The black history of Britain is by its nature a global history. Yet too often it is seen as being only the history of migration, settlement, and community formation in Britain itself.’

– David Olusoga, Black and British: A Forgotten History

When I asked people around me what came to their mind when they thought of Black History Month, these were the responses:

- A limited time to understand and acknowledge rich Black history.

- What happened historically,

- What is happening now

 

I was also reminded about Harriet Tubman quite a bit.

Often, you’ll find that in Black History Month you might instinctively think of African American History or figures and be taught that. However what about the Black British history and narrative? The history of African Americans is undoubtedly important, but the black British history is unique, and the impact shouldn’t be overshadowed. Britain has only been able to position itself as the 5th largest economy in the world. The influence and contribution of Caribbean and African people were vital.

Nowadays, there are more than 190,000 Black residents working in the NHS and without them the NHS would not survive. Black Britons play a vital role in the continuing success of Britain in competitive sports. Imagine all those sporting events – athletics, football, boxing and other sports, without Black Britons. However, ignorance and racial abuse has been showcased countlessly in sports an example being the discriminatory actions made towards black players following the Euro 2020 Championships.

Racism. The online definition is ‘unfair treatment of people of a particular race in a society especially to the benefit of people of another race’. It is a malicious discriminatory act. There is an Iceberg analogy that depicts racism: The iceberg’s visible part represents the overt racism that manifests in blatant discrimination and hate crimes. The iceberg’s base - much larger and hidden, represents systemic and structural racism. This hidden danger places people of colour at a disadvantage in society, in terms of profession, health care, education, income, wealth and justice. It can be so deeply embedded in some settings that it assumed to automatically reflect the norm and the natural order of things.

In Employment:

· Black workers with degrees earn 23% less on average than their white counterparts

In Crime:

· Black people are three times more likely to be prosecuted and sentenced compared to their White counterparts.

In England and Wales:

· Ethnic minority children and adults are more likely to be a victim of homicide

In Heath Care:

· Black African women are seven times more likely to be detained than their White female counterparts.

The black history of Britain is by its nature a global history. Yet too often it is seen as being only the history of migration, settlement, and community formation in Britain itself.’ – David Olusuga, Black and British A forgotten history