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#History Months

History Months: How and why we support them at LUU

October is Black History Month here in the UK, one of a number of national and international ‘History Months’ and commemorative days that we observe and celebrate each year at LUU, alongside Disability History Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, International Women’s Day and The Transgender Day of Remembrance.

These months play an important role in recognising and celebrating the contributions, history and culture of marginalised groups in our society, and often open up important conversations about what needs to be done to counter the challenges that exist in a society still characterised by structural inequality.

Inclusivity is at the core of what we do at LUU, and it’s essential that every single one of our members feels that they are valued, represented and empowered to get their voice heard. We want to encourage visibility, help our students relay their experiences, and deliver events and discussions that will enrich our entire community’s knowledge and understanding of these important issues. History Months provide a great springboard for engaging our members in this work and tapping into campaigns and conversations taking place on a national scale.

Black History Month 2020

This year, LUU’s Black History Month celebrations (happening right now) are inspired by the Black Lives Matter campaign, with a focus on amplifying the voices of our black students whilst creating positive change across campus. Across the month we’re hosting events including panel discussions, an open mic night, and workshops like Radical Possibilities of Change with Melz of the Free Black University, plus themed content from The Gryphon and LSR. Alongside these events we’re running campaigns including diversifying the range of products available to purchase in our outlets (including food and hair products), and Black Business Matters, where we want to hear about and celebrate your favourite black-owned businesses in Leeds – just let us know on social media.

You can find out more about everything that’s going on on our Black History Month campaign page and events listings.

LUU’s Equality & Diversity Officer Laila commented: 

“History Months at LUU are a means for our marginalized student voices to be heard, and this year really enforces that as we stand with the Black Lives Matter campaign. Our Black History Month aims to inspire, provoke thought, and empower our students for long term change.”

And it's not just about History Months

Despite our great History Month campaigns, our liberation work isn’t reserved to a few months a year – in fact we work year-round to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community for our students.  We have a team of Liberation Coordinators (or LibCos), who are appointed to provide a stronger voice and a place in LUU’s structures for students from marginalised groups (BAME, Disabled, LGBTQ*, Women and Working Class), seeking their just treatment in the Union, University and wider society. It’s the LibCos’ job to take the lead on liberation issues within the Union, and you’ll see the evidence of their hard work in campaigns and events taking place throughout the year, from diversification of the curriculum to the tampon tax.

We also have a team of permanent staff working in our Political Engagement Team who work on all things democracy, supporting students to take action and create change on the things they care about through campaigning, elections and policy. Whether it’s facilitating LUU’s Better Forums and helping students create new Union policies, providing support for LUU elections on all scales, or helping students to campaign during History Months and beyond, LUU members can always rely on the Political Engagement Team’s support to democratically change things for the better. To find out more about how you can make an impact with LUU’s help, visit our Student Voice page.

If you do one thing today, check out our campaign page for all the details on our Black History Month programme. Get involved, be engaged, and together we’ll create the change we want to see across campus.

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