Open letter to
UK Film & TV Industry Vol. 1 Issue 15 31th JUly 2020
Dwight Lawrence
Changing Conversations on
Racism In collaboration with
Behind the Lens
EMANCIPATION DAY - AUGUST 1ST On this day is 1834 the Emancipation Act was passed granting enslaved people in the Caribbean ‘freedom’.
2020 Jamaica Festival Song Winner - Buju Banton
I AM A JAMAICAN
Buju Donates $3m prize money to Sunbeam Boys Home 2
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Credit: Tyrone Briscoe Credit: Tyrone Briscoe
WHAT IF by Tyrone Briscoe
Brixton Black out 01.08.2020 Transform your viewing...
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TV Industry
June 23rd 2020
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UK FILM AND TV INDUSTRY Dear UK Film and TV Industry, Having been inspired by the Black Film and TV Collective who put together a powerful open letter to Hollywood last week on behalf of many brothers and sisters in the industry, we would like to send you something in collaboration with them, which we feel addresses our continuing issues with the UK industry. This letter is from your colleagues in the UK - Black and Brown (inc. all Asians) independent producers, writers, directors and actors in alliance with many advocates for change. As one extended community, we require your active engagement to tackle structural and systemic racism in our industry, in the UK and around the world. While messages condemning racism and advocating for solidarity on social media may inspire hope, the UK Industry must put its money and practices where its mouth is. A direct line can be drawn from the stories and voices that are silenced and ignored, to the discrimination and biases that are pervasive in the entertainment industry and larger society. This moment in history presents an opportunity for you to be an positive partner for change. Our aim is that this letter produces strategic commitments from you to reshape our industry into one whose words are supported by action. Toward that end:
1. Banish “Your Weak Excuses” Banish “it’s too small” from your lexicon. It is insulting to our stories, our history, our impact on world culture, and our worth. Our stories are referred to as “too small” because they do not centre around white characters or a small subset of actors whom you deem valuable; they are not always written by the same white writers that you deem to be “safe”. Banish “we already have 4
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a diverse project on our slate”. There is room for more than one. You make countless projects with similar themes and storylines with white creatives. Banish “that feels risky”. We know we are introducing you to new unproven talent, but why is the same white man (who has made a string of flops after his one hit 10 years ago) still deemed less risky than a new brown or black writer with original and well written ideas. We know that many of our stories feel unfamiliar to you because they go against your preconceived notions of us and make you step outside your familiar world. But they are familiar to us. Hire us and together let us tell truthful, bold and imaginative stories from rich new perspectives. There are countless men and women in the streets right now, putting their lives, health, and livelihoods on the line, fighting for an end to systemic racism. There will be no end until financiers, distributors and the community of decision-makers cease this practice of marginalising our voices and our stories. If Black lives matter to you, our stories and the scale on which they are marketed and distributed must as well.
2. Empower Black and Brown Independent Producers Hiring Black and Brown writers and directors is of course of great importance, but rarely is this opportunity given to Black and Brown independent producers. Only 5% of the producers supported by the BFI in 2018/19 were producers of colour. This is especially troubling because producers often work with multiple writers and directors. Supporting one producer effectively supports many Black and Brown professionals above and below the
line. Take a deeper look at the community of Black and Brown independent producers, working hand in hand with talented directors. Many have compelling slates of projects in need of willing partners. There hasn’t been a Black/ Brown producer on Variety’s “10 Producers to Watch” list since 2017. We don’t mean to point the finger solely at Variety, because similar lists are printed in various trades. In addition, they all seek recommendations from agencies, management companies, and elite publicists. So this incredibly valuable publicity is often limited to advancing the careers of those who need publicity the least. Empower those that need it the most.
3. Expand Your Vision
Think outside the box when looking for new talent. There are numerous diversity schemes out there, which is a good start and we support them all. But we need more sustained endorsement. Empower those that come through those schemes. Let us look at making sure those graduates stay in the industry and are nurtured and promoted so that they become the decision makers and help create change. Until we are in positions of power nothing will really change.
