UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) is an annual event creating a platform to focus on the history of our struggle for equality and human rights. Disability History Month has been celebrated in the UK since 2010. The theme for 2019 is Leadership, Resistance and Culture.

See the Diversity & Inclusion website for more information on disability support at King’s and accessible maps. KCLSU is also running a series of Disability History Month events.

Stay up to date with all disability-related news by getting in touch with our Disability Inclusion Staff Network, ACCESS King’s:

• Yammer
• Join the mailing list
• Twitter @AccessKings
• Join the Microsoft Team (link to email: access-kings@kcl.ac.uk)
• Email: access-kings@kcl.ac.uk

The Future is Accessible

11:00 – 12:00 and 13:00 – 14:00
Tuesday 3rd December 2019
Denmark Hill Campus, Institute Canteen, IoPPN Main Building
Please contact Abbie Russell, IoPPN Disability Equality Champion for more information.

To mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December 2019, the IoPPN Disability Inclusion working Group (INDIGO) invites staff and students to drop in and discover Disabled Britain on Film, with an opportunity to discuss the films, to ask questions and find out more about disability inclusion at King’s. Staff and students are also invited to make a pledge and help to drive change on disability inclusion, using the colour purple (wear purple clothes and accessories) to raise awareness.

#PurpleLightUp at King’s

3rd December 2019

PurpleLightUp is a global movement designed to draw attention to the economic empowerment of disabled people. Across business and government alike, it has become synonymous with International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) held annually on 3rd December.

To recognise the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and show solidarity to the campaign, the Science Gallery tower will go purple, and all staff and students are invited to ‘go purple’ on Tuesday 3^rd December 2019.

If you would like to be involved, please could you wear, borrow or hold something purple on Tuesday 3 December and share your photos on social media and with the Access King’s team at access-kings@kcl.ac.uk. Please tag @AccessKings, @KCLdiversity, and #PurpleLightUp in any tweets so they can be shared! If you have any other ideas about how we could mark the day, it would be great to hear them!

Disability + Intersectionality Reading Group: Disability + Theatre

17.30-19:00
Tuesday 3rd December
Room 6.01, Virginia Woolf Building, Strand Campus

Disability+Intersectionality is a fortnightly reading group where we meet to discuss key texts in critical disability studies, situating them within the broader context of the humanities and social sciences. Each session will focus on a theme and explore how disability intersects with categories such as gender, race, sexuality, and class.

Everyone is welcome, there is no need to book. It would be great to see you even if you have not had a chance to complete the readings.

Disability + Mad Pride – 3rd December

• Mohammed Abouelleil Rashed, ‘In Defense of Madness: The Problem of Disability’, Journal Medicine and Philosophy 44 (2019), 150-174 http://doi.org/10.1093/jmp/jhy016
• Anne Dalke and Clare Mullaney, ‘On Being Transminded: Disabling Achievement, Enabling Exchange’, Disability Studies Quarterly 34.2 (2014), http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/4247/3599
• ‘Mad Pride: The Right to Reclaim Mental Health’, VICE (2017) https://video.vice.com/en_nz/video/mad-pride-the-fight-to-reclaim-mental-health/5a15181b177dd426be0d8991?popular=1

Launch Event: ACCESS King’s on Leadership

12:00 – 13:30
Wednesday 4th December 2019
G79, Franklin Wilkins Building, Waterloo Campus
Please click here to register

Join us for the official launch of the King’s staff disability network, Access King’s, on Wednesday 4 December at Waterloo Campus. What does it mean to be a leader? What does a leader look like? What does disability look like? How do we define inclusive leadership in higher education? To launch the network, we invite our panellists, the audience, and the wider King’s community to discuss disability and accessibility in the higher education context, in line with the UK Disability History Month theme of Leadership, Resistance and Culture.

The Strive to Survive: The Invisible Struggles 

16:00, Wednesday 4th December 2019
Activity Room A (KCLSU), 8th floor Bush House South East Wing, Strand Campus

In recognition of Disability awareness month, we would like to warmly invite you to our upcoming event ‘The Strive to Survive’.

We understand how tough it is for many first Generation/ WP students to have to go through unseen disabilities, mental health issues topped with further pressures of being the first in their family to go to uni or coming from a WP background. We understand the struggle! The event will be an opportunity to share your experiences and be engulfed in the warm embrace of those who have survived. This is also an opportunity to detox from work and relax in a warm and friendly environment with fellow students who understand your struggles.

