Saluting our Sisters - have we lost sight?
I usually reserve some spaces to reshare things that have captured my eye and share moments of joy. Today I am critiquing. Black History Month (BHM) in the UK, 2023 has been the quietest for me. The main reason is I have been on sabbatical. Taking time away from spreading myself thin, to regain perspective and reconnect with my heritage has been the best decision I made in 4 years - thanks to the right team, mentors and planning in place.
The theme of BHM UK, Saluting Our Sisters, has also been the quietest I have ever seen, around me. The tweet from Ronke Lawal below captures my observations perfectly. Aside from a few articles, internal panels, and the honouring done by a few sisters like Liz Pemberton, To My Sisters, the wider visibility and action for a month dedicated to recognition has been few and far between. Are we genuinely seeing the recognition this month?
What value and utility do celebrations carry if we can’t actually put the theme into action and work with other sisters? I am over the gestures. These include moving away from the need to sit on panels which is the framework and activity that defines much of BHM in the UK. A panel, if pushing boundaries can be effective, but often end up being meaningless. Recognition, can sit outside of panels. We can make the time and years spent trying to achieve a goal, worthwhile through other means, in support of our sisters. Whilst it is a blessing to be invited to panels, and I am grateful to the Most High for the opportunities - what actually materializes from these? Moreover, I have observed how the same rooms and systems at play over the last 4 years rotate Black people for display on these panels, and at best the CEO, or budget holder will pop into show face for a few minutes and dip out again.
I am not interested in visibility for the sake of it and never have been. Unsurprisingly, the remaining 11 months post BHM, are likely again to silence and overlook Black women, their work, so what is the point of what we are doing? I have seen with angst how many of us, including myself, fall into these individualist traps year on year. Self promotion has zero longevity or gravity outside of applause; the applause, if you desire it, can’t just come from a good one time performance.
The groundwork is the goal and it sustains the freedoms we mention on these panels.
I just want to say thank you to all the sisters that have supported the team and reminded us of our purpose and goals this month and throughout the entire journey. I am also very happy to meet some old and new people doing fantastic work in the area of cultural education based in the UK, to mention a few; Lisa Palmer, Nadine White, Ife Thompson, Arike Oke, Charmaine Simpson, Hannah Cusworth, Liz Pemberton, Shereen Hunte, Stella Dadzie, Beverley Bryan, Rhia Gibbs, Aisha Sanusi, Shola Apena Rogers, Jade Bentil, Lisa Thompson, Bethany Thompson, Lisa Kennedy, Sandra Agard and many more.
I am interested to see how BHM decides to grow going forward in the UK.
In the meantime, I hope we find ways to feed ourselves, and nourish the communities we are in, while remembering who we are doing this work for, which is missing in a lot of the things that I see.
Who are we doing this work for?
