Celebrating Black History Month
Celebrating Black History Month at Barts Health gives us the opportunity to share and celebrate the impact of black heritage and culture and recognise the contributions and achievements of those of African or Caribbean heritage.
It helps us to pause and reflect on the conversations that were made around the support and development of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff in the Trust, and to also learn more about the effects of racism and how to challenge the negative stereotypes.
It allows us to celebrate those of the shoulders we stand on, those who gave us hope such Mary Seacole and Nelson Mandela. It motivates us and helps us educate our colleagues about black history and inspire them to break boundaries in their own careers and promote change.
Black History Month helps us understand the past and how we got here including events of those who fought for our rights, which has allowed us to be where we are today. These leaders have inspired us to never give up and give us the determination to continue to make a difference in our careers. Resilience and determination shapes who we are and what contribution we make in the NHS.
For example, Whipps Cross as a community has high number of BME staff, so it’s important to celebrate their contribution to the community and show that we value the cultural diversity and contribution they bring to the organisation. It’s important that we all celebrate together to mark this month in black history remembering that it’s not only about bad times but also about integrity, leadership and determination.
The Trust has been involved in developing initiatives to close the gap and ensuring equity, encouragement of career development and opportunities, and tackling inequalities. Evaluating these initiatives enables staff to celebrate some of the achievements and empower them to continue making our hospitals a better place to work.
If you visit one of the restaurants across the Trust’s hospitals this month, don’t forget to check out our themed menus. We’ll be serving lovely dishes including traditional African and Caribbean food.
Tara Matare, Antoinette McClue and Judith Jarrett (Whipps Cross Hospital BME leads)