We're marking Black History Month at MacIntyre this year in our company-wide meeting later this month. We refer to these meetings as Connect Calls, because that connection is vital to us all working together and supporting each other.
This year's Black History Month theme is Standing Firm in Power and Pride, and in these days when diversity initiatives are being curtailed in parts of the world, it is more important than ever to celebrate Black colleagues.
While we were planning what we'll cover in our next Connect Call, we looked back at some of the stories colleagues have shared in the past, and one stood out.
Proud of the past
Cath Kelly, Area Manager in Greater Manchester, was inspired to explore her family history:
I have loved celebrating Black History Month and it has given me time for a lot of personal reflection on my own ethnicity. Reclaiming the narrative theme sat perfectly with me and was something I was passionate about. I loved the idea of sharing real stories so here goes.
My grandfather was a Black American Air Force pilot based in Manchester in WW2.
He was originally from Jamaica. Although I never met my grandfather, my father ensured we learned about our heritage when growing up. I had never seen a picture of my grandfather as my father only had one picture that was lost many years ago.
I had joined Ancestry last year to try and find more information but had not really done anything with my subscription. What we had been doing as part of the Diversity Group over the last month for Black History Month prompted me to get my act together and do some searches (I became quite obsessed with the whole thing!)
I have now been able to find a picture of my grandfather when he was 19 in the Air Force, and my father at the grand old age of 79 has been able to see his own father as a young man for the first time.
It was a very special moment as my grandfather in the picture is the absolute image of my late brother!
Without being part of the Diversity Group and celebrating Black History month I probably would have just procrastinated on this search. It’s been a real joy to celebrate this month and look forward to more celebrations and sharing of experiences in the future.
Black British Heroes
This story inspired us to research other stories of Black people who served in the RAF.
They include:
- Sergeant William Robinson Clarke, from Jamaica, who became the first Black pilot to fly for Britain, in World War One.
- Leading Aircraftwoman Lilian Bader, who joined the WAAF in 1941 and trained as an instrument repairer. This despite the fact she was forced to leave a previous job in the services canteen because she was Black.
- Flight Lieutenant Emanuel Peter John Adeniyi Thomas, who travelled from Nigeria to the UK to enlist and became the first Black African to qualify as a pilot in 1942, and the first to be commissioned as an officer. He was killed in a flying accident in 1945.
Scratching the surface
Of course there's so much more to Black British history than the military. The Black History Month website has some fantastic stories which underline how Black Britons have played an integral part in our country's past. As well as its present and future.
One article from the website, by Aleisha Omeike, really underlines how far there is still to go. She says:
Anti-racism has slipped out of fashion. In classrooms, conversations about race are smoothed over to avoid discomfort. On social media, calling out injustice earns you an eye-roll, a “woke” tag, or silence. In politics, populism and racial liberalism work hand in hand: one paints anti-racists as extremists, the other insists Britain is already fair. Together, they create the illusion that racism is a solved problem, and that insisting otherwise is unnecessary – even impolite.
Lots to unpack here, whatever our ethnicity. In our MacIntyre strategy, we say we are "Proud of our past, ambitious for our future". There are parallels with Black Britons' history and future. We remain convinced that these discussions and shared experiences are vital to our connections with each other.