Access King’s – The Future is Accessible

13:00 – 14:00
5th December 2019
New Hunts House G.8, Guy’s Campus

To celebrate UK Disability History Month, the IoPPN Disability Inclusion working Group (INDIGO) invites staff and students to drop in and discover Disabled Britain on Film, with an opportunity to discuss the films and to ask questions and find out more about disability inclusion at King’s. Please share this event widely!

Please contact Abbie Russell for more information.

Researchers in Disability: Their Inspiration, Work and Impact

18:00 – 20:30
Thursday 5th December 2019
Room TBD, Guy’s Campus, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 1UL

As part of Disability History Month, KCL Biochemistry Society are inviting two guest speakers to talk about the research they do in the field of disability. They will discuss the inspirations for their work as well as the impact.

Dr Wanda Diaz-Merced is an astronomer who lost her sight at the age of 20. But determined to continue her career in Physics, Dr Diaz-Merced became a pioneer in sonification – a technique for turning large data sets into audible sound. She will talk about her research in this area as well as her work in promoting inclusivity in Science.

Professor Annalisa Pastore is a researcher in Structural and Molecular Biology at King’s College London. Her work focuses on the proteins found in neurodegenerative diseases with the aim of designing suitable therapeutic strategies. She will give us an insight into the research she does and the potential implications of her work.

There will be free pizza at the end of the event!

Community Wednesdays in the Nightingale Nook: Disability support at King’s and in the Faculty

13.00-16.00
11th December 2019
Room 4.28, JCMB, Waterloo Campus

Not all disabilities are visible. If you feel like you’re struggling on your course, and are looking for support, come and have a chat with the people who can help at King’s. The Disability team, the Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care Faculty Disability Liaison Officer and two alumni who have disabilities will be there to share their experience.

Black History Month 2019

October is Black History Month (BHM) in the UK and coincides with the start of the academic year. Black History Month aims to raise awareness of 500 years of Black History in the UK, highlighting the many positive Black contributions to British society, and the heighten confidence and awareness of Black people in their cultural heritage.

This year King’s is celebrating Black History both in the making, and reflecting on Black History past, across a range of events, film screenings and talks:

Lunch Time Seminar

7 October 2019
1-2pm,  Robin Murray A&B Lecture Theatre, IoPPN Main Building, Denmark Hill Campus

Robin Walker, the Black History Man, is back again to discuss the theories of radical Black psychiatrist Franz Fanon (French West Indian psychiatrist, whose works are influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory and Marxism). The lecture will show how the ideas of Franz Fanon can be used to understand and predict dysfunctional behaviour among oppressed peoples where colourism is one of the three driving dynamics behind dysfunctional behaviour. The lecture will also identify the role played by the other two drivers of dysfunctional behaviour among oppressed peoples: language hierarchy and cultural hierarchy.

‘King’s College London and Reparations for Slavery’ lecture by Prof Richard Drayton

10th October
4.30pm in the Department of History, Open Space, 8th Floor Strand Building

Join the Department of History at King’s this Black History Month with Professor Richard Drayton, who talks about the issues of reparations for slavery on Thursday 10 October.
A substantial amount of wealth derived from slavery in the Caribbean underpinned the foundation of King’s College London in 1829.  Should King’s follow the example of the University of Glasgow, which in August 2019 announced it would commit 20 million pounds to reparations? What are the arguments for reparations? In what creative ways might King’s meet this challenge and acknowledge its debts to the Caribbean, Africa and the African diaspora?

This event is open to all and free to attend.

School of Politics and Economics Black History Month event

10th October 2019
From 6pm, Bush House 8th Floor North

The School of Politics and Economics will be hosting a Black History Month event in which students in the School of Politics and Economics will be showcasing their research on themes related to race and politics. This is an exciting opportunity to hear from current students of all levels and to engage in discussions about societal and inclusion issues of today. The event will begin with a key note presentation from PhD student Michael Bankole beginning at 6:15pm. All are welcome to take part and we look forward to seeing you there.

Crick Institute’s Minorities in STEM Symposium 

14th October 2019
The Crick Institute

The Crick is collaborating with UCL, Wellcome and Institute of Physics to hold the second Minorities in STEM symposium. We will be bringing together BAME students and researchers from across our partners to promote careers, communication and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

At this free one day symoposium with experts from all walks of STEM, there will be a series of sessions and workshops that will cover how to navigate an academic career, ways to engage wider audiences and effective communication through writing.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided, and travel bursaries are available.

