Black History Month
Saluting Our Sisters
Hi friends,
I hope you’re taking good care at this awful time.
Taking good care doesn’t mean ignoring rising waves of antisemitism and Islamophobia or the huge humanitarian suffering in Palestine.
To me, taking good care means recognising that our mindbodies are not designed to comprehend suffering on this scale. It’s not an excuse to turn away. But it’s a call to offer, seek and accept care from our communities.
Questions I keep asking
As an inclusive communications consultant, I’m always asking questions like: Who gets to tell their story? Where? What are the consequences? Who gets celebrated, and who gets criticised? Who is centred and who’s out of the spotlight?
And because October was Black History Month in the UK, I’ve been wondering…
Who tells their story?
I’ve seen white-led organisations congratulating themselves for remembering that it’s Black History Month. Wow, great work lads.
Peek behind the scenes and you learn that they reached out to a Black campaigner or content creator at the last minute, gave them a nearly-impossible brief and then underpaid them for the privilege.
So yeah, you showcased Black talent but at what cost? And did you reach out to light skinned Black folks with Eurocentric features? If so, your colourism is showing as well as your anti-Black racism.
Which stories do we tell?
Tales of suffering, with no space for Black joy? Whitewashed tales that make past injustice palatable? Or none at all?
What gets silenced or concealed?
Language can hide violence, or expose it.
A lot of history takes place in the passive voice. History books speak of “people who were enslaved.” Okay but who did the enslaving?
By calling someone a “slave” we legitimise the idea of slavery. Calling them ”enslaved people” gets closer to moral truth.
When do we tell these stories?
“It’s the time of year where teachers remember that Black people exist” writes Ijeoma Oluo in Black History is Your History.
“It’s a great time of the year to pretend to have read one of my books - or, if you’re really trying to impress people, one of Angela Davis’ books - and encourage all of your friends to pretend to read it as well. Ah Black History Month. What a time.”
If Black History only gets one month, are white people saying that Black history is not all of ours? Or that racism is not first and foremost a white person problem?
Who gets to feel good about themselves?
If you’re white and you talk a lot about anti-racism, you’ve probably had someone congratulate you for it. But when people who experience racism advocate for themselves, they’re seen as demanding or aggressive.
The theme this year was “saluting our sisters.” Frankly, white-led organisations ignored the call.
They are overwhelmingly stuck in the lazy performativity of what Nova Reid calls Black Square Summer.
So let’s learn from the Black women1 who are leading the way in actually saluting our sisters, by creating industry-changing platforms and mind-blowing campaigns. For example, Join Our Table.
Join Our Table
Join Our Table was founded by eight Black female media and advertising professionals who joined together to tackle the under-representation of Black women in the sector. It’s absolutely glorious and so badly needed.
I challenge you to visit their website or Instagram without feeling overwhelmed by admiration and positivity.
Brand By Me
Join Our Table is sponsored by anti-racist brand consultancy Brand By Me.
If you’re reading this, I know you care deeply about words, stories and social justice. So you’re legally required to follow Brand By Me founder and MD Collette Philip on LinkedIn and Instagram.
To learn more about building an anti-racist brand, sign up for Brand By Me’s newsletter.
Black Ballad
The world of brand, advertisting and communications has been near-silent in response to calls to celebrate and centre Black women. By contrast, innovators like Tobi Oredein have helped to transform the entire media landscape. Tobi founded Black Ballad, a media and lifestyle platform for Black women, back in 2014. As Tobi says:
“You can't build a relationship with black women by doing one campaign with one notable black woman a year and then turn your attention to black people in October for a week or so.
“We deserve so much better and if more effort was put into talking to black audiences all year round, it would genuinely show in your profits and maybe black audiences and in particular black female consumers would no longer be seen as a "hard to reach" audience.
The truth is we aren't hard to reach, we just refuse to accept the bare minimum from brands- especially after the promises of 2020.”
In a LinkedIn post calling out organisations’ inaction, Tobi writes:
“If I have spoken at your organisation in October, or myself and Black Ballad has been highlighted in any way and we don't work together before next October, then it is an embarrassing failing and it further proves what many black professionals continue to say. You don't value our work truly and only see us as props to ensure your organisation is "seen" to be doing the work.”
Truth.
Sharon’s anti-racism newsletter
Sharon Hurley-Hall is a phenomenal anti-racism thinker and educator, who shares an extraordinary array of resources and wisdom. I particularly love Sharon’s Building Our Own Table interview series.
Sharon generously makes a lot of her brilliant content available for free, but you will not regret signing up for a paid subscription. It’s one of the single best things I spend my money on.
Sharon’s Anti-Racism Newsletter
Brands, do better
There’s no excuse for brands doing anything other than using their platforms to centre and uplift Black people while challenging anti-Black racism. There just isn’t.
So how do you do it?
Over to Collette from Brand By Me, who shares four practical tips for how brands can tackle injustice.
Collette’s thinking sparkles with clarity. I love how she zooms in on the practical actions that brands can take, starting right now.
It’s time brands start tackling injustice the right way.
And people of all genders too!