the opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings. We'd like to hear from you and offer any support needed.

To join us, please register here:

We are looking forward to welcoming you.

King's Race Equality Network are proud to present " Unpacking the Narrative: Women of Colour In the Workplace".

ABOUT THIS EVENT

"There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others".- Michelle Obama

Regardless of the sector or worker seniority, women are significantly more likely to face workplace discrimination in comparison to men. However, discrimination against women of colour doesn’t always fit neatly into either "racism" or "sexism"-but is rather a combination of both.

In honour of International Women's Day, this event is dedicated to amplifying the authentic voices of women of colour, and unpacking the narratives behind phenomena such as the Imposter Syndrome, "Pet to Threat" and other day to day challenges that arise within the workplace.

This is a brave space to share challenges, understand each other's experiences, forge meaningful relationships and remove feelings of isolation in our struggles as we strive for equity and collective workplace advancement.

Join us on the 19th March for an evening of authentic narratives, networking & inspiration!

Programme

18.15-18.30: Introduction & performances

18:30-19:30: Panel Discussion

19:30-20:00: Audience Questions

20:00-20:45: Networking & Refreshments

SIGN UP HERE