Taking Up Space

Overview

A groundbreaking exploration of the problems of diversity in education

As a minority in a predominantly white institution, taking up space is an act of resistance. And in higher education, feeling like you constantly have to justify your existence within institutions that weren't made for you is an ongoing struggle for many people. Two recent Cambridge graduates wrote Taking Up Space as a guide and a manifesto for change: tackling issues of access, unrepresentative curricula, discrimination in the classroom, the problems of activism and life before and after university. Featuring honest conversations with students past and present, Taking Up Space goes beyond the buzzwords of diversity and inclusion and explores what those words truly mean for young black girls today.

Author Biography

Chelsea Kwakye is a first-class honors History graduate from Cambridge, where she was the only black girl in her year to read History. In her final year, she was Vice-President of the African-Caribbean Society. She is currently studying at the University of Law in preparation for a training contract with a London law firm. Ore Ogunbiyi is a Politics and International Relations graduate from Cambridge, where she was President of the university's African-Caribbean Society. She is currently getting her Master's in Journalism at Columbia University, New York.