Black History Month: the beauty of diversity, hearing the pain, looking in the mirror

Claire Molloy (top) and
Amraze Khan (bottom)

It’s Black History Month and this year the theme is ‘Proud to be’. 

It’s so important show our support and foster an understanding of Black History. We also need to recognise that the fight for equality continues, as well as celebrate Black experiences and achievements.

I’m therefore delighted that Amraze Khan our new head of equality, diversity and inclusion has written a guest blog for this week.

Amraze Khan

I sit here listening to a song by Kerala Settle, from the magnificent musical, The Greatest Showman. I remain so attuned to what she is saying. She screams from the top of her lungs, “This is me” and I agree with every single lyric, nodding along passionately. Being proud of who you are is the key theme of this year’s Black History Month. 

We have so much beautiful diversity in our society, in our communities and across our population, yet there are still moments where people are not celebrated and championed for who they are.

Black History Month remains a pivotal event to ensure we recognise, understand and educate ourselves on the contributions of people from the Black community on British history. In an ideal world we would not have to celebrate Black History, but many things, including the murder of George Floyd, has shown us that racial injustices are still prevalent in our society and we must proactively become anti-racist to route this behaviour out. 

Obviously you’ll see that I am not from the Black community. I do not have and do not proclaim to have endured the experiences that our Black colleagues, peers, friends and service users have experienced. But I’ve heard the pain Black people have gone through.

I’ve seen the impact it has on people’s lives and I stand shoulder to shoulder with our Black communities and workforce as a proud ally to make a difference. To tell every single person affected that I will listen, that I care, that I want to know how we can make things better for you, how we can ensure you have equitable access to our services, and to ensure the colour of a person’s skin does not determine your experience of working at Pennine Care. 

As an Asian man myself, I know I hold my own privileges. And when I say that out loud, some people have asked me, why that is the case, because after all, I’m part of the BAME community.

The phrase BAME is a danger itself. It provides the view that we all have the same experiences - that because we are part of marginalised groups, the inequalities experienced are all the same and that is not true whatsoever. Each community badged in the phrase ‘BAME’ have their own challenges and battles they come across and I know my Black colleagues, friends and service users face a more difficult experience than many of us.

Data suggests that Black people are four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than White people. Black women are still four times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK, and women from Asian ethnic backgrounds face twice the risk. Black people were eight times more likely than White people to be stopped and searched by Police in 2018/19. Black students remain the lowest group in achieving a first or second class degree from a Higher Education Institute, 17% lower than their White counterparts.

The numbers are truly shocking. The stories I’ve heard are just as heartbreaking.

I’ve heard from Black peers and colleagues, the instances when people cross the road when they see them walking because they are stereotyped a particular way. Or a colleague mentioned to me fairly recently that she tells her children not to wear hoodies because of how they are perceived. Yet some of us from other communities would not batter an eye lid in wearing hoodies.

These are some things I’ve heard about and seen myself. And you might be thinking, ‘So what Amraze?’ You may have heard these figures before and have been alarmed. But what have you done personally yourself to make a difference?

I want you to hold that mirror up and really challenge yourself and see what part you are playing in this. We all hold privileges. Simply saying you are not racist, is not good enough. You must proactively be anti-racist, to challenge yourself, your colleagues, your family members and friends to break down behaviours and attitudes. Let’s all use our platforms to educate people, to champion diversity and embrace difference. 

So during this Black History Month why not learn more about the work, compassion, determination or the loving qualities of amazing Black leaders and role models?

We’re undertaking a range of activities which we hope you can take part in and also have a Race Equality Network to allow our diverse workforce come together, to discuss ideas, innovations and to engage, advise and scrutinise our work to embed improvements.

This is me.