We are delighted that leading historian David Olusoga will be presenting our first Talk! of the academic year on Monday 2 November at 5pm.

David, award-winning presenter of the BBC series A House Through Time, is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester and a regular contributor to the GuardianObserver and New Statesman. The British-Nigerian historian is also author of several books including Black and British: A Forgotten History. In 2019 he was awarded the OBE for services to history and community integration.

Professor Olusoga will present a Talk! to the Hampton community at the invitation of a group of pupils who are working throughout this year to increase the level of representation in our curriculum and promote greater diversity and inclusion across the School. The Talk! is just one of many initiatives happening within the School as we reflect on what more we can do to ensure that everyone within our community feels valued, respected and has a voice.

The online link will be sent out to all attendees shortly prior to the event. Booking for the live online talk with Professor David Olusoga has now closed.

Talk! Synopsis

2020 has witnessed a change of consciousness, led by a new generation who have found their voice and see themselves as having a generational mission. Their energy and leadership is forcing people across the world to have conversations that have for decades been put off or avoided. In the summer of 2020 more books on race and black history were sold than ever before. In 2020, conversations between friends and co-workers in thousands of companies and corporations about race and racism that had never taken place before suddenly became urgent and immediate. Equally, urgent conversations about history were also brought out into the open in Britain, France, Belgium and elsewhere. Statues fell and skeletons in the cupboards of great men  and corporations were exposed. For decades Britain has been becoming a less racist and less discriminatory society – as attitudinal studies have repeatedly shown – yet black people remain profoundly disadvantaged and excluded. 2020 was the year when millions came to understand that racial discrimination continues to operate in our society because of the structural nature of racism. The big question is what happens next? Were the Black Lives Protests of 2020 a moment or a movement? Is our society capable of the determined anti-racism needed to create a more equal society? Are we willing to confront the most disturbing chapters of our history, to change how history is taught in schools and enter into yet more difficult conversations?

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