Black Inclusion Week and the missing narratives

Black Inclusion Week is a vital initiative in the United Kingdom, aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and society at large. The week-long event seeks to raise awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Black people in the country, as well as highlight the importance of inclusive practices in all sectors of society.

One of the aims of Black Inclusion Week is to amplify the voices of Black people, highlight some unsung heroes and also remind us of some Black heroes we already know and love. To support this we’ve also been sharing our own Black heroes here.

Mine was David Olusoga, a historian and presenter, who has emphasised the importance of understanding the UK's history of racism and colonialism. In one of his books, ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’, he explains that our country's past has contributed to the marginalisation of Black people today, and he too, has also praised initiatives like Black Inclusion Week for promoting awareness and creating opportunities for change. In my opinion, events like this are crucial because they allow us to use the platform to promote awareness and take action to combat racism and promote inclusivity.

That said, to focus on inclusion, we have to have some awareness of what gets in the way of inclusion, the perceptions or opinions that we have that sometimes act as hurdles to change or seek to maintain a status quo, or that we feel we cannot talk about because they do not align to the prevailing narrative.

Opinions… we all have them! However, they can sometimes get in the way of inclusion and diversity if they are based on, or informed by sources with biases or prejudices. Opinions are often based on personal experiences and cultural conditioning, but they can be changed through education, exposure, and self-reflection. In order to create a more inclusive and diverse environment, we need to be willing to contribute to the debate, to challenge our own opinions and biases, and to actively seek out diverse perspectives and experiences.

The media plays a role in our opinions and perceptions – my ask to you is to question what you hear and read, review what is presented to you as fact and think about the perspectives and or opinions not being represented.

A few things to think about….

A report by the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, found that the British media frequently stereotypes and stigmatizes people of colour, particularly those from Black and South Asian backgrounds. The report analysed over 20,000 news articles and opinion pieces from several mainstream media outlets, and found that stories about ethnic minorities were often framed in negative terms, such as crime, terrorism, and welfare dependency.

Another study by the Media Diversity Institute found that ethnic minorities were significantly underrepresented in British media, both in terms of representation on screen and behind the scenes. The study also found that media coverage of ethnic minority issues tended to be negative, and that positive stories were often overlooked or underreported.

There have been several high-profile cases of racial discrimination and bias within the British media. For example, in 2016, BBC presenter, Naga Munchetty, criticised US President Donald Trump for his "go back" comments towards four congresswomen of colour. The BBC initially ruled that Munchetty had breached its impartiality guidelines, but later reversed its decision after a public outcry.

Now whilst it’s not accurate to generalise and say that the British media is racist, there is evidence to suggest that there are systemic issues with representation and biased coverage of ethnic minority issues, and work needs to be done to promote diversity and inclusivity within the media industry and to challenge stereotypes and discrimination.

Another source of influence for our opinions is our government. However, there have been instances where the UK government has been criticised for perpetuating racist attitudes and policies. One way to approach this is to look at examples of government policies and analyse the patterns and themes that emerge.

One example is the Windrush scandal, where several thousand people who arrived in the UK from Commonwealth countries between 1948 and 1971, known as the Windrush generation, were wrongly detained, denied legal rights, and threatened with deportation by the UK government. Many of these individuals had lived in the UK for decades and had legal status, but were caught up in a hostile policy that aimed to make life difficult for illegal immigrants. The scandal highlighted systemic issues with the UK's immigration policies and exposed the government's failure to adequately protect the rights of ethnic minority citizens.

Another example is the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted ethnic minority communities in the UK. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely to die from COVID-19. However, the government was criticised for failing to acknowledge and address this disparity, and for not providing adequate support to these communities during the pandemic.

Furthermore, the government's response to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 was also criticised. Following the murder of George Floyd in the US, protests erupted across the world, including in the UK, calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice. However, the government was accused of downplaying the importance of the protests and failing to take meaningful action to address the issues raised by the movement.

Combining the media and political narratives, we see some interesting waves of public opinion that I’d challenge you to ask questions about.

For example, what do you think the underlying reasons are for why we’ve seen a public outcry of support and swift government intervention to Ukrainian refugees, but a rather different or significantly lesser response to Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia or the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Why are some senior public officials or well known individuals consistently forgiven for poor and or prejudicial language, whilst others are quickly made the villain or suffer gaslighting?

Once again, it’s not accurate to generalise and say that the UK government is entirely racist; I am highlighting these examples to suggest that there are systemic issues with policies and practices that perpetuate racial discrimination and bias, and hoping that as a result of our desire to be more inclusive, we challenge what we see, hear and in turn hold as an opinion.

So what? The reason for highlighting these sources of influence on our opinions is to raise awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Black people in the country, highlight the need for inclusion and ask you to consider amplifying some of the lesser heard voices and narratives of Black people.

As individuals and organisations we can choose to play a crucial role in achieving greater inclusion, leading this change in our workplaces and in turn contributing to a more equitable and inclusive society. Let’s return to our opinions and perspectives, these are commonly shared during those water cooler moments or in the pre-meeting chat whilst we wait for everyone to join; these chats feel inconsequential but can have a significant impact on inclusion in the workplace.

On the one hand, these casual conversations can help build relationships and foster a sense of camaraderie among colleagues. On the other hand, these conversations can also reinforce biases and stereotypes and create exclusionary environments.

I’d ask you to consider the counterpoint to what is being discussed, or think about what is not being said: who isn’t contributing, and most importantly why? Now try and have some inclusive conversations and see if you can actively support the intent of Black Inclusion Week.