Black lives matter in education
Osaro Otobo
Senior Consultant at Halpin and Founder of Make Diversity Count.
A successful organisational anti-racist strategy is underpinned by good content strategy. It draws from numerous sources, including stakeholder insights and best practices from elsewhere.
The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked a global response and brought the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to the forefront. This event pressured the education sector, especially those in content strategy roles.
In November 2020, Osaro published a report on how UK universities responded to BLM. Now, in 2024, it's a fitting time to reflect on the progress made. Revisiting this research with a new report offers the education sector a chance to learn from past successes and mistakes, advancing the journey towards anti-racism.
Our research has examined UK universities' responses to the BLM movement from university leaders, students, staff, and alumni perspectives. We also gathered feedback from representatives, experts, and researchers outside higher education to provide an external perspective.
Are students and staff seeing progress in anti-racism efforts? Are the communications clear and consistent? Four years after the BLM resurgence, you will learn whether substantial change has occurred in education, the barriers Black individuals face, and best practices to support anti-racism initiatives including a focus on content strategy.
Key takeaways
Gain insights into perceptions of anti-racism progress among students, staff, and stakeholders to help with content strategy
Understand common challenges faced by institutions and individuals in implementing anti-racism initiatives.
Learn strategies to advance anti-racism efforts within your content strategy
About your speaker
Osaro Otobo (she/her) is a Senior Consultant at Halpin and Founder of Make Diversity Count.
Osaro has had various reports published which look into the experiences of Black students and staff including: Living Black at University (2022), Universities responses to Black Lives Matter (2020) and UK Universities’ Response to Black Lives Matter Revisited (2024).
She created the Make Diversity Count campaign which is calling for organisations to have anti-racism and anti-discrimination action plans for long-term change.
Osaro served as Deputy Chair at British Youth Council and was a two-term President at Hull University Students’ Union.