Leading academics have warned that black scholarship in the UK is at risk of being wiped out due to redundancies and course closures at universities. The financial crisis engulfing English universities has led to cost-cutting measures, but critics say these are disproportionately affecting lecturers and courses that address racial disparities in higher education.
Notable examples include the University of Chichester making Professor Hakim Adi redundant and cutting his MRes on the history of Africa and the African diaspora. Professor Robert Beckford was made redundant at the University of Winchester, and Birmingham City University closed its black studies undergraduate course. At Goldsmiths, University of London, plans to cut its Black British literature MA were reversed after outcry, but the course’s founder, Professor Deirdre Osborne, was made redundant.
Campaigners argue that these courses and specialist knowledge should be ringfenced, as they require time and development to have an impact. Despite recent advances, fewer than 1% of professors in the UK are black. Professor Beckford, who supported 16 black PhD students, said he has faced redundancy threats since 1993 due to a lack of funding for race-related posts.
Professor Kehinde Andrews of Birmingham City University said the cuts reflect a lack of appreciation for black intellectual thought. “You can’t even call it erasure because there’s so little black production in Britain. It’ll be completely wiped out,” he said. Professor Adi warned that the cuts would severely impact the number of black history professors, as his masters course produced seven PhD students.
Students on Adi’s course have launched a legal challenge against the university, alleging discrimination and breach of contract. The University of Chichester said it had encouraged current students to complete their studies. Osborne described her redundancy as heartbreaking, questioning the message it sends to black students and scholars.
