Black History Month

In October due to continued COVID19 our usual event to celebrate Black History month which the branch normally holds was unable to take place. The committee decided to hold a raffle to include prizes of books and Black Lives Matter tee shirts. The raffle will include all those members registered with an ethnic coding on our UNISON records called WARMS.

Black History Month 2020 seems more important than ever following a year where Black people have been dying in disproportionate numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the world was shocked by the brutal murder of George Floyd in the USA.

The fight for racial equality continues and as Branch Secretary, I am passionate about raising inequalities at all levels fighting for justice for our members and the community. The Global Black Lives Matter protests shone a light on racism in the UK and to tackle racism we have to recognise it. In the UK, #BlackLivesMatter called for an end to systemic racism, where people aren’t treated fairly because they are Black.

The coronavirus pandemic, has highlighted the racial inequalities in health, education, housing and employment that have shaped the lives of Black people from the cradle to grave.

Black History should be taught in our schools to educate the children of the future of the past of their forefathers and mothers and the struggles they faced to pave the way for us and for future generations.

On the back of giants we stand tall.

Giants like Mayo Angelo, Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman, Muhammad Ali, Barack Obama, Jesse Owens and Mary Seacole.

Without a struggle there could be no progress – Quote by Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass became a leader in the abolitionist movement, which sought to end the practice of slavery, before and during the American Civil War. (1815-1895)