Melz Owusu, a former sabbatical officer at Leeds University union and current PhD student, has been a vocal proponent of decolonising higher education. However, after listening to the experiences of black students, Owusu came to a sobering realisation about the entrenched nature of colonisation in universities. As a result, they launched a GoFundMe campaign for a Free Black University, which aims to redistribute knowledge and place black students and decolonised curricula at the heart of education, rather than as an add-on. The campaign has raised over £60,000 and won backing from the University and College Union and National Union of Students.
The Free Black University aims to be an open-access platform for radical and transformational learning, exploring sociological, historical, philosophical, scientific, and creative topics related to black liberation. The project aims to create a range of support structures for black students, including access to black therapists, counsellors, and community healers. An annual conference will bring together black radical thinkers, and members of black and minority-ethnic communities will have access to community building spaces.
The goal is to create a physical space in one of London’s most diverse neighbourhoods, such as Brixton or Lewisham, which will include teaching rooms, a bookshop, restaurant, and healing areas. Campaigns have already started at Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Leeds, Exeter, and UCL to encourage other universities to contribute financially. Owusu sees this initiative not only as a way to support current black students but also as payback for universities’ historic role in supporting and perpetuating racism, from benefiting from donations by slave owners to developing the study of eugenics. The campaign has sparked interest and support from individuals across the UK, with many making individual donations ranging from £5 up to several hundred pounds, as well as through fundraising events.
Plenty of evidence supports the claim that black students receive lower grades and face systemic racism in universities. According to figures released last year by the Office for Students, white students are more likely to receive first-class or upper-second-class degrees than black students, and the difference is significant in almost half of the universities in England. Moreover, recent freedom of information requests revealed that only 20% of UK universities have committed to decolonizing their curriculum, and a mere 1% of UK professors are black.
Jo Grady, the general secretary of UCU, highlights that this campaign has gained significant support from black scholars and students who know how challenging it is to navigate a university system that is either apathetic or openly antagonistic towards them. Grady notes that it can significantly damage one’s sense of self-worth.
Fope Olaleye, NUS black students officer, welcomes the Free Black University as it fills a gap for black students in an education sector that desperately needs change. Olaleye urges higher and further education providers to financially support it.
However, Deborah Gabriel, the founder of Black British Academics, a network of scholars committed to enhancing racial equity in higher education, is skeptical that it is a viable solution. In her opinion, while finding solutions to address white privilege and systemic racism outside the present system has merit, the idea of a “free” university may be overly optimistic, as such a model may not be sustainable.
Gabriel suggests a more practical approach is to establish partnerships between UK higher education institutions and historically black colleges and universities in the US. As a result of segregation, these institutions typically produce black graduates who do better than those from mainstream institutions “because of the sense of worth, value, and belonging” they instill.
While Universities UK says that many institutions are already developing more inclusive programmes, including reviewing their curriculums and reassessing reading lists, as well as conducting liberation or decolonisation activities, Owusu argues that a more radical approach is necessary. Owusu suggests creating a space where the black community can access a curriculum and teaching staff where everyone looks like them, offering a reprieve from a system that has systematically failed and oppressed them.