4. Be More Demanding
Actors, managers and agents must become more demanding about the teams behind the camera. If there are no Black producers, no Brown DOPs, no diverse department heads, you must speak up and challenge. To agents, be proactive in asking on behalf of your clients. Look at your rosters too. Who do you represent? How diverse are they? Without your vocal support, we will continue to be largely shut out of this industry and it is not for lack of excellence. It is for lack of will on the part of producers, network executives and studio heads. It is that simple. We challenge you to become willing partners in this crucial endeavor. If the full spectrum of our experiences are not produced, marketed and celebrated with some regularity then you are actively
denying our humanity and our history. Our stories and experiences can no longer be limited to being backdrops for white narratives and protagonists. Until we are able to show our FULL joy, grief, fear, history, pride and all the other myriad of emotions and experiences, then you are simply upholding the status quo and enabling a society that keeps white people comfortable in their racism and Black and Brown people perpetually dehumanised. Until we are allowed to make mistakes and try again like many of our white counterparts, we will never succeed in the same way. You are a large part of the problem and it is time to be honest about it. For far too long, the images on our screens have projected lies and partial truths when it comes to our lives and history, minimising our perceived value and creating ripple effects throughout society. This letter is in defence of all Black and Brown creative artists and the communities they come from. It is in defence of the millions of lives that have gone unrecorded. It is in defence of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Belly Mujinga, Trayvon Martin, Stephen Lawrence, Zahid Mubarek, Mark Duggan, Sarah Reed, the black and brown health professionals who have died from Covid -19, and so many other lives senselessly and tragically cut short. Your messages in support of Black Lives Matter are a first step. But after decades of enabling racism in your ranks and beyond, it is time to do more. If Black lives really matter to you, our stories must as well. Please help us tell the whole truth. Black and Brown lives all over the world depend on it. A selection of signatures is shown below, and the full list of 5,000+ signatures is here. The letter is now closed to new signatures. An EPIC thanks to everyone who signed our open letter. We have been blown away by the amazing response from the industry and the press. We have now hit 5,000 signatures and have decided to close it. You can see all signatures here. The letter has now been published by Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital Spy, Metro, Screen International, Deadline, Broadcast, Televisual, Evening Standard, The Guardian. Thank you so much for your support. Transform your viewing...
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Dwight Lawrence
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Contents Cover: Dwight Lawrence Credit: Contributed
How Maps Teach Racism in Schools
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Bakita: KK
iChurch: Pastor Michael Todd
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2
Emancipation Day - August 1ST
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Brixton Black out
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Everything You Need to Know About the British Empire is a Lie
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What’s on the Screen?
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An Open Letter To The UK Film And TV Industry
Cooking and Unfiltered Conversation
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Rhea’s Watch
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Laughter, Good For The Soul
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Freedom is Mine with Fayida
40 41 43 44
All About Nevis!
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The Disruptor
Editor-in-Chief Beverley Cooper-Chambers EDITORIAL TEAM Karen Ferrari Simone Scott-Sawyer Editorial Researcher Tasina J. Lewis Sharrae Newell-Barn MARKETING DIRECTOR Marvin Osemwegie SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYST Michael Brown
ADVISORY BOARD Financial Strategic Advisor Nastassia Hedge-Whyte, MAAT, ACCA,ICAJ Marketing Strategic Advisor Jeremie Alamazani, Principal at Wealth Partners Ltd. Editorial Contributors David Clarke (London) Rhea Delaney (London) Joshua Grant aka Sports Arrow (London) Natalee Grant (Jamaica) Fayida Jailler (UK) Bakita Kasadha (UK & Uganda) Chi-Chi Osemwegie (London) Donna Williams (USA) Manasses Williams (USA) Design Editor Rusdi Saleh Graphics Butterfly logo by Wayne Powell (Jamaica) Submit a story: communications@butterflymaag.com Advertising enquiries: ads@butterflymaag.com Ad copy should be submitted Friday for the following week’s publication. Butterfly Magazine published weekly on Fridays.
Sports Arrow
Lifestyle
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THE BUTTERFLY MAAG TEAM
Last Word
Lynn Whitfield
Butterfly magazine is published weekly by BUTTERFLY MAGAZINE LIMITED, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE, UK. Tel: (44) (0) 203 984 9419 Butterfly ™ 2015 is the registered trademark of THE LION AND THE LAMB MEDIA HOUSE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission from the publishers BUTTERFLY MAGAZINE LIMITED. Address all correspondence to: communications@butterflymaag.com No copyright infringement is intended
Going Forward
All About
Nevis! A short ride through Charlestown, Nevis
Drew Dean
All We Need
We Got This !!!!
