JMS Network with Professor William Lez Henry

The JMS Network is a programme of monthly events centring the Black academic experience and the pursuit of knowledge. It serves as a platform to facilitate discussion and to bridge networks outwith the academic landscape. The overall aim of the JMS Network is to create a protected space where curious minds can engage with experts and extend their communities to people from various fields.

Professor William Lez Henry (PhD) was born in the London borough of Lewisham and is of Jamaican Parentage. He is the British Reggae Deejay Lezlee Lyrix and is a writer, poet and community activist, renowned as a first-rate public speaker. He is a former Professor of Criminology and Sociology at University of West London (UWL) and was the creator of UWL’s MA in Global Black Studies, Decolonisation and Social Justice. The degree was unique in its approach as it focused on the wider contributions of the African diaspora, thereby familiarising students with the liberatory ideas of some of the key colonial and post-colonial thinkers, making known the interconnections between ‘Western’ hegemonic histories and the invention of 'whiteness'.

Prof Henry lectures in the areas of criminology, sociology, social anthropology, black history, whiteness studies, race, education, ethnicity, class, gender, youth justice and cultural studies. He has authored several journal articles, books, and chapters in books and has written and published extensively, on many of the concerns of the African / Black Diaspora in the UK and beyond. Moreover, he delivers educational programmes in community and grass-roots settings, as well as in universities, schools and colleges, specialising in working with those who, like himself, turned their backs on formal educational systems.

Prof Henry features in numerous documentaries and current affairs television and radio programmes and has spoken nationally and internationally on behalf of private and public organisations/institutions, and several local councils across the UK. He is also an acclaimed staff trainer, motivational speaker and facilitator for corporations and institutions such as: LinkedIn; Amazon Prime; Sainsbury's; NHS; Crown Prosecution Service; Tate Modern; Tate Britain; Gagosian Gallery; Whitworth Gallery; University of Oxford; University of Cambridge; SOAS; Queens University, Belfast, NI; University of Gothenburg, Sweden; University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica; University of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa; University of Education, Winneba, Ghana; Yale University, USA; Howard University, USA.

He is a keen martial artist and is a Shodan Black Belt in Kyokushinkai Karate, and is a 4th Degree black Belt, Senior Instructor in Hug Kuen, 5 Animals, Shaolin Kung.

HOW TO GET THERE

By train: Kelvin Hall is around 20 minutes walk from Partick Station

Subway: The nearest subway station is Kelvinhall.

Bus: First Bus services 2, 3 and 77 all stop outside the museum.

Bike: Kelvingrove Park forms part of the Kelvin Walkway, which links with the Glasgow Loch Lomond Clydeway and the West Highland Way. The venue can be easily reached by bicycle and bicycle parking is available to the front of the building.

Car: Kelvin Hall is situated on Argyle Street, around 6 minutes from the M8.

ACCESSIBILITY GUIDES

The AccessAble guide can be found here.

The Kelvin Hall Visual Story can be found here.

A floor plan for the venue is available here.

Other accessibility information

Please note that only assistance dogs are permitted within the building.

Kelvin Hall has a dedicated quiet room that can be used for prayer or for those needing a calm space. It is located on the ground floor beside the Sports Hall, please ask Glasgow Life staff for directions.

Sensory bags which include ear defenders are available for visitors to use during their time in Kelvin Hall. These can be collected from reception.

Accessible toilets

The accessible toilet is located off the main corridor. There is a changing places toilet.

Assistance dogs

Guide and assistance dogs are welcome.

Hearing loop

There is a fixed loop hearing assistance system in the main building. If you use British Sign Language, you can watch their British Sign Language introduction to Kelvin Hall.

Wheelchair access

There is wheelchair and pram access to all public areas using the lifts and there are free wheelchairs available to hire at reception.

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Host or Publisher James McCune Smith PhD Scholarship