For 40 years, Black History Month (BHM) in the UK has celebrated the contributions of Black people to the nation’s development. Yet, by focusing mainly on the past, it underscores the persistent underrepresentation of Black individuals across all sectors of society, revealing a need for comprehensive and lasting change.
The premise for Black History Month (BHM) is for UK society to recognise and acknowledge Black people’s often overlooked or forgotten contributions and achievements in shaping the UK’s national identity.
The issue is that BHM often looks back on historical figures and achievements. Recognising that these stories are not told often enough or are not well known leads us to also consider the great gaps in society where Black people are misrepresented or not represented at all.
Black people of all ages need and deserve a full and accurate representation across all parts of society, from work to entertainment, politics to religious institutions, education to sports. Seeing ourselves as prominent, positive members of society is an important aspect of having a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is more important for children and young adults. A lack of representation can lead to children or young adults from minority ethnic backgrounds feeling invisible or unimportant. This is wrong – no child should grow up feeling less valuable than others because of the colour of their skin or where they come from. We are all more open to external influences, especially when we are young, so no matter how simplistic it seems, if we see the hero of a movie as being the same colour as us, it makes us believe we too can be a hero, or if we see a Black lawyer or doctor, it makes us believe we too can become a professional. We all need role models, roles models that look like us and that we can relate to.
However, fair representation is still too slow and often seen as tokenism. For instance, in 1967 and 1968, Mattel introduced two new dolls, Francie and Christie. Francie was a darker-skinned version of the white doll with the same name, while Christie had the same body as Barbie. However, her face was a new design intended to highlight the facial features of a Black woman. The problem was that these dolls were not Barbie, promoted as her friends true, but in reality, they were sidekicks to the white, blonde-haired Barbie. It was not until 1980 that the first Black Barbie was finally launched. While we may now question the value of an adult female doll with breasts and an impossible figure as an evolutionary leap for young girls, with the launch of Black Barbie, young Black girls finally had a doll that, in some ways, represented them and was seen as being as beautiful and powerful as white Barbie. (For more information on the background of Black Barbie and its impact on Black girls, look for Black Barbie: A Documentary created by Netflix 2023).
Likewise, fair and diverse representation in children’s literature and media plays a significant role in a child’s development, growth, and attitude toward accepting racial diversity. TogetherintheUK (TGIUK) recognises the importance of storytelling and sharing lived experiences in fostering greater empathy, understanding, and, importantly, respect for cultural differences. And yet, previous research by the Center for Literacy in Primary Education revealed that only 7% of the children’s books published in the UK over a three-year period from 2017 to 2019 featured characters from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background. However, change is about, and in their latest report, CLPE Reflecting Realities – Survey of Ethnic Representation within UK Children’s Literature (November 2023), an upward trend was identified with the key findings showing;
• 30% of the children’s titles published in 2022 featured racially minoritised characters, up from 4% in the first report in 2017.
• For the first year in its history, the report shows a decrease in the presence of racially minoritised characters in picturebooks and non-fiction.
• This report welcomes and highlights the breadth of genres representing racially minoritised characters.
When author and founder of the Black British Book Festival, Selina Brown, was told that the front cover of her first book, Nena: The Green Juice, which featured a beautiful young Black girl with an Afro, was unacceptable as “Nobody will buy a book with a Back girl on the cover”, she bypassed the standard industry book distributors and sold her books at local fairs and via her website. In a recent article in the October 2024 issue of Good Housekeeping, she talks about how this experience encouraged her to develop a platform for underrepresented writers, the Black British Book Festival. She was encouraged by the many book reviews that shared the excitement children felt having a Black hero to relate to. Ms Brown is not looking back but looking forward to creating a legacy of more diverse libraries and books that reflect today’s UK’s identity.
The representation of black individuals in the entertainment business has historically been limited. Still, there have been some breakthroughs in recent years. The UK has begun to have a more diverse and inclusive media landscape, with black journalists, actors, and presenters gradually becoming more visible and vocal. The casting of Black actor Ncuti Gatwa as the star of Doctor Who was a significant move in the right direction of fair representation of popular figures. Likewise, casting diverse actors in prominent roles in the popular Bridgerton Netflix series challenges the traditionally white-centric portrayal of Regency-era England. While many consider that Bridgerton integrates diversity seamlessly into its narrative, there has been some criticism and accusations of colour baiting,” also known as ‘plastic representation,’ an act which removes the Blackness from Black characters. What is significant is that progress is finally being made, though there is still a long way to go.
Moving forward, to truly reflect today’s UK society, we must do more than feature characters of colour in our books or on television; we must ensure those characters are represented accurately and positively. That means avoiding stereotypes and difficult or damaging portrayals. It also means giving these characters meaningful roles within the story rather than just making them background characters with no real purpose or impact on the plotline. This diversity is vital for telling a wide range of stories and accurately reflecting the multicultural society in the UK.
The real change will come when we fully integrate and recognise the contributions and achievements of Black people in shaping the UK’s ongoing development, making them a part of our everyday lives rather than limiting this acknowledgement to just one month each year.
Black History Month (BHM) 2024
The theme for BHM 2024 is Reclaiming Narratives, and the following is an extract from their website.
In today’s world, stories are powerful tools that shape how we understand our past, present, and future. For too long, the history of Black communities has been told through lenses that often misrepresent, oversimplify, or entirely overlook the rich and diverse experiences of those who lived it. But 2024 is set to be a transformative year. Black History Month UK has unveiled its compelling theme: Reclaiming Narratives.
This theme is not just about revisiting history; it’s about taking ownership of the stories that define our culture, our contributions, and our very identity. It’s a call to action for Black communities across the UK to step into the role of storytellers, historians, and custodians of our heritage. For far too long, our histories have been narrated by others, leading to distorted portrayals that fail to capture the full breadth and depth of our experiences.
More information about Black History Month can be found on their website.
To read more about the lives and impacts of migrants on UK society, go to TogetherintheUK.
To purchase a copy of Hear Our Stories, An Anthology of Migrant Writings, compiled by TogetherintheUK, go to TGIUK
Previous TGIUK articles for BHM
Undiluted Truths – Use Your Own Voice to Tell Your Story
Black History Month – Not Just for October!
Black Representation Across our National Curriculum: a Step Towards Combating Racism
