A Night to Remember - BRIG’s ‘Racing Ahead’ Conversation
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, BRIG’s Vice Chair, speaking at ‘Racing Ahead’
There is no such thing as race.
But racism my friends, is alive, well and literally kicking butt!
It is part of the 8 headed serpent that’s blighting our lovely city, disrupting business, stunting our economy, and huge pressures on our penal system, our health service and for those at the sharp end, damaging our mental health, playing havoc with our sense of self and confusing our identity. It is claiming lives whilst denying us opportunities in the City’s vision of the golden decade ahead.
Until I came to Birmingham, I had no idea I was Black.
I was Siobhan, olive-skinned princess, fearless explorer and apple of my father’s eye and beloved daughter.
It was Calthorpe Park. I was nine. It was the first time I was racially attacked by a frenzied gang of boys, who kicked, spat, punched, and used words I’d never heard.
That was the first physical attack, and I could regale you with a list of others, physical, mental, even the almost butt search at the airport, alongside the “half-caste” comment which sent my usually placid mother on a witch hunt for my tormentors, kitchen knife in hand. But let’s do that another day…
I am the privileged daughter of the former Minister for Education of Guyana and an admired activist and journalist. I am well educated, I am fair skinned. I am what many describe as the “acceptable” face of BLACK.
Yet I am not immune, my children are not immune to the slurs, the names-calling, the spitting or the bullying.
But who Is? Black people in Britain are:
Twice as likely to be rejected for a loan
9 X more likely to face stop & search
6 X more likely to be killed by police
5 X more likely to die in childbirth
4 X more likely to be sectioned
4 X more likely to be excluded from school
3 X more likely to be homeless
3 X more likely to be unemployed
3 X more likely to be arrested
AND HATE CRIME MY FRIENDS, IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH!
In Birmingham there is a 10% pay gap between black and white workers and if that were not bad enough, we get to die 10 years earlier and even sooner if you live in one of the 10% most deprived areas of the City!
SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT!
I joined BRIG because I’ve seen it all before…
A murder
An outrage
An enquiry
Maybe one or 2 black hires
And then silence
TILL THE NEXT MURDER
SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT.
In one year (2022) alone we have:
held 12 mini summits
mobilised 1000s of people into action
and encouraged a cross sector of stakeholders to sign up to our ANTI-RACIST CITY MANIFESTO.
Our JOB?
To keep race on the agenda
To hold institutions to account
To pass the baton to our younger generations
I want to see an anti-racist city
But we can’t do this alone.
Only together can we hope to slay this dragon. Only together can we suck out the vile, toxic venom that pollutes our city and become the city we are supposed to be, the City of Culture, an Anti-Racist City!
'Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.'
Arundhati Roy
Cllr. Ian Ward: Leader of Birmingham City Council:
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and thank you for inviting me along to today's event.
Race Equality Week is a time to reflect - not just on the journey we have already made - but on the vital next steps in our collective quest for race equality and equity.
It also an opportunity for all of us - individuals and organisations - to reaffirm our shared commitment to keeping race on the agenda.
A chance to remind ourselves that we're in this for the long haul.
This is the third BRIG event I've attended in the last year and on each occasion, I'm pleased to say that I have been able to report progress in the implementation of Everyone's Battle, Everyone's Business - the council's plan to address long-standing inequalities - particularly in our senior management team - to ensure that as an organisation we better reflect the city.
So today, in addition to the progress outlined when I spoke to the Sports Race Impact Summit in September last year, I can tell you that we have:
Commissioned the Equal Group to undertake an independent review of HR, with a focus on race and intersectionality.
Produced a Positive Action statement
And - most importantly - we are starting to see progress on broader representation at senior levels across the organisation.
Over the three-month period to end of November 2022,
we saw an increase of 9 per cent in the appointment of black, Asian, minority ethnic candidates to leadership roles.
a 7 per cent increase in shortlisted candidates
and a 3 per cent increase in longlisted candidates
In addition, 91 per cent of our interview panels were ethnically balanced, while they were all gender balanced.
We continue to hold engagement sessions and interactive workshops for staff and councillors, with a focus on privilege, power, and consciously inclusive recruitment.
I'm encouraged by the progress, but I also know that this journey is far from over and I promise you that, as an organisation, Birmingham City Council will not rest on its laurels.
We will bring a detailed update to Cabinet in April this year and we will build on the progress made.
I appreciate that when we first published Everyone's Battle, Everyone's Business, there may have been some scepticism and a feeling of "We've heard it all before"
But I really believe that the council is now making progress in this critical area.
And if there is still scepticism or wariness, our job is to build on that progress and show through our actions that to best serve Birmingham, we will reflect Birmingham - its people and its communities.
Sometimes that requires tough conversations and honest self-appraisal.
And, with the help of critical friends like BRIG and others, we will continue having those tough conversations.
Not just during Race Equality Week, which quite rightly highlights an issue that matters in homes, streets, and neighbourhoods right across this city, but 52 weeks a year.
And there's no room for complacency.
Because being in the right doesn't guarantee success.
Hard-fought victories can always be reversed.
Just last week for example, together with Birmingham's Bishop Desmond Jaddoo, I wrote to the Home Secretary urging her to reverse the decision to backtrack on key commitments made in the wake of the Windrush Scandal.
Windrush was a scandal born out of inequality, ignorance, and under-representation. It represents a shameful chapter of British history.
And, bearing in mind that many victims, including a number from Birmingham, have sadly died before receiving justice, this latest setback is an insult to the Windrush migrants, their children, and their grandchildren.
So we're calling on the Government to deliver on the recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review - as they promised to in 2020.
As I say, without vigilance and perseverance, hard-fought victories can be reversed and, in many ways, the ongoing mistreatment of the Windrush generation serves as a reminder that this journey is far from over.
Despite the progress made in many aspects of city life, long-standing inequalities still exist.
Well, I promise you that as I said earlier, Birmingham City Council is in this for the long haul.
As our update in April will clearly demonstrate, we’ve made important progress with Everyone's Battle; Everyone's Business and we will build on that progress.
Of course, this is Everyone's battle and other organisations across the city must also play their part.
Because you don’t address inequality in isolation, you do so with collective and collaborative action.
The will is here. And, by working together, I'm optimistic and determined that we will make Birmingham a truly anti-racist city.”