This document contains profiles of several individuals who were asked to share what "Being Black Means" to them. It includes short biographies of each person and their response to the prompt, which touch on themes of strength, unity, perseverance, ambition and breaking barriers despite adversity. The profiles represent a diverse group of students, professionals and community leaders from around the world connected to the University of the West of Scotland.

1. Vice President - Societies and Citizenship
SAUWS - UWS Students' Association
Franklin Jacob Babu
ABOUT FRANKLIN
Franklin won the International Student of the Year 2017 (highly
commended) awarded from NUS UK for his exceptional work on
internationalisation at UWS. He is also the 1st International student to get
elected as a Sabbatical officer at SAUWS and one of the very few
International Full-time Student Officers in Scotland and also represents
students nationally through active campaigning. He works on giving his
inspiration to the community to make people aspire/dream big and achieve.
During his year at SAUWS, he aims to work hard to enhance cultural unity
and also help issues of poverty though food sharing initiatives.
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK MEANS, STRENGTH. IT MEANS
CULTURE AND UNITY IN DIVERSITY. THE COLOUR OF
OUR SKIN DOES NOT DETERMINE OUR ABILITIES TO
GO BEYOND THE SKIES

2. Shahama Sajid
Postgraduate Student
Creative Media Practice
ABOUT SHAHAMA
Shahama is a postgraduate student at UWS pursuing Creative Media
Practice. An entrepreneur back home, a photographer and an aspiring
social worker, she is currently working on solving the problems of food
wastage and deficit in Scotland. Her talents have brought her to the
UK and she continues to strive and work hard to make a difference by
thinking big, no matter where in the world she is. Her passion for
sustainability has led to her being one of the Environment Interns at
the UWS Students' Association.
#BeingBlackMeans
YOU MIX ALL COLOURS IN THE WORLD, THE FINAL COLOUR YOU
WILL SEE WILL BE BLACK. BEING BLACK MEANS TO BE UNIFIED, TO
BE DETERMINED TO REACH A SOLUTION AND TO ACHIEVE THE
FINAL GOAL THAT YOU HAVE SET FOR YOUR LIFE

3. Edmund Abekhe
Undergraduate Student
Mechanical Engineering
ABOUT EDMUND
Edmund was awarded "Most Valued Player" in the finals of a
nationwide tournament rugby finals for his hard work and
perseverance during the game. He is also the first Black person to be
elected into a Prefectship position in his high school. It was a big
landmark and he is happy that he has paved the way for other
minorities to be able to gain such recognition regardless of ethnicity.
Additionally, he is also the President of Christian Union at UWS.
#BeingBlackMeans
BLACK MEANS, PERSEVERANCE. IT MEANS DESPITE WHAT
OTHERS MAY SAY YOU KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE GOAL AND
MOVE FORWARD. IT IS THE ABILITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE
DIFFERENCES IN A WORLD THAT IS OUT TO HIGHLIGHT SUCH
DIFFERENCES; TO ALLOW THEM ENRICH AND FURTHER INSPIRE
US

4. Dr Waiyin Hatton
Chair of UWS Court
Founder/Director of Wai Beyond
ABOUT WAIYIN
#BeingBlackMeans
Breaking the glass-ceiling as former Chief Executive of NHS Ayrshire
and Arran, Waiyin (the Founder/Director of Wai Beyond) inspires and
nurtures greatness in people, teams, and organisations. She is also the
Chair of Action Against Stalking and the Vice-Chair of Scottish Chamber
of Commerce.
As former GB international medallist in karate, founder and
current Chair of Ayrshire Sportsability, she puts something back into the community
to ‘make a difference’ serving as non-executive director/Board member across
businesses, education, professional and sports sectors.
Her passion in making a difference was recognised by being awarded Woman of
Inspiration, and the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and winning the Best
Business-Charity Partnership Award.
WHAT WE ARE SEEKING IS THE NEXUS OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS
AND STATES OF MIND, WHICH IS WITHIN US. THE SOURCE OF YIN
AND YANG ARE WITHIN YOU
-Frederick Lenz