Nevis: the Caribbean’s Greenest Island Transform your viewing...
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THE LIBRARY
Credit: Double Down News
Everything You Need to Know About the British Empire is a Lie
Buffalo Soldiers (1992) 8
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1st August 1834: Slavery Abolition Act comes in to force
Politics
HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT POLICY Please spread the word that the Equality and Human Rights Commission is taking submissions for its investigation into the Hostile Environment policy. They want to find out what steps the Home Office took to understand the impact of its practices on Black members of the Windrush generation and their descendants. They would like to hear from: • representative groups and organisations • affected members of the Windrush generation Information can be submitted through their confidential online survey: Rt Hon David Lammy MP. Member of Parliament for Tottenham
Margeret
Greer
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Credit: Great Big Story
Margeret Greer aims to be UNISON’s first Black General Secretary. If successful she would make history on two counts of being Black and a Female. She is UNISON’s national race equality officer with over 30 years of community and trade union activism under her belt. 9
What’s on the Screen?
The Screeners’
TV Choice
Illustration by Wayne Powell (Jamaica)
WELCOME TO THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY
Welcome to our Virtual Library ! Feel free to browse around and choose any book to read, all you have to do is click on the book cover to get the link. Enjoy!
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Fighting the Power: Britain After George Floyd
A Taste of Reggae Sumfest Night 1
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Man
More Than Funny Michael Jr.
In The Long Run 3
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woman
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Eddie Murphy – Biography
Anthony 12
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Sally Hemings (2000)
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small child
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Black Scientist and Inventors
Muhammad Ali Transform your viewing...
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OLDER CHILD
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A Different Tree
How did Italy Lose to Ethiopia (1895) 14
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young adult
ANGELA’S AWAKENING Credit: Jacquelyn Joyce
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written by Ariel Driscoll
Black Is the New Black Episode 1
10 Things I Learned (About TV Writing)
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gen z
Tackles the stigma of mental health and follows an aspiring therapist who guides a group of misfits in South LA.
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Sad Ass Black Folk
The Rap Game UK, Series 1: Episode 1 16
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Adultin Created by Kayra Clouden, Kayra Goulden, Malique Daniels and Paulette Marie.
grandPA
Eric Monte – The Unseen Interview Credit: Tedx Talks Columbus
Lemn Sissay recalls being the only black child in a Northern town in the 1970’s.
50 Years of Racism –why silence isn’t the answer – James A. White Sr.
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Thomas Jefferson’s Black & White Relatives Meet Each Other | The Oprah Winfrey Show | OWN
A Treasure in the Darkness - Joni Eareckson Tada 18
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grandma
Credit:The Root
Good News
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Remember Hair Love?
Hair Love Transform your viewing...
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Freedom is Mine
peru T
BY FAYIDA JAILLER
he exact size of the Afro-Peruvian population is unknown, and estimates vary. Credible sources state that up to 3,000,000 people – that’s 10% of the Peruvian population – are Afro-descendent. The regions with the highest concentration of Afro-Peruvians are found in and around the capital of Lima, the neighbouring district of El Callao, along the southern coast in Chincha and Cañete and in the northern region of Piura, particularly in Zaña and Yapatera. From the 1500s through to the mid 1800s, the slave trade flourished in Peru. Thousands of the enslaved African trafficked to the Americas were brought to Peru, often to El Callao just outside of Lima, which was a major slave trading port. Across Peru today, you can visit former haciendas, or plantations, where Peru’s wealthy elite once lived. Here you will find secret slave tunnels. Many of the haciendas sit on top of a secret labyrinth of tunnels that stretch for many kilometres under the ground, and were used to smuggle in enslaved Africans so that slave owners could avoid paying tax on their ‘products’. The abolition of slavery in Peru came in two main stages. In 1821 a decree was passed called ‘Freedom of the Womb’ which meant that anyone born to an enslaved mother from then on was born free. It wasn’t until 1854 that slavery was totally and officially abolished. The first Afro-descent saint in Latin America
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was a mixed-race Peruvian man named Martin who is known today as San Martin de Porres. He was born in 1579, to a Spanish father and an Afro-Panamanian mother who had formerly been a slave. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people and those seeking racial harmony. Afro-Peruvian culture manifests itself most prominently in food and music. The two best known styles of Afro-peruvian music and dance are Zapateo and Festejo. Percussive instruments are key to both genres and include the Calabaza and the Quijada, of course the Cajon. Examples of Afro-Peruvian cuisine include the beloved dish Anticucho, made from cow’s heart, and the Turon, a biscuit-based dessert flavoured with Anaseed and decorated with hundreds and thousands. Every year June 4th is celebrated as Afro-Peruvian day. The Ministry of Culture holds and annual event in December called Somos Familia, which unites Afro-Peruvian organisations across the country. Organisations such as Ashanti, ASONEDH and the Peruvian Rastafarian society continue to do grass roots work among the community.
