Black History Month 2024 - Reclaiming Narratives
A blog from Jenni Douglas-Todd, Chair of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
What a powerful theme for this year’s BHM. It also however feels daunting as seems to bring with it a pressure to assert voices which went before which have either been ‘cancelled’ or overlooked and consequently demands a good historical knowledge of time and black people past. I could therefore start talking about Frederick Douglass, the American abolitionist who initially married someone in the colour of his mother, with his second wife being the colour of his father; or Mary Seacole whom many would know as a British nurse, but from my perspective that probably plays into the old narratives and I am not a historian.
Black people are no more likely to be versed in history than white people, but we are often driven to feel the need to be more informed, just because our contributions to society are overlooked. Personally, I really embraced the Black Panther movies because finally we had Black superheroes and the contributions Wakanda was able to have on the broader society. The superb acting by Chadwick Boseman who was so sadly taken from us before his time, Lupita Nyong’o and Letitia Wright. It was however more than that for me, making a historical contribution to film as others such as Sydney Poitier playing fictional characters have and hopefully sustaining their contributions for the long term.
Being able to see black people in normal everyday roles is important for reclaiming narratives, as it helps to redress perceptions that we had little to contribute to the development of our world to where it is today. It is not that we haven’t but a feature of the voices who get heard or have been allowed to promulgate our knowledge and experiences. We know that since the birth of the NHS in 1948 black people have been a part of it, with nurses coming from the Caribbean to assist the founding of the NHS.
We must be inquisitive and challenge ourselves to recognise that developments over time could not just have come from white men. Recently I listened to an interesting programme on William Shakespeare. The premise throughout was that some of his well-known works could not have been written by him. He was not well travelled and did not own any books. It was intriguing, my search on the internet revealed that ‘no papers have been found to prove that Shakespeare wrote his plays and sonnets.’ Apparently, many historians have searched over the years and none have ever found any handwritten notes or manuscripts by Shakespeare. These questions have pertained since the mid 19th century. My point is that black history is not just for black people, but for all of us. Black History Month each October gives everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture.
Should we choose to engage in reclaiming narratives, there is a whole rich world out there for us to discover. So, what does it mean for us. Our organisation is rich in its diversity, Black colleagues make up 8.5% of our workforce, 6.1% of doctors, dentists and consultants, and 11.8% of our nurses, midwives and health visitors. The NHS workforce is now the most diverse in its history. We know that there is far more that we need to do to improve representation and treatment of our staff and there are some steps we can take to improve care for black patients and the experience of our black staff:
- Sign up to learn more about Sickle Cell by completing this eLearning and share resources to support the rollout of the ACT NOW acronym
- There are a range of resources to help tackle racism and discrimination in the workplace – check out these resources from NHS Employers
- There are events taking place across the NHS such as webinars and lunch and learns. Contact your internal communications team for more information
My request as I conclude this blog is that each of us use this month to read something we would ordinarily not do. A book by a black author, or non-fiction depicting the life/histories of black people. Then discuss and share what you have read with colleagues and friends, so we can all broaden our knowledge and understanding.
We want to thank all our black NHS staff at UHS for their invaluable contributions which enable the NHS to deliver its services to those who need it most.
Wishing you all an enjoyable and informative month to commence your journey on reclaiming the narratives.