Black History Month isn’t just a month, it’s a constant.
We've made it to October, meaning it is the UK's Black History Month (BHM). I have a love-hate relationship with these 'diversity days'. I hate them when they are used as marketing tactics, but they have a purpose as they help raise awareness and understanding. Yes, I'm full of contradictions.
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As ever, many brands will choose to get behind Black History Month to show their customers and clients how 'inclusive' they are. Many companies claim to be inclusive, yet when we dig a little deeper, there is limited ethnic diversity at senior levels within the business. Being willing to encourage black and brown folks into companies but not being willing to develop and promote them to more prominent positions, well, that seems a little strange. Why would you participate in BHM when you don't value talent unless it looks the same as what has gone before? It makes the drive to support BHM all just a performative marketing gesture.
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BHM is not about bringing black people to the forefront and ignoring us for the rest of the year. It's not about asking black people to contribute to your BHM events for free, and finally, it's also not about just focusing on the enslavement of black people within history. I'm not saying that elements of the past should be ignored, but constantly focusing on slavery and hardship only helps to support the narrative that black people are less than others.
BHM is about educating and celebrating black history AND success. It's about being honest about our behaviour in the past but also committing to making a long-standing change.
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For those that have had the pleasure (or not) of listening to me talk about this subject, you will know that I would rather there wasn’t a BHM at all. I would rather black history was spoken about as a part of overall history—a more honest understanding of the part that everyone played in the past. Talking more openly about how black people didn't just turn up in Britain in the 50s might stop that annoying question, 'Where are you from? No, where are you REALLY from?'.
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I'm not the oracle when it comes to black history, but you can follow some brilliant people to increase your knowledge. Some of my favourite resources are David Olusoga, Jay Blades MBE for his Sunday School updates, Afua Hirsch, Everyday Racism, The Black Curriculum, Stand for Humanity and The Black Project. These folks continue to educate me too, and I would encourage many people to follow them. Get curious to understand more about the people that surround you.
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