Working class Black mum makes NUS history

Last week Shakira Martin made British history when she become the first female NUS leader from a Caribbean background.

This year’s annual National Union of Students national conference has elected 29-year-old single mother as president.

Martin won some 56% of the 1,200 delegates at the NUS. The new president pushed the standing president into second place winning by 402 votes to 272.

Ms Martin, a former student at Lewisham and Southwark College, highlighted the fact that she is "black single mother from a working-class family" during her campaign.

Martin told the BBC News website:

This is where I am coming from. It's the only thing I know.

I came into this campaign with nothing but overcoming adversity and challenges and barriers.

I was born into barriers and the struggle is real."

Martin says her life began to change after she returned to college following the birth of her first daughter six years ago.

She has promised a union that will be "united and fighting for free education for everyone":

Further education made me who I am today and I look forward to sharing stories of just how powerful all forms of education can be when we're all given access to it.

The post of NUS president has long been a coveted position for those seeking elevation in the political sphere.

Former NUS presidents include Jack Straw, Charles Clarke, Liam Burns and Trevor Phillips.

Martin has advocated extensively for student participation in government:

As the new NUS president, I know how vital it is for students to vote,”

Martin wrote in an opinion piece last week for the Guardian:

Education gave me – a black woman and single mother – a voice. Now the voices of all students must be heard at the heart of every election manifesto”.

We should be fighting credible battles, and offering constructive solutions. Only then can we deliver.

We must shout louder about living costs, fight for realistic improvements to tuition fees, and be flexible and innovative in our response to government policy."

The former Vice President for Further Education ousted Malia Bouattia who was elected in 2016.

Bouattia ran into controversy when an article she co-wrote in 2011, describing Birmingham university as a "Zionist outpost", came to light.

The controversy escalated to the point that student leaders wrote an open letter saying Jewish students had not felt safe "participating in our national movement" and accusations of outright racism.

Bouattia was the first black Muslim to hold the post of NUS president, repeatedly denied accusations of anti-Semitism and also apologised for her past comments on Birmingham University.

The NUS represents 7 million students from around 600 affiliated students' unions, accounting for more than 95% of all higher education unions in the UK.

Loren Williams