In 1984, Addai Sebo moved to the UK. He started working on the idea of creating an opportunity for black British children to learn about their history and to give them a sense of pride and identity.

The first schools that celebrated Black History Month were in London, but soon other cities followed their lead. Black History Month is now celebrated all over the country with events happening in schools, libraries, museums and other public places.

I must admit to being conflicted about the concept of Black History Month. Not on the grounds that I am white and there is no white history month. After all it could be argued that there are 11 white history months! Philosophically I do find positive discrimination challenging, it still judges based on arbitrary characteristics rather than achievement and individual qualities, however, pragmatically I appreciate that sometimes positive discrimination is needed to address historical prejudice and level the playing field.

Rather my qualms are a result of the fact that there is a danger of it becoming tokenistic and an attempt to pacify minority groups rather than effect meaningful change. It also risks devaluing the contributions of black people by compressing their stories into the same 31 days. It is important to recognize Frederick Douglas, but it is also important to contextualize and situate his contribution within the broader narrative of history. Arguably Douglas should be taught alongside his contemporary Abrahm Lincoln, rather than Martin Luther King.

Black History Month should be a relic of another age. We should not require a special month to raise awareness of and celebrate the contributions and achievements of black people. Hence in Waterstones over half term I was instinctively drawn to David Olusoga’s new book, Black History for Every Day of the Year, and why our academic departments have reviewed their syllabus to ensure that they are (more) representative.

The naïve optimism of this position was brought into stark relief recently when, placed on the spot by Dr McKee, embarrassingly neither Mr Miller or myself, two philosophy graduates were able to name a single black philosopher or theologian other than Martin Luther King.

The statement “history is written by the victors” is frequently attributed to Winston Churchill. It encapsulates the view that our understanding of history isn’t complete or objective but tends to privilege the perspective of those in power. That goes some way to explain why no black philosophers were studied as part of my philosophy degree and no black philosophers featured on the A level philosophy specification I taught.

Sadly, there remains a need for Black History Month if only to remind us of the danger of ignorance and the fact that there is still more work to do to ensure that education is truly inclusive.

In this October’s Black History Month Warwick’s Theology and Philosophy department introduced the work of bell hooks and Charles W Mills. Key Stage 3 History classes learnt about the life of John Newton (he was a slave trader who was briefly enslaved in West Africa before becoming an advocate for abolition). He is also the author of the hymn Amazing Grace which the whole school will be learning about and singing in assembly later this term. The school also enjoyed two assemblies one led by Mrs Kirby and Racial and Religious Equality Committee that drew on Jane Elliot’s famous Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes experiment. The other led by Mr Jefferies who discussed his ‘Desert Island Speeches’ and chose a speech by Senator Robert Kennedy as his all time favourite. Kennedy’s speech, delivered in 1968 only 5 years after the death of his brother, during a hard-fought campaign to win the democratic nomination for President, was delivered minutes after he learned of the assassination of Martin Luther King. It is an appeal for unity remarkable for the depth of its empathy and compassion and for the speaker’s profound belief in progress.

At a time when the world seems increasingly divided Kennedy’s words are a powerful reminder of the importance of focusing on our shared humanity rather than characteristics that divide us and which we cannot control it is also a ringing endorsement of allyship. At Warwick we firmly believe that individuals should be judged on the content of their character rather than arbitrary characteristics, and prejudice and discrimination are anathema to our values. That is why we will continue working to ensure that our curriculum is as inclusive as possible, why we will continue to celebrate Black History Month until such time that it is no longer needed, and why working alongside the pupil voice Racial and Religious Equality Committee, we have drafted a Racial Equality Statement.