Birmingham City University’s Black Studies MA matters far beyond the classroom

Reports that Birmingham City University is planning to axe its Black Studies MA have sparked outrage across academic, cultural and activist circles...and rightly so.

More than 100 academics, writers and activists have reportedly signed an open letter criticising the decision to shut down the course centred around Black studies and global justice. The backlash speaks volumes, not only about the importance of the programme itself, but also about what its removal represents in a wider UK context.

The course was only launched months ago, and according to reports, the university has blamed low recruitment numbers, with eight students currently enrolled on the MA. But critics have questioned whether enough time, investment or institutional support was ever truly given for the programme to flourish in the first place. Concerns have also been raised around the alleged lack of consultation with staff and students.

Photograph: Birmingham City University

At the centre of this controversy is the potential loss of five Black members of staff, including Professor Kehinde Andrews - a pioneering figure who helped establish the Black Studies programme at BCU and has become one of the UK’s leading voices on race, education and structural inequality.

For many, this isn’t simply about one MA course being removed. It’s about what happens when already limited spaces dedicated to Black history, Black culture and Black intellectual thought continue to disappear from British academia. Because the reality is, opportunities to formally study Black history and culture in the UK are still incredibly limited.

At a time when conversations around race, identity, migration and representation continue to shape modern Britain, removing programmes like this sends a troubling message about whose histories, experiences and perspectives are considered valuable within higher education.

And the irony becomes even more striking when you consider the influence Black culture continues to have on Britain itself. A report by UK Music revealed that Black music generated £24.5 billion - around 80% of the UK’s £30 billion recorded music revenue - over a 30-year period. Black music and culture have fundamentally shaped the sound, style and identity of modern Britain, influencing everything from fashion and language to television, nightlife and youth culture.

From Grime and Garage to Afrobeats, Drill, Jungle and UK Rap, entire scenes that now define British culture were born from Black communities and diasporic experiences. Yet while those contributions are continuously commercialised and celebrated on a surface level, the academic spaces that allow people to critically study, understand and preserve those histories remain underfunded, unsupported or, in cases like this, reportedly under threat.

The issue here is not whether Black Studies has value. Its impact culturally, socially and historically is undeniable. The question is why institutions continue to struggle to protect and prioritise spaces dedicated to that study.

Birmingham itself has long stood as one of the UK’s most culturally rich and diverse cities - a place where Black culture has deeply influenced music, art, politics and community life for generations. For a university in that city to potentially remove one of the country’s few Black Studies postgraduate programmes is deeply disappointing.

Education should not simply exist to preserve what is already comfortable or commercially safe. It should challenge perspectives, document overlooked histories and create spaces for critical thought that reflect the realities of the world students live in. And that is exactly why so many people are speaking out.