Black History Month: student involvement crucial to institutional change

Professor Joy Warmington explores leadership, how racism operates and how universities can work with students to address it

To mark Black History Month 2026, Joy Warmington, Visiting Professor at Middlesex and CEO of Birmingham-based equality, social justice and human rights charity, brap, reflects on how leadership and meaningful student involvement can help universities address racism.

Reflecting on the evolution of UK Black History Month and what it means for students today, she encouraged them to recognise the value of their own experiences:

“Take your own experiences seriously. They are a source of knowledge, and you do not have to leave them at the door to belong in a university.

“You are navigating a world that is changing in ways that extends beyond my experience. Listen to one another, stay curious and question what you are told is inevitable. You have something to contribute to shaping the future, even while you are still working out what you think.”

Professor Warmington, who also holds an honorary doctorate from Middlesex, also shared her thoughts on how university leadership can tackle racism and work towards overcoming challenges to equity, she said:

“The degree awarding gap is an uncomfortable truth for universities. Addressing it means being willing to examine the institution itself: whose knowledge is valued, how students are taught and assessed, what support they receive, and whose potential is recognised.

“If the response concentrates on helping students adapt, the university can avoid questioning its own practices. Asking what needs to change within the institution and involving students meaningfully in that enquiry, could make a profound difference to their lives.”

Earlier this year, to mark Social Mobility Day, Middlesex’s Director of UK Student Recruitment and Marketing and Head of Access and Participation spoke about the University’s commitment to embedding students’ voices and experiences across the institution and the work we do.

For Professor Warmington, Black History Month offers opportunities for recognition and reflection, but its significance also rests on what happens throughout the year:

“Diversity can be enjoyable and enriching, but its benefits are not automatic. You have to do more than count people or name their ethnicities and nationalities. You have to be willing to be changed by what they bring.

“That means seeing the world through other lenses, questioning what you have accepted as truth, and examining whose knowledge carries authority. There is an opportunity for universities to be reshaped by the people who study and work within them.

“I hope Black History Month offers students space to explore their histories, make connections and imagine change. Its value also depends on whether institutions carry that learning into the rest of the year.”

Recently ranked fourth in HR magazine’s list of the UK’s top 30 influential thinkers, Professor Warmington regularly works with public institutions on leadership, coaching, facilitation and organisational change.

Reflecting on her work in racial justice and equity and how it informs her role as a visiting professor at Middlesex, she said:

“Much of my work has involved learning alongside people in communities and organisations, exploring how racism operates and what it takes to change it.

“For me, that connects closely with the role of a university. Knowledge is also produced through experience, practice and collective enquiry, as well as through academic research. As a visiting professor, I want to bring these forms of knowledge into conversation and remain willing to question my own thinking.”