Credit:BBC
Welcome to the Disruptor
To be a disruptor in business is to create a product, service, or way of doing things which displaces the existing market leaders and eventually replaces them at the helm of the sector. [`the disruptor]
Less Talk More Action
The Children’s Bookshop Selling Diversity
Cocoa Girl:
‘We made the first UK Black Girls’ magazine’
D
Credit: BBC
uring lockdown, six-year-old Faith and her mother Serlina searched for magazines that represented children like her. The realisation that there was a lack of diversity in magazines for younger girls led them to embark on designing and printing the first ever UK magazine for black girls aged seven to 14. Since publication, Cocoa Girl has experienced a surge in sales, selling more than 11,000 copies since it launched in June - at a time when print magazine sales are in decline.
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I started an all BAME casting agency to tackle diversity in advertising Selma Nicholls started a BAME casting agency after her then 3-year-old daughter returned from nursery saying she didn’t like her brown skin.
Credit: Wode Maya
She explains how she’s trying to create better representation in advertising.
African-American Firm & Ghanaian Partner on $30M Luxury Estate in Ghana 22
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Dr Arikana straight message to Trump, China and Africans, we will not allow others to lead Africa
Humble
Yourself Be Careful Who You Follow! Transform your viewing...
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lead story
Changing Conversations on
Rac i s m
‘Two days after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota by the police officer Derek Chauvin, my 17-year-old son showed me a video clip of Mr Floyds final few minutes. He told me that he was ‘triggered’, angry and confused. Our ensuing conversation and many more that I subsequently had with friends, family and crucially myself over the next two weeks led me to examine what Black Lives Matters meant to me and why.’
A
s I read, watched, reflected and prayed I realised that I had suppressed and memories, experiences over my 53 years that had affected me more than I realised. As I listened to my black and white colleagues , friends and church community talk about the other events leading up to George Floyds murder and as I shared a handful of my own experiences, I realised that most of my white colleagues and friends
Dwight
Lawrence
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simply had no idea about my lived to England in the late 1950’s experience or their own white and after initially training as a privilege. It was something that we had welder and then joined the RAF never talked about. I decided that I to become an engineer. They met needed to play a part in changing the in Birmingham had a whirlwind romance and after marrying spent conversation on Black Lives Matter and the early 1960’s living on a Libyan Anti-Racism where I could, starting Air Force base before returning with my friends and at my place of to the UK in the late 1960s. They work. I sent an email at work that Larry Lawrence both spent almost 40 years in their started a stream of conversations and chosen areas, proudly serving their stimulated a request to share some of my story profession and their adopted country. My mother, and experiences as a black professional man in (nicknamed Queenie because of her accent) the UK. This article reflects some of that story. thrived as a midwife and on retiring becoming a Who am I? magistrate and chair of our local Citizens Advice Bureau. My late father became a college lecturer. Born in England to Jamaican parents, I’m a He was also captain of a local cricket team, happily married father of two black teenage boys. playing into his 60s. I am proud of my tight-knit, vibrant extended There’s a saying about how every black person family that are spread across North America, the in the UK remembers the first time they realised Caribbean, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. they were regarded as different. For me, it was in My wife is Nigerian. We met through church and 1974 on my first day at school in Wales. The only have been partners in life, family and the gospel black kid amongst 200 pupils, I was followed since the mid 1990’s. around the playground by 20 or 30 children, all asking me questions like “If I rub your skin will the brown come off?” , ‘What colour is your poo?’, “Do you bleed red?” Looking back, I don’t believe there was malice in those questions, but I immediately felt like an outsider. Despite this start, I remember growing to like school, especially reading, geography and sport. My brother and I were talented schoolboy I’m employed as a consultant at Lane4, which athletes – he represented WaIes in Karate, I specialises in helping organisations with the represented Wales in Athletics. We both did science and emotion of human performance. so with pride. did think it odd that I never saw I coach and work with leaders, teams and anyone in the books that I read stories that organisations to establish the right practices looked like me or my family but felt too awkward and culture that create environments for to mention it. After all, my toys were all pink success. Outside of work, I keep fit, study skinned too. I remember thinking once that at biblical history and enjoy entertaining least my blond-haired action man had hair that friends and family. I also suffer the was as fuzzy as mine. It strikes me that there was highs and lows of supporting Manchester no reason why my curriculum couldn’t include United and volunteer at a local homelessness people who looked like me: why not mention initiative. John Blanke, the black trumpeter of Henry VII, or the black ethnic origins of Queen Charlotte, Growing up black in the UK great, great grandmother of Queen Victoria? My history lessons could have explored the I grew up in loving home, with two optimistic, wealth accumulated by the 46,000 British slave hardworking, intelligent and resourceful Jamaican owners (who would include my own maternal parents and a younger brother. My mother came and paternal Scottish ancestors) or indeed the to England in the late 1950’s as a nurse-later contribution of Empire soldiers fighting for becoming a midwife. My late father also came Transform your viewing...
