The Black Students Campaign: Building on our successes

Introduction

My first four months as NUS Black Students’ Officer has been extremely rewarding. I am proud to be the Officer of a Campaign that continues to grow and makes a real difference to the lives of Black students.

At the present time Black students are facing many challenges. Racist attacks are rising - the racist murder of Christopher Alaneme, a young Black student at the hands of a racist gang mirrored that of Anthony Walker.

We have seen widespread attacks on multiculturalism and accusations that, rather than being clear examples of racism, Black communities live in the poorest housing, attend the worst schools and have fewer job prospects because we have chosen to segregate ourselves from society. There has been a particular scapegoating of the whole Muslim community under the guise of stopping terrorism. On campus this has included press reports of the need to ‘spy on Asian-looking students’. The climate of intolerance and racism this creates endangers all Black communities. The fascist BNP, which calls for an ‘all-white Britain’, is gaining record support on the back of this. We are fully participating in education but face higher drop out rates, exclusion and graduate unemployment rates due to racism in education.

Against this backdrop my focus has been to create a national Black Students’ Campaign that works with powerful and influential allies within the Black community and beyond to create a powerful voice for Black students in NUS; a campaign that defends our communities against rising racism, and makes steps forward in improving the voice of Black students in their unions through strengthened Black representation.

Achieving these priorities requires the strongest possible unity in NUS Black Students’ Campaign and maximum involvement nationwide.

It also requires NUS Black Students Campaign to be provided with proper resources: our campaign remains one of the most under-resourced sections of NUS and we currently have no dedicated staff support to carry out our priorities, unlike other campaigns in NUS. We had to fight a decade long struggle to win a full time NUS Black Students’ Officer, which led to the massive strengthening of our Campaign. However, the Black Students Campaign is meant to represent one in five students and the potential of our campaign to be built on every campus, and so the need for proper resources from NUS is obvious.

The priority campaigns for 2005–2006 are:

• Increasing Black Representation

• Rise Against Racism

• Equality in Education

• International Justice

We have made a strong start to the year, and below is the briefest overview of the projects I have worked on. Please feel free to ask me about my report before, during or after conference.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have played an active role in our Campaign this year, both on the Committee and on campuses, and encourage everybody else to get involved. Our strength is in the involvement of our members.

Yours in unity,

Ruqayyah Collector, NUS Black Students Officer M: 079666 27291, E: ruqs@nus.org.uk

1) Increasing Black Representation

Black students, those of African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean heritage, are seriously under-represented throughout the student movement both on campus and nationally. The NUS Black Students’ Campaign is committed to winning proper representation as a means of empowering Black students to confront the racism and inequality we face. The right of the Black community to self-organise is fundamental and must be constantly re-asserted both within students unions, NUS and wider society.

At this conference we are launching a Charter for Black representation calling for; dedicated Black students’ representation, proper representation of Black students throughout students’ unions and NUS, staff support for the NUS Black Students’ campaign, better support for Black clubs and societies, and for all colleges and universities to fully implement the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.

This campaign will be the basis for positive campaigning on every college and university campus in the country and has the potential to massively affect the lives and experiences of Black people.

So far this term I have produced freshers’ packs sent to every college and university in the country, which included a campaign newsletter, introductory leaflet, postcard and religious dates calendar. I attended numerous freshers’ fayres to run NUS Black Students Campaign stalls and spread the word about our movement, and produced the new Black Students’ Handbook, which will be launched at conference. Following reports of students not having mailings passed on and I have started an email update that will include information of future mailings.

A priority has been organising this conference, as this is the first opportunity to bring our campaign together in the new academic year, to share experiences and learn how our campaign for equality can be taken forward on campus. I am proud that this is the largest ever conference with over 160 registrations and fantastic speakers from the Black communities. Some students have met with resistance from their students unions and I have supported these students in registering, including subsidising FE delegates with some of the sponsorship money I raised from the handbook.

The Committee has met regularly to plan the Campaign’s work and has received induction and training for the year ahead.

I am working with a number of external partners to organise a Black clubs and societies training event in the spring and with Operation Black Vote to run voter registration campaigns for May’s elections.

2) Rise Against Racism

In an increasingly racist climate across society, Black students have an important role to play in ensuring that racism is actively confronted.

Over recent months, sections of the media and politicians including government ministers have contributed to a negative climate in which racism is flourishing. The very value of multiculturalism has come under attack amid widespread but false claims that Britain is becoming increasingly segregated and that Black communities are responsible for isolating themselves. Restricting people’s right to express their cultural identity, demonising religious expression and denying the valuable contribution that our communities make to modern Britain today will only further fuel ignorance and intolerance.

Against those undermining multiculturalism, I have been active, linking up with key allies outside the student movement to tackle racism, respect diversity, and reject the idea that one culture or religion is superior to another.