The event will take place at the Crick 9:30 – 17:00, followed by a drinks reception at the Institute of Physics 17:30-19:00.

Spaces are limited, so please book your place via Eventbrite.

Amma Asante – Where Hands Touch screening and Director Q&A N

NEW DATE: 17th October 2019
5pm-11pm, Bush House auditorium.

The School of Politics & Economics and the Race Equality Network have teamed up for Black History Month and are welcoming Bafta-winning film director and writer Amma Asante for a screening of her film Where Hands Touch, followed by a Q&A session with the director herself. Seats are limited and for King’s students only.

Decolonizing Political Economy: transforming the university

Saturday 19 October 2019
10:30am-4pm , Bush House Lecture Theatre 1 BH(S)1.01 (no registrations necessary)Staff and students will share ideas on the challenges involved in decolonizing the university

10:30-12:30 Introduction and panel on what has been done at King’s to decolonize the curriculum with someone from the BAME working group, SPLASS, History (Richard), Geography (?), War Studies (?) and a student?
12:30-1:30   Lunch Break
1:30-3:30     What is to be done with Humeira (Dpt of Political Economy), Majed (Geography), Lucia (EIS and on the project so far), students involved in the Decolonizing Kings initiative, a PhD student from Geography, Mayssoun Sukarieh (Development)

Dr Harold Moody, a King’s College hidden history reclaimed

23rd October 2019
6.15pm onwards,
Harris Lecture Theatre, Hodgkin Building, Guy’s Campus, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT

Journalist and activist Marc Moody shares the story of Dr Harold Moody, King’s alumni and pioneering GP. Graduating in 1920, Moody went on to practice medicine in Peckham, where he was affectionately known as the ‘black doctor’. A pioneer, Moody went on to found Britain’s first civil rights movement, the League of Coloured Peoples, in 1931.

Screening: Pray the Devil Back to Hell

24 October 2019, 14:00 to 16:00
Bush House South East Wing, Strand Campus , London

As part of Black History Month, the African Leadership Centre (ALC) will be hosting a screening and discussion on the documentary ‘Prey the Devil Back to Hell’ about the role of women in the Liberian Civil War.

‘Pray the Devil Back to Hell’ chronicles the remarkable story of the Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Thousands of women – ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim – came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about a agreement during the stalled peace talks.

A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting, and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.

Slavery and the City – public lecture by King’s Professor Richard Drayton

28th October 2019
6pm, Museum of London 

Freedom has been central to the identity of the City of London for centuries. But from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth centuries, the African Slave Trade and Plantation Slavery in the Americas were key to London’s banking, insurance, shipping, manufacturing, commodity trades with Europe, gold and silver supply in London, and later merchant banks like Barings, Schroeder and Kleinwort.

The City also benefited from the end of Slavery, as compensated emancipation liberated a flood of liquid capital and provided a £500,000 per annum income stream to its funders.

The Platform: A night dedicated to discussing the platforms that are used to celebrate black individuals within the community

29th October 2019
6.30pm – 9pm
New Hunt’s House Lecture Theatre 2
King’s College London, Guy’s Campus

A night dedicated to discussing the platforms that are used to celebrate black individuals within the community. Positive black representation is important in developing aspirations of young people who may not be exposed to this. KCL ACMA wants to make sure we don’t just celebrate the Martin Luther King’s & Rosa Park’s during Black History Month, but that we highlight the work and journeys of incredible black individuals who are inspiring the next generation through their work.

With guest speakers including: Professor Funmi Oloniaskin, Tomi Okeowo. Paulette Williams, Dr Michael Ajeleti & Alvin Owusu- Fordwuo. Come and celebrate modern day black success!

DIGIT Black History Month (Skype) Bingo

30th October 2019
Everywhere – it’s on Skype!

The Diversity & Inclusion Group in IT is holding an online game of Black History Bingo with great prizes to be won – email digit@kcl.ac.uk to join in on the fun!

Find out more, and see the King’s #BHM2019 campaign here.

Hidden Colors 5 Film Screening

Black Women in Athletics 

King’s Athletic’s and Cross Country are hosting a panel event for Black History Month titled ‘Black Women in Athletics’ and we have our incredible guest speakers – Laviai Nielson, Mary Abichi and Imani-Lara Lansiquot. Our guests will talk about their experiences of being a Black Woman in Athletics whilst studying at a top Russell Group university. The panel discussion will be followed by refreshments to encourage further discussion to take place!