Free online talks to mark Black History Month

The free online event is open to the public and takes place from 2pm to 3.30pm on Tuesday, October 29.

Hosted by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences the talks set about illuminating the misrepresentation of Black narratives, history and lives on the silver screen, in women's sport at the recent Paris Olympics, and in narratives about climate change. 

Tamirah Grant, a former Race Advocate and student at the University of Chester who recently graduated with a BSc in Sociology and Psychology will discuss Reclaiming Narratives about Blackness on the Silver Screen: Mis-telling Stories of Black Lives through Film and TV. 

In this short talk, Tamirah will discuss the history of Black roles and Black characters in television and film focusing specifically on the mis-telling of Black stories through the presentation of racial stereotypes.  

Dr Amanda Williams, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Chester, will explore Reclaiming Narratives about the Earth: Racism and Climate Change. This talk will discuss how climate change affects us all, but it doesn't affect us all equally. Climate change exacerbates all forms of social disadvantage, deepening divisions based on socioeconomic status, age, gender and health. This talk will explore some of the inequalities exposed by the relationship between climate change and race and will highlight some of the overlooked narratives of people of colour.  

The final talk, Reclaiming Narratives: Caps and Hijabs at the Paris Olympics 2024, is by Moira Vincentelli, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Aberystwyth University and currently studying for a PhD in Fine Art at Wrexham University. It will look at how in the summer of 2024, a media story exploded around the black Muslim athlete, Sounkamba Sylla, when she was informed that she would not be able to take part in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. As a French national, Sounkamba was representing her country in an official capacity, and she was obliged to comply with the French law of laïcité usually translated as ‘secularism’ based on the principle of separation of church and state. The irony of the situation was that such a ruling cut across the International Olympic Committee rules that uphold the rights of athletes to wear the hijab or any other religious garment.  

To reserve a place at the talks visit Black History Month: Reclaiming Narratives Tickets, Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 2:00 PM | Eventbrite