We enjoyed a thought-provoking speech from the award winning writer, Jeffery Boakye. Jeffrey Boakye is a writer, teacher and music enthusiast.

In 2017, Boakye published his first book, Hold Tight: Black Masculinity, Millennials, and the Meaning of Grime. Boakye’s talk opened our eyes on multiple topics, such as how we label ourselves and how important they can be to our identity. In an interactive moment, Jeffrey asked us whether the role of the host or the guest was harder. Despite the majority saying the host, Jeffrey believed that the guest has the harder job of trying not to offend the host and to decide which of their labels are safe to show to the world.

After the talk, there was time for pupils to ask Jeffrey any questions they wanted to. These included questions about their labels, teaching in a predominantly white school and how we can prevent racism. Our favourite question was about how we can express ourselves on difficult topics without offending others.

After the event, Miss Woodmansey, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion told the Occasional: “Jeffrey delivered an inspiring and engaging talk that opened students’ eyes to different perspectives and prompted them to look inwards, grasping greater self-awareness about their identities, the labels they embrace, and their core values.”

What a great talk to start Black History Month!

Teju A-T, Adam C and Alex K, Year 10