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Graduate goes viral with her response to a lecturer who said there was ‘no space’ for black writers
Eno Mfon’s graduation Instagram now has nearly 2,000 likes
Bristol graduate Eno Mfon’s triumphant rebuttal to a lecturer who told her there was ‘no space’ for black writers on her course has been praised by thousands online.
Posing in front of the Wills Memorial Building in an Instagram posted a week ago, Eno wrote: “When you’re the only black kid on your course and one of the head lecturers tells you there’s no space for black theatre makers on the curriculum so you spend three years learning about Chekhov and Carol Ann Duffy but then realise that you can write your own stuff for lil black girls and so you do that, and sell out the Bristol Old Vic and the lecturer that told you there’s no space for you, pays to watch you perform”.
Hundreds of people posted supported comments for the graduate, who earlier this year took to the stage at Bristol’s Old Vic with her play “Check the Label”. The story is based of her own experience growing up “in dark skin”. Speaking to The Independent Eno said: “During my second year, I decided to confront the experience of colourism and skin bleaching which permeates the black and Asian community.
“When I was growing up, I noticed visible changes in some of the women around me. There were little signs that revealed the use of lightening cream. I knew how to spot the signs, but I never understood the wider implications of this; it was a taboo subject that no one dared to address.”
The status has now gone so huge that Bristol’s head of theatre, Catherine Hindson, has reached out to Eno to apologise and arrange a meeting with her in September. After calling her play “an incredible achievement for an undergraduate student”, Hindson said: “I’ve spoken to Eno about her post and apologised that she had this negative experience.
“I’ve invited her to meet with me in September to talk through and get her feedback on changes we’ve made to the curriculum. She agreed that her experience studying here was on the whole a very positive one, leading to many opportunities to showcase her talents.
“The University has made a strong commitment to increasing diversity in its new strategy and we’ve broadened out the curriculum significantly across the Faculty of Arts.”