In this post for this BERA Blog special issue I reflect on the underrepresentation of Black working-class voices, which remain starkly underrepresented in education and literature. This is not incidental – it is the outcome of deeply embedded cultural and structural barriers that determine who gets heard, published and empowered in knowledge production.

My academic journey, as a Black working-class woman, reflects both progress and persistent challenges. I was frequently the only Black working-class woman in the room. This absence was not just noticeable, it was deeply felt.

The 2021 Census shows that while 82 per cent of people in England and Wales identify as White, 18 per cent are Black, Asian, Mixed or from other ethnic groups. Yet, Black and mixed-heritage children experience the highest exclusion rates in schools (0.37 per cent) followed closely by Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller pupils (0.31 per cent). These figures show how systemic inequalities begin early.

In higher education (HE), the picture is equally stark. Out of 23,515 professors in the UK, only 61 female professors are black women. This is not due to a lack of ability, but persistent systemic barriers. Black academics remain the most underrepresented ethnic group in UK academia.

Representation matters – not for appearances, but as a direct challenge to deficit-based narratives. For working-class and Black communities, it means being recognised as producers of knowledge, not merely as subjects of study. Yet the stories of marginalised groups are shaped by outsiders, erasing these groups’ complexity and agency.

‘Representation matters – not for appearances, but as a direct challenge to deficit-based narratives … Yet the stories of marginalised groups are shaped by outsiders, erasing these groups’ complexity and agency.’

Popular culture offers clear parallels. Films like The Help, The Blind Side and Green Book adopt the White saviour lens – centring White redemption arcs rather than the lived realities of the communities portrayed. In higher education, similar dynamics persist when marginalised voices are absent from syllabi, research and leadership. I discovered bell hooks, Audre Lorde and Maya Angelou far too late – not because they lacked relevance, but because our curricula failed to prioritise them.

As Marian Wright Edelman (n.d) famously stated: ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ When students encounter educators and materials that reflect their identities, the learning environment becomes not only more inclusive but more engaging. It shifts the classroom from a one-way transmission of facts to a collaborative, culturally sustaining exchange. Paris (2012) expands this through culturally sustaining pedagogy, which values and maintains students’ cultural identities within education.

bell hooks (1994, p. 12) reminds us that ‘the classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy’ – but only if it reflects the experiences and voices of all who occupy it. Freire (1970) similarly critiques traditional education as a ‘banking model’, where students are passive recipients. A more equitable approach requires co-creation, dialogue and a reimagining of whose knowledge counts.

To drive meaningful and lasting change, it is essential that Black working-class and all marginalised voices are not only included but genuinely valued across both teaching and research. My work is grounded in action research and adopts a participatory approach that centres community knowledge and promotes collaborative transformation.

My PhD research investigates musical storytelling – as a culturally rooted educational practice among first-generation Black British communities. Through collaborative songwriting and ethnography, it is envisaged at the end the process there will be the co-creation of an EP that preserves identity, shares intergenerational knowledge and affirms cultural resilience. Framed by postcolonial theory and critical pedagogy, this project disrupts Eurocentric academic norms and positions lived experience as valid scholarship.

Research consistently shows that Black working-class and marginalised groups face significant systemic barriers in UK higher education. Arday and Mirza (2018), Bhopal (2018) and Rollock (2019) point to persistent inequalities in representation, attainment and institutional culture. These barriers manifest through limited access to culturally relevant curricula, underrepresentation in academic leadership, and a lack of sustained structural support. Rather than treating equity as a supplementary concern, these findings demand targeted, systemic responses embedded within the core of academic life. Without such action, universities risk reinforcing exclusion rather than challenging it.

References

Awolowo, Ifedapo Francis. (2024). Addressing the United Kingdom’s Lack of Black Scholars.

https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2024/02/addressing-the-united-kingdoms-lack-of-black-scholars/

Arday, J., & Mirza, H. S. (2018). Dismantling race in higher education: Racism, whiteness and decolonising the academy. Palgrave Macmillan.

Bhopal, K. (2018). White privilege: The myth of a post-racial society. Policy Press.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Seabury Press.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. Routledge.

Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12441244

Rollock, N. (2019). Staying power: The career experiences and strategies of UK black female professors. University and College Union. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10075/Staying-Power/pdf/ucu_rollock_february_2019.pdf