There are various online events happending throughout Black History Month

Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month, the College of Medicine and Health is hosting online events and running a social media campaign to mark the achievements of Black scientists, inventors, doctors and nurses in medicine.

As part of faculty development there will be a programme of equality, diversity and inclusion events throughout the year. In October, two online events will take place with full details below.

Professor Clive Ballard, Pro-Vice Chancellor of University of Exeter Medical School- “We’re working hard to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do at the University of Exeter. We’re committed to making meaningful inroads that benefit our entire community. I’d encourage all our staff to engage with our events to celebrate Black History Month – we all have our role to play in working towards becoming an anti-racist College.”

The celebration comes as the College has engaged in a number of actions in line with our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Working with students, we have made a conscious and deliberate effort throughout our curriculum review process to ensure all case presentations used in teaching are diverse, including imagery and other materials. This year the College welcomed Dr Musarrat Maisha Reza who joined as a new Lecturer and as Race Equality Resource Officer, she is now working closely alongside Dr Vrinda Nayak, Academic Lead for BAME Student Support, to work with staff and students alike to develop the Cross College CMH BAME charter. This will be based on the BMA Charter and will seek to support individuals to speak out, ensure robust handling for reporting, address racial harassment on work placements and mainstream equality, diversity and inclusivity across the learning environment.

Throughout the summer there have also been one-on-one meetings with Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Clive Ballard and Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Rich Smith and BAME staff. The meetings aimed to provide a better understanding of the experiences of BAME staff in the College. These meetings will continue through 2020 and beyond.

Dr Musarrat Maisha Reza, Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and Race Equality Resource Officer for the College- "Black History Month is a special month every year, more so this year with the Black Lives Matter movement resonating around the world and shedding light on the systematic discrimination faced by Black communities. We recognize and honour the struggles that Black communities have faced to fight for equality and take this opportunity to renew our commitment towards true equality, diversity, and inclusion for everyone. While the journey ahead is long, let us take a moment to highlight and celebrate the past and present excellence, ground-breaking contributions and innovations made by Black Nurses, Doctors, Scientists and Inventors."

Online Sessions During Black History Month

Session 1: Telling our stories – Experiences of living and working in the South West
Thursday 22nd of October 2-4 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 945 1693 7060
Password: 530437

Mr Edward Mabgwe, BME and Equality Lead RCHT
Dr Tudor ChinnahTudor is a Senior Lecturer in Anatomy and Medical Education in the University of Exeter Medical School. He has experience of Black Ethnic minority group both as a student and staff in Higher Education setting in the UK. He left his University academic post in Nigeria and came to the UK in 1995 for a Postgraduate PhD study at the University of Sheffield. He then had his first full academic job in the UK at the University of Dundee Medical School, Scotland, in 2000 before moving down to Exeter Medical School in 2003. Tudor has served as a University Senator and has ASPIRE Senior Fellowship award and a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy.

Session 2: Panel discussion “Microaggression in clinical and academic environment – experiences and ways of dealing”
Friday 23rd of October 12-2 pm
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 936 8967 9333
Password: 865026

Featuring CMH Staff members:
• Prof Reza Zamani,
• Mr Vikram Devraj
• Dr Sadiya Halima Gumi
• Dr Sawsan Khuri
• Dr Asami Oguro-Ando
• Prof Obi Ukoumunne

Keep an eye on @ExeterMed Twitter feed for updates throughout Black History Month. You can read more about the College’s Equality & Diversity Group here

Date: 16 October 2020