Sanjay Lago is a 3rd year Contemporary Performance Practice student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He's also the SU Cultural Diversity Officer. Here in the UK we have been celebrating 30 years of Black History Month - a month where we "Celebrate, Commemorate and Educate" on the histories of The Slave Trade, Colonialism, The British Empire and The Diasporas that have made the UK a diverse place that we now live in, remembering the African, Arab, Asian and Caribbean communities around us that have shaped the UK. Here in RCS, Sanjay explains that, "we open that up to celebrate cultures from far and wide and a chance to be creative and share our cultural backgrounds with each other." At the end of Black History Month, he kindly wrote a guest blogpost for us, which we gladly share with you, below:-
Learning Continues After The
Month
So another Black History Month has passed in RCS and it has
been a month of learning for many people in the institution, but this is not
the end, as Black History Month is more than just a month and every day we
should be remembering, commemorating and educating on the histories of African,
Arab, Asian and Caribbean people. I am deeply saddened that we weren’t able to
get projects up and running but this is not the end even though the month has
finished. Building on the networks and people we have met, sharing the stories
and cultures we bring to this institution, continue to diversify and fight for
a better society. But enough of dwelling in the past. We learn from
difficulties and not everyone is on the same page and support comes in various
ways.
But the reason I am posting this at the end of the month is
to remind that we need to continue to do our research about this island that we
are on. Continue to read up on the stories of people who came to this island to
make it the diverse place that it is today, the connections from wars to
diasporas. Looking at the artists in society from BAME (Black Asian Minority
Ethnic) Backgrounds.
Read up on books such as:-
- The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla, a book that shares the experiences of being a person of colour in Britain today.
- Why I No Longer Talk To White People About Race by Reni Addo-Lodge- talking about themes of White Privilege and her difficulties talking to white people about race.
- Diversify: Six Degrees of Integration by June Sarpong – talking about what makes Diversity
There are so many books and articles out there to share
knowledge about this city we are in and its connection to the slave trade, the
ayahs being brought over from Indian, Tobacco Merchants. Go and find the books,
plays, musicals, composers, artists of colour, use the library - any library -
and read up on topics that celebrate and commemorate our multicultural history.
[In our own Whittaker Library, you could try exploring the catalogue using these terms: "Black history" "Black theatre". And we have ordered the three books that Sanjay recommends - Ed.]
There is a real power in words and you really can grow by
words and other experiences. I hope that the coming days we are able to get
more events up and running and remember that it maybe a month but there is more
than this month, it is every day and think of the people with the lived
experiences.
From a recent reading done in class, Give the platform to
the person who SHOULD be speaking and be the Ally listening that the person
speaking needs for support.
Wishing you a great day and year ahead and feel free to
contact me if you ever wish to!
Sanjay Lago
SU Cultural Diversity Officer & CPP 3
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