5. Nigerian Students'
Forum (NSF)
ABOUT NSF
#BeingBlackMeans
The Nigerian Students Forum is one of the leading international
students' societies in UWS. The Forum in five years had contributed
to the UWS community by looking out for students of African descent
in the University. It has organised conferences, social events and
supported new students in settling down in UWS. The Students forum
has also contributed to the Centre for African Research on Enterprise
and Economic Development (CAREED) in UWS.
BEING BLACK MEANS TO BECOME ONE WITH YOUR
COMMUNITY. BEING BLACK MEANS YOU MUST BE AMBITIOUS
AND READY TO CHANGE ANYTHING THAT YOU DON’T SEE FIT
FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. BEING BLACK MEANS YOU MUST BE A
LEADER AND EXCEL AGAINST ALL ODDS THAT MAY BE
STACKED AGAINST YOU

6. Dr Christian Harrison
ABOUT CHRISTIAN
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK MEANS, DETERMINATION. IT MEANS
BREAKING THE PARADIGM. GREATNESS IS EMBEDDED IN
EVERYONE DESPITE OUR COLOUR. DON’T LOOK FOR
REASONS WHY IT CAN’T BE DONE RATHER LOOK FOR
REASONS WHY IT CAN BE DONE
Programme Leader
Christian is a well-known and recognised scholar in the field of Leadership and
works across the globe on research projects. He is also the author of numerous
published research papers on Leadership - his major research interest.
Furthermore, he is an active member of numerous learned organisations such as
the British Academy of Management (BAM), International Council for Small
Business (ICSB), Higher Education Academy (HEA) and serves on several review
panels and committees. Christian works extensively as a consultant, speaker and
trainer on leadership skills development within organisations. He is the author of
the bestselling book entitled ‘Leadership Theory and Research: A Critical
Approach to New and Existing Paradigms’, which is published by the globally
renowned Palgrave MacMillan.
MSc Leadership and Management, School of Business and Enterprise

7. Kevin Miguin
ABOUT KEVIN
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK MEANS FEARLESSNESS. THROUGH-OUT
HISTORY, PEOPLE OF COLOUR HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE,
ADAPT AND SUCCEED. THE JOURNEY FROM GRASS TO GRACE
IS A SCARY ONE, BUT WE MAKE IT BECAUSE; ‘WE ARE MADE OF
DREAMS, WE ARE MADE OF CONVICTIONS
Institutional Associate Trainer, SAUWS
DBA Student at UWS London
Kevin was the former SAUWS London Executive officer. He admits
that creating an active community within London campus was an
underestimated task. However, proud to see how his dream is fulfilled
every day, reaching out to one student at a time through; the London
Event Society, the Peer-led tutoring group they formed, the ‘London
Campus feeds’ Facebook page and his active involvement with UWS.
In his new role as a SAUWS Reps Trainer, He aims to enhance
student learning experiences at UWS.

8. Abdi Adul Aziz
ABOUT ABDI
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK ME MEANS EMBRACING VULNERABILITY AS MY
GREATEST STRENGTH. ITS MORE THAN JUST A PHYSICAL
APPEARANCE, BUT IT’S BEING PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
THAN I COULD EVER IMAGINE. IT COMES WITH RESPONSIBILITY,
POWER AND DISEMPOWER AND ALSO AWARENESS AND
COMPASSION TO PEOPLE AROUND ME
Founder of Melisha Brands, Tanzania
DBA Student at UWS London
Abdi is a Doctoral Candidate at UWS. He was a Top achieving major
of the London MBA promotion of 2016/17. He believes that his
success as an entrepreneur with ‘Melisha’ brand in the Transport and
Vocational Training industry in Tanzania is owed to ‘the business
theories I never took for granted’. Abdi was an influential member in
forming a Peer-led tutoring group at London campus. He aims to
improve the lives of Tanzanians through affordable and meaningful
education.

9. Iffat Jabeen
ABOUT IFFAT
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK GIVES THE PRIVILEGE OF REPRESENTING MYSELF
AND ALSO SHINE MY LIGHT OF ETHNIC IDENTITY UPON OTHERS TO
BRING AWARENESS AND INSPIRATION. GIRLS LIKE US EXIST IN THIS
SOCIETY AND WE AREN'T AFRAID BUT WE JUST WANT TO BE
ACCEPTED WITHOUT PREJUDICES FOR BEING THE COLOUR THAT
WE ARE!
Founder of Iffat Jabeen Photography
Undergraduate Student - Animation
Breaking every stereotypical barrier of being Black, Iffat, the founder of Iffat
Jabeen Photography was inspired to showcase the under-represented through
photography to create an appreciation for diversity we pose in this country.
With her studies, she aims to create fictional animations that represent
minorities which she believes will inspire the younger generation to be more
inclusive and respective of other cultures. She led a project, "Persona" which
aimed to create an opportunity for the models to show be expressive of their
personality and identty through photography. Later, this was displayed in Derby
at the UK Young Artists 2016 exhibition.