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The Lawrence Family l-r Dwight, Larry, Elisa and Duncan.
Britain during WW1 and WW2. This is part of my history and of British history. This omission is just one part of the systemic problem that I’m hoping this latest dialogue will help to address. Sadly, as I grew older, the great times at school were punctuated by some really traumatic moments; being spat upon by a complete stranger in the street, playing in football games and having opposition parents refer to me and other black players as ‘the pet monkeys’ while hearing chants of ‘there ain’t no black in the union jack’. I recall being with groups of white friends and hearing other youths shout out ‘go home c**n’ which was really confusing as a teenager. I felt at home in Wales and felt proud of being both Black and British. The constant overt racist aggression always left me feeling furious but often totally powerless; it was usually from bigger youths or adults and regularly denied/ignored by people in authority to whom I mentioned it. I found myself suppressing these emotions, building my own emotional defence wall and learning not to show hurt. There was also the more subtle racism that I learnt to filter out. For example, being followed around shops by the security guards or being spoken to very slowly and deliberately by shop assistants or other officials. Ultimately, it just made me work harder; my parents encouraged me to be optimistic-that the world could be my oyster – I just might need to work harder and expect less. I knew that there were going to be more barriers in my way, and I decided I would just have to go the extra mile and roll with the punches (sometimes literally) if I was going to succeed. 26
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Professional career Although finding school hard academically, I worked hard, led several school initiatives and then at 17 years of age to much surprise, I was appointed school Head boy. As the only black boy and one of the few nonCatholics at my South Wales Catholic comprehensive school, it was a bold move by the Headmaster. I repaid that faith and have since looked out for opportunities in my career to give unlikely people a voice. After A levels and a year in work, I did Retail Marketing degree after which I was selected to join Unilever’s Trade Marketing graduate program. There were 17 others in my group, all white and from Russell Group Universities. They were brilliant, bright and good characters. I was the only black one, but I never felt any different to them. We were treated as one group of high-potential leaders – it was fantastic. After three or four years at Unilever, I noticed that I was really enjoying the project opportunities with the HR team, training the recent graduates. I was finding these projects more rewarding than more passionate about developing people than my initial job role of growing the sales of Skincare, Hair & Male Toiletries products within major UK supermarkets. That set me on a path into Learning, Leadership and People Performance in several organisations where I’ve worked at a senior leadership level before joining my current company. Over the years, I’ve been made redundant twice, been out of work for months at time. I’m thankful for my faith, family and having a God-given spirit of resilience to get through the challenging times. I feel privileged that I now have a professional reputation that brings respect and influence. Nevertheless, I don’t think my experience in work has been identical to that of my white peers. A big part of this difference is simply the many micro-aggressions and nuances that exist in UK workplaces: being expected to dance like Michael Jackson at Christmas parties, expected to be an expert of any black issue that comes out of Brixton, Compton or Harlem, expected to enjoy jokes
about black men’s sexual prowess, being told I speak well (as opposed to?...), being called ‘bro’ by people to whom I have no relationship (and to whom I hope I’m not related!). as many of you will know, the list goes on. As I reflect, I don’t feel like I’ve ever not been promoted because of my race, but I have had countless moments of feeling different. I remember, one time in the early 1990s, being at a 300-person networking event with only two other black people: one was serving canapes and the other champagne. I was approached by a fellow conference delegate around my age. He asked me where he should put his bag, assuming that, like the other black people in the room, I was part of the staff. I politely told him he should ask a member of staff, but my inner voice said something quite different. This was a regular occurrence. It’s those experiences that can make it hard to feel like you belong.