This summer I spoke on the main stage at the Rise anti-racist festival, attended by 100,000 people, about Black students and gave out hundreds of handbooks at our stall. For the third year running NUS Black Students Campaign has been working with the Mayor of London and Student Assembly Against Racism to organise Student Rise initiatives on campus. This was launched at the London sabbatical reception where I spoke alongside Ken Livingstone. I have met with Lee Jasper, Senior Advisor to the Mayor on Equalities to develop joint work around supporting Black students in London

The Muslim community has been a particular focus in the misguided view that cultural diversity has somehow contributed to terrorism. In reality the opposite approach is needed. Terrorism threatens all of our communities and defeating terrorism requires the full cooperation of all those who have an interest in preventing further attacks. Measures that indiscriminately target entire communities and sow mistrust can only serve to hinder the cooperation and unity, which is necessary to ensure safety for all.

I have been working with the University and Colleges Union to address concerns over the governments proposals to tackle ‘extremism’ on campus, have issued guidance to all SU presidents on supporting Muslim and Black communities on campus and have published a number of articles including on the Guardian’s ‘Comment is free’ website. I also participated in various events including a discussion with Jack Straw following his comments on the veil and IslamExpo.

The growth in racism has seen record support for the fascist BNP, the driving back of asylum rights and increased racist attacks, including murders. I have been working closely with the Unite Against Fascism including contributing the main article to their national student newsletter, supporting African communities in Barking and Dagenham where the BNP is now the second largest party which has seen a rise in racist attacks, organising and speaking at Yorkshire UAF conference on 4th December, and building for demos against the BNP including at their conference in Blackpool on the 25th of November.

I have also been working with the Anthony Walker Foundation – looking at joint educational work to tackle racism amongst young people, the Justice for Jay Abatan family campaign, and Student Action for Refugees, to raise awareness of the plight of Asylum seekers.

I have supported many students who are facing racism on campus – this has included students facing inequality on their courses, discrimination from their students unions and a case where a woman wearing Hijab was locked on a train by the guards and was only allowed off when she called the police. Finally, our campaign has been instrumental in ensuring that racist lecturer Frank Ellis, who claimed that people from Sub-Saharan Africa were less intelligent and the BNP were a “very, very good thing”, has been forced to leave Leeds University. Our campaign can and will make a difference.

3) Equality in Education

Black students make up over 20% of the student movement. However, we face higher exclusion and drop out rates, are more likely to be under-marked without anonymous marking and face higher unemployment than our white counterparts, even where we have an equivalent or higher qualification. The effects of student debt hit our community hardest because of the discrimination we face in employment in later life.

So far this term I have been working with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE,) to discuss partnership work and casework and University and Colleges Union (UCU) on engaging Further Education students, especially for Black History Month and marking the anniversary of the abolition of slavery.

I am currently working with Diversity Solutions Consultancy to produce a briefing on the Race Relation Amendment Act, which makes discrimination in education illegal – this will include a ‘know your rights’ card to be distributed to black students in the new term.

I mobilised for the NUS national demonstration against student debt, pointing out how debt disproportionately affects Black students. I ensured that Black students had a strong presence on the NUS demonstration with the campaign newsletter widely distributed and banner on display.

I recently spoke at a UCU debate around racism in academia. I produced a briefing for Black History Month and promoted and participated in the London Schools and the Black Child conference. I have met with the Equality Challenge Unit around stopping discrimination in education and represented NUS on the Higher education race action group. I have worked with the NUS VP Further Education to ensure that Black FE students are fully included in the campaigns of NUS,

4) International Justice

Black people make up the overwhelming majority of the world’s population and it is right that we offer solidarity to our brothers and sisters around the world. Whether it is the devastating economic conditions and HIV/AIDS pandemic faced in Africa, occupation in the Middle East or global poverty, we should speak out against injustice.

Over the summer I addressed tens of thousands at a national demonstration calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and mobilised students for this and other demonstrations, including one in Yorkshire on the same theme, which I also attended and addressed. I worked with students across the country to write a letter of protest when NUS refused to call for an immediate ceasefire and instead adopted the position shared only by the government of George Bush and Tony Blair.

I helped organise the successful Palestine Solidarity Campaign student day school in November, and chaired a session with Tony Benn. I attended and encouraged students to attend the national anti-war demonstration in September for an end to occupation of Iraq and addressed the CND national conference.

I have been preparing for the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery – working with Kofi Klu and other black community organisations to ensure students play a full role in this.

I have also done work with War on Want, with Action Aid to promote trade justice in majority Black countries, and Venezuela Information Centre to support the advances in social progress and democracy under the government of Hugo Chavez.

Finally I had the privilege to go to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland on a fact finding delegation making links with community groups, student activists and learning about apartheid and AIDS.

The Blogs on this site represent the individual views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or practices of the National Union of Students.

All links in blogs will open in a new browser window.

The permanent URL for this specific blog entry is: http://www.officeronline.co.uk/blogs/ruqayyahcollector/273458.aspx