By Professor Robert Van de Noort
October saw people across the UK celebrate Black History Month.
It is a chance for us to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture across society.
At the University of Reading, we held a number of events, including a public lecture focused on the stories of local people who were impacted by the Windrush Scandal, film screenings, workshops inviting staff and students to be part of the change at the University, and a ‘Wear Red Day’ to show unity in support of action on racial equality.
While these events provide a good opportunity for us to focus our minds on the topic of Black history and culture, it’s important to remember that issues around racial equality and racial injustice are not only present each October. This is something we can all be considering as part of our everyday lives.
In 2020, after the death of George Floyd sparked protests around the world about racism and racial equality, I commissioned a review into the experiences of people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds at our University.
I wanted the review to be an honest reflection of the current situation and to provide recommendations on what we as a University could do better – through our teaching, research, activities, or influence.
Last year we published the resulting Race Equality Review, which set out 20 recommendations to ensure fairer and more equal treatment for everyone at the University. Some examples included looking at improving promotion procedures for Black, Asian and ethnic minority staff, eliminating the gap in academic grades awarded to white and non-white students, and increased training around creating an inclusive culture.
As a University we committed to acting on these recommendations, with their implementation being overseen by our Race Equality Action Team.
I am pleased to say that we are making good progress. We still have much work to do, and we should never consider this an activity that we can mark as ‘finished’.
We have introduced a new Equal Opportunities Policy, setting out clear commitments to providing an inclusive environment without discrimination for all.
At the start of this academic year, in partnership with the students’ union, we launched our Decolonising the Curriculum resource, which will help to embed more diverse viewpoints, experiences and beliefs into our teaching content and methods, and ensuring that assessment reflects those changes.
Updating and improving our teaching, and our students’ learning, is one of our top priorities, and this is part of that broader work.
History is not just a series of events that happened in the past – it is a living reflection of ourselves in the present.
Everyone wants to live in a society that is free from racism and inequality. Without action, that version of society will never arrive.
We all have a responsibility to change things for the better, and there is no better time to start than today.
Professor Robert Van de Noort is the vice-chancellor of the University of Reading