Adapting to the world as it is For me, when I come across that more insidious prejudice, my natural inclination is to prove people wrong. In retrospect, over many years that really wore me down; in retrospect, I became more guarded, hiding hurts and being more careful about what I spoke up about. My experience has been that when you don’t see role models of your colour and background, you begin to bury ‘deeper’ parts of yourself – working harder to fit in, adapting the way you dress, changing your accent. But by withholding a part of myself, I felt like the organisations I worked for weren’t seeing all of me, weren’t seeing the best of me. Over my 30 years in the workplace, even as someone who is confident, well-networked,
RAF 1970s Dad obtaining award with Mum
and proud of my personal and professional achievements, I’ve often found myself “smiling through the pain” of racist nuances and ignorance because I didn’t have the psychological safety within that team to speak out. For me that is why this moment and the Black Lives Matter conversation is so important – it’s about changing conversations, opening dialogue, getting white colleagues to examine their privilege and challenging everyone regardless of ethnicity/race to do the work of educating themselves.
Summer 2020 at work A few days after that initial conversation with my son where he expressed being ‘triggered’, I wrote an email to some Lane4 work colleagues including our company chairman. I wanted to share some of my experiences as a black man growing up in Britain and to share some resources-inviting them to get curious about my experiences and other black people that they might know …and to educate themselves. After much internal debate with myself and 5 drafts, I sent the email, having no idea how it would land…. The organisation we were also just about to start redundancies due to Covid. One of the stories I shared was from May 2017. I had finished facilitating a 2-day Leadership workshop and was heading home tired on a London bound train. I sat quietly flicking through my workshop evaluations and prepping notes for meetings the next day. The train stopped and I noticed a sinewy, white man board the train and sit behind me. After two minutes, the man stood up and began to drunkenly announce to the people in our carriage that ‘there were too many n***rs and c**ns in this country , even in this carriage and we need to get the government to sort this country out….’…his ‘speech’ continued for about what seemed another 10 minutes. There were no guards in sight. We had a tense conversation. No-one else in the carriage moved or really spoke until he wobbled off. He got off. I went home shaking and angry.
