Building Community, Creating Opportunity, Shaping Legacy.
Dundee BAME Law Society (DBLS) is a newly founded society at UoD School of Law, created with a simple but powerful vision: to build community, create opportunity, and shape legacy.
DBLS was founded by Ann Anyebe during her first year of studying law. It came from a vision to create a space where Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic law students could feel seen, heard, valued and supported. Recognising the importance of representation and community from the beginning of her own legal journey, Ann wanted to create something that would not only support students during their time at university, but continue to benefit those who come after them.
DBLS aims to foster a community where students can connect, celebrate their identities and cultures, access unique opportunities, and have open and meaningful conversations about the experiences of ethnic minority individuals within the Scottish legal context and beyond.
According to DBLS:
‘BAME is not a box, label, or limitation. It reflects a vast range of lived experiences, cultures, identities, and backgrounds, and no two experiences are the same. While DBLS centres the experiences and voices of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students, everyone who shares our values and wants to support our mission is more than welcome within our community.’
Law is often presented through a very conventional lens- formal, traditional, and sometimes distant. DBLS is here to challenge that perception. DBLS stated:
‘There is no single way to look, think or exist within the legal profession. We want to step beyond the conventional image of what a lawyer is expected to be and create space for people to bring their whole selves into law: their names, cultures, identities, experiences and ambitions.’
This is also their motto, “Building Community, Creating Opportunity, Shaping Legacy,” which is so central to who they are.
Building Community means creating a genuine sense of belonging and connection between students.
Creating Opportunity means opening doors through networking, professional development, academic support, mentorship and meaningful experiences.
Shaping Legacy means recognising that what we build today should benefit the students who come after us. We want to create something that extends beyond one committee or one academic year- a society and community that future generations of Dundee law students can continue to build upon.
Ultimately, DBLS is about more than simply creating another university society. It is about creating a space where diversity is not something students feel they have to navigate around, but something that is recognised, celebrated and valued as a strength.
You can check them out on instagram here.
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