It’s Been a Year Since #GetDyl2Cambridge — Where Am I Now?
Today marks the anniversary of my #GetDyl2Cambridge campaign to study law with senior status at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge University.
A lot has happened in 12 months. I founded an EdTech startup called OmniSpace. I was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and sit as a board executive of a tech-for-good non-profit called TechShift. And I managed to secure a 2:1 in my first year exams, which was no mean feat considering the disruptions to education that students across the country have had to endure.
It just so happens that I was invited to share my thoughts on the notion of quintessential Britishness as part of a feature documentary by Frank Mannion at Swipe Films. It’s a love letter to all things British and is intended for a cinema release later this year.
Other contributors from the University of Cambridge include Lord Chris Smith, Master of Pembroke College, Sir Christopher Greenwood, Master of Magdalene College and Callum Sullivan, the victorious Cambridge captain of this year’s Boat Race.
Below were some of the responses I had for Frank who interviewed me in Lincoln’s Inn Fields next to Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
Are you quintessentially British?
I am (in no particular order) a black, British, Congolese and Rwandan because I’m comfortable wearing the complexity of who I am. If I wanted to make things really complicated, I’d throw African, European, Earthling, and member of the cosmos all into the mix!
We could characterise Britishness in terms of things like our obsession with good manners, our cynical sense of humour, and our love of football — these are characteristically British though rather trivial in the grand scheme.
The better approach in my opinion is a redefined concept of Britishness that acknowledges the intricacies of the individuals living in all parts of Britain and an emphasis on the higher-order values that we share and have a common interest in promoting:
- the rule of law
- individual liberty and dignity
- Democracy
- mutual respect, tolerance and understanding of different faiths and beliefs
These values aren’t unique to Britain and our country doesn’t have a perfect record. But I’m persuaded that we have a lot of positive examples of Britain getting it right: the success of my #GetDyl2Cambridge campaign being one example.
What are your thoughts on race?
In MLK tradition, I’m more interested in the content of one’s character rather than the colour of their skin or any other arbitrary identity feature as a gateway to understanding.
I’m reminded of Malcolm X’s assertion that ‘You can’t hate the roots of a tree, and not hate the tree’. In his speech, Malcolm reminds us that our identities and our very existence are largely construed by our origins and that hating our origins can only be to the detriment of our self-esteem and self-image. I agree with that sentiment but with an important caveat: our origins needn’t be, nor indeed should be, the only defining source of our identities. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that our origins can hold us prisoner if we let them. If we’re going to take Malcolm’s analogy seriously, and I argue we should, surely we mustn’t neglect the rest of the proverbial tree, that is, there’s evidently more to a tree than just its roots, but there’s no denying that its roots have a crucial and non-substitutable function.
Studying philosophy and history previously and now law has made me highly sceptical about abstract claims about who people are and I’m far less inclined to presume one’s character and intentions from limited interactions with said individual. The reality is that we don’t have access to the inner workings of any individual and any inductive statement runs the risk of being contradicted by unknown factors or new evidence that challenge established beliefs. Even our best efforts in psychology and neuroscience are limited by the inherent subjectivity of the individual experience and therefore reveal only a shadow of the human mind. I’m more interested in the dynamic interactions between the different layers of individual identities as it makes for a far richer and more realistic account of Britishness and the human condition. I’m also an empiricist, which means I believe in data and evidence and engaging with the underlying narratives behind statistical claims.
Finally, it is my view that the fundamentally racist idea is that there are more differences between groups — as they’re commonly defined — than within groups. The notion that a white or Asian person is so different from me that there can be no overlap, no compatibility, no shared humanity between us is pernicious, anti-science and a caricature of the human race of which we’re all apart.
What is Cambridge University like? Did it meet your expectations?
Despite all of the Covid restrictions, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time. I’ve made wonderful friends and grown as a legal scholar. I had lots of reading to complete, lectures to attend and essays to submit. It took me a few months to find my feet and I feel settled in now. I’ve particularly enjoyed constitutional law. A lot of what we’re learning is super relevant to Covid and Brexit and I’m enjoying getting to grips with the challenges of reconciling constitutional principles like parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers and the rule of law. Cambridge is a beautiful city, especially in the autumn. And I’m very glad that the city is optimised for cycling as it means I won’t be out of shape anytime soon!
It certainly has met my expectations. I’ve been privileged to be taught by leading legal academics including Professor Elliott, Professor Allan Trevor, Dr Jonathan Morgan and Dr Amy Goymour. Cambridge has produced many leading figures in legal practice. Lady Hale, who was the first woman to serve on the UK Supreme Court and was its first woman president between 2017–2020, studied here. Both historically and at present many of the justices of the UK Supreme Court were Cambridge-educated including Lord Hodge (deputy President), Lady Arden, Lord Lloyd-Jones, and Lord Leggatt. There’s a real emphasis on rigour, precision and depth and a willingness to challenge orthodoxy and tradition in robust and imaginative ways.
Two key issues need to be better addressed. First, more needs to be done to make the institution more accessible through e.g. full-ride scholarships. The fees are prohibitively expensive for too many well-deserving students both domestically and internationally. Second, the curriculum in history, English and philosophy in particular should incorporate writers from less traditional sources in the interest of academic freedom and a holistic comprehension of the human condition.
Add me on Instagram (dkawende) to stay updated on my progress and for daily tips on accelerated and mindful learning 📚🧘🏾♂️, advocacy skills 🗣 and daily motivation 🏃🏻.
Here’s to a revolutionary summer and a successful final year of law school!
