Shame on Oxford for spitting on Prof Jason Arday's Grave

Kehinde wasn't going to pod, after just getting back from Aotearoa/New Zealand, and being delayed because of food poisoning. After giving all the details (even the unpleasant ones) about the trip he explains he had to come from his sick bed after seeing Oriel College, Oxford were hosting He Who Shall Not Be Named, the supposed "whistelblower" in the Prof Jason Arday tragedy, for a discussion on how DEI is runing higher education.

Kehinde connects the dots between the Doctrine of Discovery, settler colonialism, DEI backlash, and the intellectual roots of anti-Black thinking in Western universities. He also brings Nobody Can Give You Freedom into the conversation, using it with his sons to unpack Malcolm X, the "wicked race of devils" chapter, and why uncomfortable ideas matter when you're trying to understand power and what's happening a Oxford.

In this episode, Kehinde explores:

• Why the Oxford event is more than bad optics—and what it reveals about university culture

• The meaning of DEI and EDI in the UK and US, and why the debate is often a coded attack on Black and Brown inclusion

• How "meritocracy" can be weaponized to protect whiteness • How Enlightenment philosophy and modern academia continue to shape racial hierarchy

• What colonial "treaties" and Aotearoa/New Zealand reveal about recurring global patterns

• Why independent Black institutions like BRIDGE Black Studies matter now more than ever

Kehinde also reflects on the Jason Arday scandal, recent reporting that challenges the plagiarism narrative, and why the bigger issue is not one professor, but a system that keeps making space for racist ideas while claiming neutrality.If you care about Black studies, higher education, colonial history, or building institutions outside the plantation, this is essential listening.

Byline Times article on Jason Arday being cleared of plagiarism: https://bylinetimes.com/2026/10/21/jason-arday-again-cleared-of-plagiarism-as-his-attackers-launch-an-independent-inquiry/

Find out more and support BRIDGE Black Studies https://bridgeblackstudies.com/

Join us for Make it Plain live at the Legacy Centre in Birmingham, Nov 6, 6pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-reasoning-room-tickets-2002813353655

Join Harambee OBU: www.blackunity.org.uk

Written and hosted by: Kehinde Andrews

Edited by: Kadiri Andrews

Artwork by: Assata Andrews