West Exe School, part of our Trust have welcomed representatives from Devon Diversity Education (DDE) to the school this month as part of their Black History month celebrations.  This year’s theme, ‘Reclaiming Narratives’, is a powerful call to recognise and correct the stories of Black history and culture.

The DDE group came to teach students about the local Devon Windrush Group and enrich their knowledge and presentation skills.  The Devon Windrush Group aims to foster connections between Caribbean people in the South West.

One of the guest speakers was Dave Samuels whose father was the first Black bus driver in Bristol and took part in the Bristol Bus Boycott.  The Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963 arose from the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus Company to employ black or Asian bus crews in the city of Bristol.  Some students also raised their own links to Windrush and shared their own stories with their classmates later in the week.   

The ‘Windrush’ generation are those who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1973.  The name ‘Windrush’ derives from the ‘HMT Empire Windrush’ ship which brought one of the first large groups of Caribbean people to the UK.  The Windrush scandal began to surface in 2017 after it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens, many of whom were from the ‘Windrush’ generation, had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights. 

Later in the month the school also held an amazing art workshop in their library run by B-HUGs which is led by academics at the University of Exeter and local artist Jedidah Chick with a focus on lived experiences.  Jedidah Chick  is a Black British artist who was born in Zimbabwe and is based in Devon. Her original paintings fuse African modern art and the lush landscapes and coastal scenes of the local Devon and Cornwall countryside.

She grew up in post-colonial Zimbabwe at a time when the history of African culture was not celebrated or accurately taught in schools. Jedidah’s knowledge of her African heritage, especially the untold stories of her female ancestors, has become the driving force behind her art.  Through her paintings she celebrates the African female figure, her struggle, and her history, often focusing on Afro hair and the message of resilience and self empowerment.

The workshop was part of an ongoing B-HUGs project founded by Dr. Safi Darden and Dr, Melody Kuziwa Jombe supported by the University of Exeter to offer opportunities to engage with black educators and enable improved representation and aspiration raising.  It is wider Race Equality work being undertaken at the University which aims to tackle the fact that historically, Black students have faced numerous barriers in higher education, from systemic racism and discrimination to a lack of representation among faculty and staff. 

The visibility of Black role models in academic settings can help counteract these challenges by demonstrating the possibilities of academic and professional success. 

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:

“I am so grateful for the work our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-ordinator Rosie Salter has done in arranging these important visits and workshops this Black History Month.  It’s vital that schools work to reclaim and amplify narratives that have been overlooked.  I especially want to thank the team at Devon Diversity and Jedidah Chick for being so generous with their time and their stories, and for connecting our students to really important black narratives and events. We look forward to continuing their great work here in school, to educate all young people about EDI but also to celebrate the rich diversity of our wonderful student body.

“At West Exe School we are committed to providing our students with an understanding of history, which honours the rich and diverse contributions of Black people.  Black History Month is about more than reflecting on the past, it’s about inspiring young people to create an inclusive future.”