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The next day, I went into the office, didn’t speak to any of my colleagues about the train incidentstill shocked by incident and focused on a busy workload- I completed some admin, had 1-2-1’s with my team, prepared for another workshop. I told my colleagues in conversations since that I put the experience down to an extreme but not unusual rising part of my working experience and like many other black UK employees I could share dozens and dozens of stories like this that caused me pain and trauma in but I’ve kept suppressed until now. I was amazed by the level of support, shock and genuine interest my email generated from my colleagues. I was invited to speak to the board directors -a group of white, middle aged and middle-class people -eager to learn more about my story and experience. Within 2 weeks, we had organised a ‘Listening Forum’ where 30% of our 200 employees voluntarily joined a virtual 90-minute dialogue hosted ably by our chairman and having at the core the few Lane4 employees their sharing life and career experiences. Sharing my story, hearing the stories of my colleagues and witnessing the heartfelt response was one of the most moving and challenging 90minutes of my career. As the meeting finished, I received numerous calls of support and feedback. I cried uncontrollably for 30minutes. I think out of exhaustion, relief and satisfaction- I had completely under-estimated the toll that preparing for and having these can have. I had triggered some very deep emotions in myself. Since then, several of my white colleagues have shared resources they’ve been reading and different conversations that they’ve been having with friends, family and colleagues. In addition, several colleagues have written to my company board with suggestions on how to maintain momentum. As part of his reflections, the Lane4 MD, Adrian Moorhouse has stated “Lane4 seeks to create an inclusive atmosphere for those of all backgrounds, but that is not enough. The events leading up to 28
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and since the tragic murder of George Floyd have shown us that we have a long way to go on this topic. As an organisation, Lane4 is starting to deeply consider how we can interrogate our biases, examine our blind spots and look critically at our diversity of voice and representation across the whole organisation. We recognise that there are no simple answers to solving workplace discrimination and systemic racism. This issue is too big for that. What we can do, while the organisation considers its own changes and we educate ourselves further, is share experiences from some of our people on this topic.” Adrian Moorhouse, Managing Director I look forward to being one of many voices for change in my organisation. I’ll see what the next stage of this adventure brings …
What can CEOs and organisational leaders do? For me at this point, understanding is only the first step. Leaders need to put their money where their mouth is and act. I think productive actions would include: Showing an interest and desire to understand more about their black colleagues and what has led them to this point. Accepting that there is a challenge that we all face around systemic racism. And if leaders want to change it, there needs to be more curiosity and concern about the impact of this on attitudes and behaviours of all people in their business. Ensuring that there is much, much greater diversity in their leadership teams, and open these groups up for diverse membership and/ or contributions from a much wider group that is reflective of the people that work in the business and the clients they serve. Be open to regular review and challenge about potential blind spots, biases and prejudices e.g. where do they recruit interns from, what employment agencies do they use, how are black people represented in videos and products. Pro-actively seeking out the views of their black colleagues and other stakeholders and work with them to identify ways in which they can ensure that those colleagues are better supported.
I would also challenge leaders to do a culture diversity audit of their organisation to establish whether their workforce represents the rich tapestry of their society, and consider conducting an ethnic minority pay gap audit, using data and changing conversations.
What do I believe all employees can do? Although organisational leaders have a responsibility to drive a change of opportunity for black professionals, everyone has a part to play in eradicating systemic racism. Supporting your black colleagues will make for a better, more open organisation where everyone feels at ease being themselves. To bring that about: Pro-actively do more to support black colleagues in challenging racist behaviour and language. Call out any instances of racism -I heard it said that ‘silence is the same as agreement’. Ask questions; If you’re thinking it (whatever it might be in relation to a black colleague) ask about it. Catch your own biases, prejudices, conditioning and socialisation and challenge your own thinking. Take individual responsibility for the part that you play in sustaining white privilege – an absence of voice, interest and being a bystander is being complicit in some ways. Consider how you can become an anti-racist. The illustration below from Andrew Ibrahim, Chief Medical Officer at the University of Michigan is a great place to start to consider the work and actions required. This is not going to be a quick fix, and it is not going to be comfortable. However, black people in the UK and elsewhere have swallowed being uncomfortable for a long time. George Floyd’s dying phrase of ‘I can’t
(Source: Andrew Ibrahim, Chief Medical Officer, University of Michigan)
breathe’ reflects how so many of the Black UK population have felt about their experience of being Black. Many are tired. Tired of the constant micro-aggressions, of the need to explain themselves. Tired of lip service being paid to serious reflection and promises for action made and then broken. I believe that organisations and the people within them need to take responsibility for their role and privilege, unconscious or otherwise, in systemic racism. Only then will we live in a society where everyone can bring their best self to work. I know that some will not want anything to change, many are and will be threatened by these uncomfortable conversations about race. However, I hope and pray to be having a conversation with my sons in 10 years’ time and us referencing this moment in history truly changed the narrative about Black Lives. A time when triggered emotions led to changed better lives. And it Mattered.
Some Great Books to Read I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge Me and White Supremacy - Layla F. Saad I’m still here - Black dignity in a world made for whiteness - Austin Channing Brown How to be an Antiracist - Ibram X. Kendi The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
Some Great Additional Resources Rachel Cargle on her approach to Allyship White Privilege Dr. Robin DiAngelo on White privilege David McQueen on Centring black lives Black and British: A forgotten history presented by David Olusoga- available on BBC iPlayer
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Story
Asquith Xavier
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1966 He Broke Through The Colour Bar
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Jeanette Young Coming in Issue 16
Du Nord oister puff shoulder hanky hem maxi dress in soft pink
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Photo: contributed. Bakita Kasadha
Bakita: KK
SPEAK YOUR
TRUTH Meet Bakita: KK
Overcoming self-stigma to achieve your potential
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Bakita Kasadha is a writer, researcher, health activist and poet better known as BAKITA:KK.
