Who we are
The Black Students Network (BSN) is a community of societies and student groups that represent Black students at King’s College London. The goal of the network is to provide a shared platform for students to create positive change, campaign on liberation issues and deliver initiatives, events and projects that will support the Black student community.
The range of student groups that are part of KCL BSN attests to the diversity that the term ‘Black’ encompasses. We are proud and excited to represent such a diverse group of students who share a common identity. The Network is committed to ensuring that Black students thrive in every arena of student life at King’s.
We'd love to hear from you! Find us on instagram @kclsubsn or email [email protected]
Our KCLSU Black Student Network Co-Chairs for 2022-23 are Taj Donville-Outerbridge and Folajimi Olanrewaju.
“My name is Taj (He/They) and I am first and foremost a human being who happens to be a 3rd year Global Health & Social Medicine student at King’s and your Black Students Network Co-Chair for 2023/24. The first thing you should know about me, is that my style of activism is the three E’s; existence, education, and empowerment.
During since my time at KCL, I served as the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Student Representative for the entire School of Global Affairs, the student representative on the department Anti-Racism Steering Committee and as the black student representative for King’s LGBT+ Society (KCLGBT+). I also founded the first society at a London university specifically for queer students of colour (KCL QTIPOC Society). Last year, I had the pleasure of serving as the both the President of the KCL LGBTQ+ Society and the Chair of the KCLSU LGBTQ+ Students Network. This year, in addition to role of the black students network chair, I will continue serve as the Co-President of KCLGBTQ+.
Outside of university, I hail from the small atlantic island of Bermuda. While a student a Bermuda College, I helped develop and strengthen Bermuda’s first and still only LGBTQ+ student organization, ‘The Village’. Through this group, I was able to lead many outreach campaigns on and off campus and lead the creation of a best practice document for educators and other professionals. I also attended two international conferences, one of which planted the seed for the creation of Bermuda Pride of which I am one of the founders. Although I study in the UK, I maintain strong ties to my home country and region as a regular contributor to local/regional news publications on issues related to politics, human rights, and youth empowerment.
In my role as Co-chair, I aim to do the following:
- Strengthen and expand the Black Students Network by encouraging more societies to become active members and have network representatives.
- Increase black student engagement in KCLSU initiatives and democratic process.
- Raise the profile of the Black Students Network through creating a strong social media presence and networking with relevant stakeholders.
- Have important and intersectional conversations about repairing relations between KCLSU and black students.
In my free time, I am extremely interested in and passionate about politics and fashion. I also strive to encourage and create opportunities for other young people to use their voice to fight for equity and human rights for all. In the future, I hope to work in the field of public health policy where I will continue to be a tireless advocate for the decolonization of healthcare systems, the implementation of inclusive and comprehensive sex education for all young people, and the equitable treatment of all LGBTQ+ people everywhere.”
'Hi everyone, my name is Fola (pronouns: They/Them). I am a third year Neuroscience and Psychology student and am co- Vice President of the newly founded Psychedelic Research Society here at Kings. I joined the Black Students Network this year (as well as the LGBT+ and Disabled Students Network) and am excited to be one of your co-chairs! I am passionate about making more inclusive spaces for black individuals and targeting issues that concern the black community, specially making space for black queer, trans, disabled, gender - nonconforming people, and black women. I hope we can all work together to make these spaces at Kings and tackle the issues that affect the black community at the university as well as the wider black community.'