University News Last updated 22 May 2017
BAFTA and MOBO award winner Akala, will be discussing racism, politics and social conditioning at a Birmingham City University event this week.
The ‘Legacies of the Haitian Revolution’ event at the University’s City Centre Campus on Saturday 27 May will see the performer, poet and historian delve into the topic of black political activism and why the legacy of the Haitian Revolution, often described as the most successful slave rebellion in history, is still of importance today.
When not performing onstage Akala, who has toured with artists including Jay Z and Christina Aguilera, is also known as Kingslee Daley and runs his own record label and The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, which he founded in 2008 with actor Sir Ian McKellen to offer education programmes for young people.
Born in London’s Kentish Town, the 33 year-old rapper recently spoke out regarding his plans to vote in a general election for the very first time. Speaking to the Guardian, he said: “For the first time in my adult life, someone I would consider to be a fundamentally decent human being has a chance of being elected. I will be voting for the first time in June and I will be voting Labour.
The free event will also outline aspects of the new Black Studies course at Birmingham City University, which begins in September and is the first of its kind in Europe.
Dr Kehinde Andrews, associate professor in Sociology at Birmingham City University, said: “We’re delighted to have Akala join us for this one-off special event where we'll be talking about a key strand of the new degree, black political activism.”