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“No one can tell our stories like we can� underpins her why.
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faith on tv
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Michael Todd The Compromise of Pornography
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WARNING
ORD POWERFUL W FOR ALL AGES
Message to the Editor:
Last Week’s Edition Hi Editor, the Josephine Baker movie was an eye opener, the prison interview suspense from beginning to end left me thinking how God can transform a person by using a box of cereal, then condom on your heart left me wondering if I really had a fulfilled sex life. (Oophes I believe I did). - AS Florida
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Jonah’s wife hearing him explain....
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Songs of Hope Concert Songs of Hope concert put on by Croydon SDA Church raised 4K for Selhurst Community Kitchen and Foodbank , the local hospital, and Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.
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Cooking and Unfiltered Conversation
Cooking and unfiltered conversationsn the YouTube web series Raw, cooking personality. Jake Smollett serves celebrities a three-course meal with a side of unfiltered conversations about topics such as sex, relationships, and gender roles in the kitchen. Filmed on location in Los Angeles, the web series features guests such as Lena Waithe, Essence Atkins, Estelle and Erica Ash.
The Jamaica Diaspora Action Taskforce Network plans National Chicken Wings Day a Virtual Culinary Tour for was 29th July 2020 Emancipation Day With Chef Noel Transform your viewing...
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RHEA’S WATCH
Highlights achievements of the youth today, showcases people who seek Highlights achievements of the youth today, showcases people who seek to create a brighter to create brighter future forgems thefrom youth andwho reveals future for theayouth and reveals hidden the past helped tohidden make thegems world afrom better place. the past who helped to make the world a better place.
Alex got a place in the UK's Premier Athletics Club Birchfield Harriers at age 15. Alex got into all the Youth Development teams in 2019 and she was called to compete in middle league competitions which are for seniors. In 2018 and 2019 Alex represented South Birmingham schools twice in athletics. She went on to represent West Midlands schools at Mason Trophy Inter Counties Schools Championships in 2019 in the 300m Hurdles. She has competed in England Athletics' national championships twice. Alex now studies French, Russian and Latin at A Levels.
Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa. When she was a young girl, she was put on board a ship and sent to the US, where she was sold as a slave to a family called the Wheatleys. She was named after that ship - the Phillis. The Wheatley family was well educated. Within sixteen months of Phillis arriving in America she could read the Bible, Greek and Latin classics, and British literature. She also studied astronomy and geography. During that time at the age of 14 she wrote her first poem. At that time it was very unusual for slaves to be able to read and write. 36
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“The world is a severe schoolmaster, for its frowns are less dangerous than its smiles and flatteries, and it is a difficult task to keep in the path of wisdom.” — Phillis Wheatley Age 20, she moved to England with her son and within a year, published her first book. She gained recognition in both American and English colonies with her ‘Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.’ This made her the first African-American poet to be published, with her first volume of poetry in 1773. She was a gifted writer. She proved everyone wrong. In 1772 nobody believed an African slave could be an accomplished poet. Especially not women. Her brilliant writing proved that women who were slaves could have remarkable intellectual ideas.
On Being Brought Fro m Africa To America ‘Twas mercy brought m e fro Taught my benighted so
m my Pagan land,
That there’s a God, that Once I redemption ne
ul to understand
there’s a Saviour too:
ither sought nor knew . Some view our sable ra ce with scornful eye, “Their colour is a diabol ic die.” Remember, Christians , Negro’s, black as Cain , May be refin’d, and join the angelic train. — Phillis Wheatley
Did you know? The first successful open-heart surgery was performed in 1893 by a black surgeon named Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. He also founded the first hospital that employed black healthcare workers.
SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY
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WHITE FEAR OF THE FUTURE
Jane Elliot, Diversity Educator: Whites not getting a job is called delayed Justice
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Lynn Whitfield
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