Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Beckett academics and students help bring David Oluwale's story to new audiences through Being Human Festival
Professor Emily Zobel Marshall, from Leeds Beckett's School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Co-Chair of the David Oluwale Memorial Association (Remember Oluwale), has played a key role in developing the programme, which explores themes of migration, identity, memory and belonging.
Working alongside Dr Max Farrar and Joe Williams of Heritage Corner and Chloë Hudson of the David Oluwale Memorial Association (Remember Oluwale), Emily has helped research and develop the festival's David Oluwale walking tour. Alongside a wider programme of events, the tour will encourage people to engage with David Oluwale's story and reflect on its continuing relevance to communities in Leeds today.
The programme includes three events taking place across the city during November, bringing together history, creative practice, community storytelling and education.
Students studying English Literature are also contributing to the project through the Level 5 Black British Culture module. The module explores Black British literature, history and culture, giving students the opportunity to apply their learning through live projects with community organisations.
Professor Emily Zobel Marshall said:
“These placements have proved incredibly enriching for students. They speak passionately about their experiences and the value of working with a small charity whose work connects historical injustice with contemporary struggles for racial equality and tolerance. Our students will also be directly involved in delivering the Being Human events, helping to bring the Remember Oluwale charity's work and message to younger generations. It offers an opportunity to inspire a new generation to engage with Leeds' Black histories and contribute to building a more inclusive, anti-racist future.”
Through their partnership with Remember Oluwale, students will have the opportunity to support festival activities, attend events and create content for a new Remember Oluwale website and accompanying zine.
The work offers students valuable experience of community-based cultural projects while enabling them to contribute to public engagement activity connected to one of Leeds' most significant social justice stories.
The involvement of both staff and students reflects Leeds Beckett's commitment to working in partnership with communities across the city. Their contribution forms part of a wider festival programme that uses history, creativity and discussion to engage new audiences with David Oluwale's story and its enduring relevance today.
The programme features three events taking place across Leeds:
City at the Crossroads: A David Oluwale Walking Tour
Saturday 7 November
Two free guided walks (10.30am and 1.30pm), starting at Leeds City Museum and finishing at Hibiscus Rising in Aire Park. The tours explore David's life, his tragic death and his enduring legacy, alongside the changing cultural landscape of Leeds.
Developed with Heritage Corner and led by Emily Zobel Marshall, Max Farrar and Chloë Hudson.
Book here
Writing at the Crossroads
Sunday 8 November
A free creative writing workshop at Chapel FM, led by poet and artist Sai Murray, exploring migration, identity, memory and belonging. The afternoon includes a shared meal inspired by fusion and migration, followed by a separate live radio broadcast hosted by Sai Murray and Peter Spafford, featuring writing inspired by the workshop.
Creative writing workshop booking
Live radio broadcast booking
Oluwale's Story and Our Crossroads Communities
Thursday 19 November
A special schools film and poetry workshop at Hyde Park Picture House for KS4 students, led by Emily Zobel Marshall and filmmaker Ashley Karrell. Through film, discussion and creative writing, young people will explore David's story and reflect on how they can contribute to more inclusive communities.
This event is for school groups rather than general public booking. Schools interested in taking part can contact sylvia@hpph.co.uk.
In this article
Professor Emily Zobel Marshall
Emily's research is informed by postcolonial theory and includes examinations of constructions of identity, race and racial politics and Caribbean carnival cultures. She is particularly interested in forms of cultural resistance and cross-cultural fertilisation in the face of colonialism.
Emily is an expert on the trickster figure in the folklore, oral cultures and literature of the African Diaspora and has published widely in these fields, including her books Anansi’s Journey: A Story of Jamaican Cultural Resistance (2012, University of the West Indies Press) and American Trickster: Trauma Tradition and Brer Rabbit (2019, Rowman and Littlefield). She is also a published poet with two poetry collections published by Peepal Tree Press, Bath of Herbs (2019) and Other Wild (2025).
Emily is a qualified Mountain Leader and a Black Girls Hike Leader with research interests and publications in decolonising the countryside and The Black Outdoors.
