Student Recruitment Officer celebrates Black History Month with local community

This October, our Student Recruitment Widening Participation Officer, Justyn Huntley, was invited to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School (QEGS) in Horncastle, to celebrate Black History Month (BHM) with children in the local community. 

Black Business Lincolnshire invited QEGS to be a local hub for outreach during Black History Month and Lincoln Bishop University was kindly invited to be part of the project.

Children from Horncastle and Tattershall primary schools were invited to QEGS to take part in a variety of BHM activities. Alongside other contributors, Justyn planned an insightful session for over one hundred children from years 5 and 6. Throughout the day the children had the opportunity to try new foods, take part in a Djembe drumming workshop delivered by the Lincolnshire Music Service, and explore themes of equality, diversity and inclusion through literature, artwork and discussion. 

As part of his session, Justyn talked to the children about why we celebrate black history, whilst recognising that there is much work still to be done in relation to racism, discrimination, and inclusion in our society.

Justyn explained: “As part of the session, we spoke as a group about who our role models are and how seeing representation of people from all backgrounds is important. I then shared a story called 'Unspoken' written by Kwame Alexander, with beautiful illustrations by Dare Coulter. 

“We spoke about the book and the painful struggles of the transatlantic slave trade, whilst focusing on a picture from the book of chained enslaved people in particular. As part of the session, we metaphorically broke the chains and thought about positive steps forward for the future.” 

Throughout these conversations, the children were directed to select 2 colours of wool which they used to make a bracelet of friendship. Once the bracelets were made, the children gifted them to each other - recognising the symbol of anguish that the chains in the book hold, as well as hope for the future. 

The session was incredibly well received by the children, which provided an outlet for them to ask questions in a safe space, share what they knew but also channel their inquisitiveness to learn. During their reflections, the children said they had enjoyed every part of the day! 

Justyn shared: “It was particularly rewarding to see the children leave with friendship bracelets that symbolised hope, unity and understanding, giving them a meaningful reminder of what we had talked about and how they can contribute to a more inclusive future. Most importantly, they left having learned something new, asked thoughtful questions and engaged positively with difficult but important conversations about our shared history and the society we want to build together.”

Justyn continued: “I want to acknowledge the help of Ruth Pearson for her fantastic ideas in regard to the activity the children completed. Alongside Dr. Sheine Pearte, Gemma Gazi, Andy Dickinsen, Sue Guy and Su Matthan for helping to pull this all together. This was a different type of outreach compared to our usual sessions, but it is very much in line with our values at Lincoln Bishop University.”

To find out more about Outreach and Widening Participation at Lincoln Bishop, please click here. 

To find out more about Black History Month events at Lincoln Bishop throughout October 2026, please click here.