The Student sat down with Aisha Janki Akinola, one of the founders of the BlackED movement, to learn more about the importance of highlighting racial injustices at the University of Edinburgh.
BlackED was originally created to support and uplift the voices of black students at the University of Edinburgh, during a time when Black Lives Matter protests were at the forefront of world media.
The organisation has now expanded to include the whole of the UK and have achieved many things since their initial open letter addressed to the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, Professor Peter Mathieson.
Speaking about the open letter, which has received over eight thousand signatures, Aisha was proud of all she had accomplished with BlackED.
“We’re an ambitious group. Looking back, I can’t believe we actually addressed the Principal!”
However, she criticised Mathieson’s delay in responding to the open letter, telling The Student that he had to be ‘called out’ to respond to BlackED via their Instagram page.
Whilst he was quick to respond to emails sent by white ally students, Mathieson took nearly two days to respond to emails sent by BlackED.
His response came just one hour after they had taken to Instagram to express their concerns.
The BlackED movement were also instrumental in renaming the David Hume Tower to its postal address, 40 George Square, due to Hume’s controversial statements on white superiority.
The University of Edinburgh has since released a statement, explaining their intent to launch a ‘consultation’ into the history behind the names of other university-owned buildings, whilst also addressing other aspects of the university’s involvement with slavery and colonialism.
Aisha welcomed this, but expressed that despite this supposed commitment to change, she is yet to see any real action against racism at the University of Edinburgh.
When asked about the university’s response to the attack on an East Asian student outside the Main University Library in December, and the attack on students at an event held by the African and Caribbean Society last month, Aisha said that there are several recommendations made by BlackED that the University of Edinburgh have yet to implement.
“First of all, the Student Code of Conduct does not say that the university has a zero-tolerance policy towards hate crime in general, but especially towards racism.
“So there’s actually having a zero-tolerance policy, and then there’s enacting and enforcing that zero-tolerance policy by actively campaigning against hate crime at the university.
“We can do that by making sure that anyone who commits a hate crime is punished.”
However, with a flawed reporting system, and only one BME counsellor available to support students who have experienced racial harassment, Aisha makes it clear that the University of Edinburgh should be doing more to encourage people to seek help and justice.
“They are all white, they wouldn’t understand.
“And they’re not willing to pass the mic to people who do understand by hiring a more diverse body of staff.”
A lack of diversity is not unique to the staff population. Whilst the average proportion of UK BME undergraduate entrants at Russell Group universities is 22.8 per cent, the average proportion at the University of Edinburgh is only 10.5 per cent. Aisha told The Student that black students represent less than 1 per cent of this figure.
Aisha also spoke about her role on the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity sub-committee at the University of Edinburgh, placing emphasis on the university’s state of inaction. ‘I have been on this committee for a year now, and what has been done? We are giving ideas, sharing our experiences and opinions. But we aren’t seeing an outcome.’
The Student has also learned that the University of Edinburgh’s application for the Race Equality Charter Award, a title given to higher education institutions for their commitment to being anti-racist, has been rejected several times.
This comes as no surprise, as the University of Edinburgh has low levels of diversity, and is seen by many as failing to actively confront and acknowledge its history of race inequality.
As part of the application, the University of Edinburgh has to submit evidence of diversity demographics within its staff and student bodies, using this data to learn about BAME experiences and issues, in order to come up with an action plan committing to racial equality.
The University of Edinburgh is also required to acknowledge and reflect a ‘candid understanding’ of the ways in which racism persists and is a prevalent issue at the university.
Another application for the award is due to be made in 2022. Speaking to The Student, Aisha reflected on the fact that the University of Edinburgh is yet to directly confront its involvement with slavery. “To think that the university has such strong links to slavery and are not actively doing anything to address that is such a shame.We expect and deserve better.”
Elsewhere in Scotland, a report was recently released by the University of Glasgow, concluding that around half of BME students at the University of Glasgow had experienced racial harassment, and staff at the University of Glasgow had suffered ‘coded forms of abuse’.
Aisha was keen to comment on this, being aware of Glasgow’s deep-rooted history of institutional racism. “What I appreciate about the University of Glasgow is that they have admitted that they have a problem.
“Our university is no different, they just don’t talk about it. Their data is actually giving them insight, as they are able to actively research students’ experiences of racial harassment. “The University of Edinburgh has a lot of pride. It takes a lot of courage to come forward and admit there is a problem, and our university unfortunately hasn’t reached that stage yet.
“Please, if you want diversity, make the lives of the diverse groups that are already here more palatable, and support them.”
Her final message was a plea against empty promises, and a demand for active change. “I am disappointed in the University of Edinburgh. I never thought that I would feel the need to have to start an anti-racist organisation in my own university.
“I would love for my kids to study here, as this has been such a transformative experience for me. But with the way things are going, I’m beginning to lose hope. We need our university to act, and act fast.”
BlackED are currently working on a number of projects, such as the Black Feminist Space, which promotes the need to consider feminism through an intersectional lens, and Black Arts Matter, a campaign celebrating blackness through literary, performance, and visual arts.
If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed, or would like to learn more about how to be an ally, please consult the resources available on BlackED’s Instagram page, @blcked_movement.
Image: BlackEd