Queen’s Diversity Action Group:
Reading & Viewing to Broaden the Mind There is a real sense of energy, determination and purpose to respond effectively to this historic moment.
T
he Diversity Action Group was set up by Mr Tillett in response to events in America surrounding the death of George Floyd and soul-searching about the continued existence of racism within our societies. It reflected a widespread feeling among staff, pupils, alumnae, parents and Council members, that this was a historic moment to which we as a school community should respond. In the History department this has started with the rewriting of much of the School curriculum to include a more diverse range of histories; lectures from historians such as Miranda Kaufmann and Toby Green; and the establishment of a BAME History prize to encourage students to research diverse topics. The group is a forum in which all interested parties meet to explore and share ideas. Despite the lockdowns, it has already had several very productive meetings and there is a real sense of energy, determination and purpose to respond effectively to this historic moment.
Robin DiAngelo’s ‘White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism’
is not an easy read but it is an essential one. In clear, crisp prose, it presents a powerful, challenging and ultimately convincing analysis of attitudes to race and racism in the USA; but it equally applies to Britain. “The simplistic idea that racism is limited to individual intentional acts committed by unkind people is at the root of virtually all white defensiveness on this topic.”
‘Black Spartacus’ by Sudhir Hazareesingh,
recounts the life of Toussaint Louverture in this magisterial biography of the key figure in the Haitian revolution – the only successful rebellion of the enslaved in the Caribbean. Determined to create a world free from enslavement and racism, there could hardly be a more relevant and compelling figure.
“Overall, I gained a new understanding of an important milestone in Black British history”
The reviews on these pages give a flavour of what students and staff have been reading and viewing.
Mr David Willows, Head of History, reviewed: David Olusoga’s ‘Black and British: A short, essential history’ was written specifically for young
readers. It begins: “When I was at school … I presumed … that there must not have been any Black people in British history.” Over the next 200 pages, Olusoga corrects that misconception. From the Aurelian Moors on Hadrian’s Wall to Henry VIII’s black trumpeter, John Blanke, and Jamaican, Sam King, who joined the RAF during World War Two, the fascinating stories of black Britons are told across 2,000 years. An excellent starting point for anyone interested in black British history. 11