10. Dr David L Ndzi
ABOUT DAVID
#BeingBlackMeans
MY ORIGIN SHOULD NOT DECIDE MY DESTINATION. MY COMPETITOR
IS MYSELF AND BEING INTELLIGENTLY IGNORANT ENSURES THAT
SOMEONE’S NEGATIVE EXPECTATIONS SHOULD NOT BECOME MY
REALITY
Assistant Dean (Global Engagement)
DR David graduated with BSc (Joint Hons) in Electronics and Mathematics and
Ph.D. in Telecommunications. He worked as a Research Associate, a Senior
Lecturer and then a Principal Lecturer in electronics, computing, and
telecommunications. He held the post of International Coordinator of the
Faculty of Technology at the University of Portsmouth for over 9 years where
he was responsible for all aspects of international activities before joining UWS
in February 2017.
School of Computing, Engineering & Physical Sciences
and School of Health and Life Sciences
His research focus includes advanced telecommunication systems, wireless
sensor networks and artificial intelligent systems with applications in
agriculture, environmental monitoring, security, and disaster prediction. He
uses his experience to support and inspire everyone who, for one reason or
another, may want to settle for less than his or her best.

11. Naira Dar
ABOUT NAIRA
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK TO ME MEANS BEING SELF-AWARE. IT MEANS BEING
AWARE OF ALL THE DISCRIMINATION I MAY FACE AND THE
STEREOTYPES IMPOSED ON ME BECAUSE OF MY SKIN TONE, BUT ALSO
BEING AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THIS WILL NOT STOP ME FROM
ACHIEVING GREATNESS
Equality and Organisational Development
Consultant, UWS
Naira is a social and political activist on equality and human rights, developing
policies and practices supporting inclusion and challenging discrimination. She
is the founding member of the South Asian Social Research Forum in 1995
and the Scottish Ethnic Minority Women’s Network in 2016. Her work was
recognised by being chosen as the Winner of Race Equality Impact Award for
Health and Wellbeing 2014 sponsored by the BIG Lottery. Naira has gained 30
years of experience in delivering and leading on equality and inclusion through
Research Policy and Practice. At UWS she recently set up the BAME staff
group giving a platform for the BAME staff to socialise and interact with each
other. She continues to work on everyday issues in the sector and believes in
creating a unified environment for everybody to be a part of.
- Theo B

12. Khadija Mohammed
ABOUT KHADIJA
#BeingBlackMeans
BEING BLACK MEANS ALWAYS HAVING THE ABILITY TO DISRUPT THE
STATUS QUO – HAVING CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE OPENS
UP POSSIBILITIES FOR A GREATER CHANGE
Lecturer in School of Education
Childhood Studies UWS
Khadija is the co-founder and Chair of a national charitable organisation,
Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators (SAMEE) which aims to
support BME teachers, parents and young people. She is a member of the
Scottish Government short-term working group, "Diversity in the Teaching
Profession" and this offers insights into how initial teacher training providers
and other external organisations can work towards recruiting a more diverse
workforce. She is also keen to engage with practitioners to promote a more
nuanced approach to Social Justice and Equality. In order to adopt a more
race cognisant approach, Khadija believes that it is important to explore how
practitioners understand and conceptualise discourses of Race, Diversity and
Inclusion.

13. Raj Jeyaraj
ABOUT RAJ
#BeingBlackMeans
DOING MY PART IN ENSURING; PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS,
CULTURES, & EXPERIENCES; ARE UNITED, EMPOWERED, & BELIEVE THAT
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO DECIDE, DESIGN, AND BUILD THE FUTURE
THEY WANT TO SEE. NO MATTER THEIR IDENTITY
Membership engagement consultant, SAUWS
Former International Students' Officer, NUS Scotland
Being in love with campaigns, communications, & communities ever since he
can remember, Raj joined third sector activism, in 2011. Intrigued with how
people worked and bringing people together, he learned how to grow diverse
communities toward their shared interests. He further included principles of
advocacy and influencing to mobilize communities to change public policy.
Growing up in Malaysia, Raj had to learn the intricacies of the UK landscape &
culture before diving in, head first, into the charity campaigning sector. Raj has
held several National representative positions and was the president of
Strathclyde University Union in 2016/17. In 2017, He founded Smoove Media,
a company that leads & guides third sector organisations toward community
building for today's world.