A better, more equitable future

As Black History Month draws to an end, how can we all create a better, more equitable future for Black people - all people of African and Asian heritage?

Let’s start with the past. My own journey started in Nigeria. As many of you know, Nigeria was a British colony until its independence in 1960. In the words of rapper Jay-Z, the country has 99 problems but racism (well not the kind that we experience in the West today) was not one.

I describe racism as the process by which systems, policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race.

You may not know it from the stories you hear in the Press, but Nigeria is rich in oil, other natural resources and home to a strong entrepreneurial spirit; a rich, generous culture and the most amazing food. However, the country experienced and continues to experience the legacy of colonialism.

But don’t forget that Africa and Asia had a long history before colonialisation – think about the pyramids of Egypt; the ancient city of Benin; the Great Wall of China; one of the only structures that can be seen from space; the Indus Valley; civilisation in India long before the British arrived; trade in silk and spices. Our forefathers were proud, brave and successful people. Their legacy lives on. They rise and continue to rise as Maya Angelou says.

What was the impact on me as a black child in a post-colonial country?Well, you grow up with the sense of never being good enough. I lived in Nigeria until the age of 24 and was already the head of department at a college by the time we left. When I arrived in Britain with my husband and two young children, I quickly realised the meaning of racism. It showed up in the way people looked at me and spoke to me. It showed up in the fact that I couldn’t get a job for love nor money as Ngozi Cole.

It’s fair to point out that not all experiences are negative. Many of us have made wonderful lifelong experiences and have been lucky enough to encounter white allies who are equally disgusted by racism and work hard to help us create a better future.

So what does the present look like?

Black Equity Organisation commissioned two pieces of research to capture the diverse voices of Black people in the UK and their experiences in education, health, criminal justice, housing, culture and opportunities. The studies provide vital insight into the daily lived experiences of systemic racism. They found that:

• 65% of Black people have been discriminated against by healthcare professionals because of their ethnicity.
  

• Over 50% say they, or someone close to them, have experienced stop and search or wrongful arrest.
  

• 50% of Black parents say the teacher workforce and school curricula do not reflect or represent Black culture.

There are however, lots of positives to be celebrated. I’ve had more conversations about race since George Floyd was murdered in 2020 than in the 31 years I have lived in Britain before this.

We have organisations like the Phoenix Way North East and Cumbria whose vision is for a society free from racism, structural and otherwise. We have the Baobab Foundation fighting to redress Blackness in the funding world. And many others.

We have amazing individuals of all races, too many to name here, fighting for a better future day after day. As we salute our sisters as the theme of Black History Month this year, I celebrate all the phenomenal women refusing to sit down and be silenced.

So what might a better, more equitable future look like?

• Imagine applying for a job and knowing your colour would have nothing to do with whether or not you were appointed.
  

• Imagine working for the NHS and knowing that you’re not less likely to be promoted or more likely to be in the formal disciplinary process due to the colour of your skin.
  

• Imagine a world where Black children were no longer more likely to end up in care and less likely to be adopted.
  

• Imagine a world where Black women were no longer 4 times as likely to die in childbirth than white women.

It can and should be different. We, who are adults in 2023, regardless of our colour, have a duty to fight for change for the sake of our future generations.

So what can we do? And by this I mean all of us rather than just Black people.

For me, it comes down to 3 things – Belief, Courage and Collaboration.

• Belief - we need to get away from the post-colonial mentality and start to believe in a better future. We are intelligent, hard-working people who are making and can continue to make a strong contribution to our society. If a door closes, find a window. If you knock and nobody opens, knock again and again. For non-Black people, our allies, it’s about sharing this belief. It’s about using your power and privilege wherever you are. It’s about challenging discrimination wherever you see it.
  

• Courage - It takes courage to keep on getting up when knocked down, to do what Mandela says: “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” It takes courage to speak up when you experience injustice, to fight against systemic racism wherever you see it. For non-Black people, our allies, it takes courage to commit to being an ally – the person who raises their hand and says the things that might make people uncomfortable. It takes courage to drive change to policies and procedures that clearly or unwittingly discriminate.
  

• Collaboration - First for us Black people, the infighting needs to stop and stop fast. The people who wish to keep us down do not care if you’re African, Caribbean, Asian, mixed heritage, gay, disabled or neuro-diverse. ‘Divide and conquer’ is a well-known colonial weapon. The more we work together, to agree on a joint vision of the future we want to create, to be clear what we want to tolerate and what we will not, the greater our chance of success. As an African proverb says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together’. And for our allies, we need your support. We cannot do this alone. Just as the suffragettes would never have got the vote if some men didn’t stand with them, so Black people alone cannot succeed in creating our own better future.

My challenge to you is this – what is your idea of what a great future for Black people looks like? And how can you, as an individual, do at least one thing in your power to help make that happen?

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” Malala Yousafzai