Smashed or Crashed?: BHM UK 2022

Two years after the murder of George Floyd and a reckoning across several international businesses, I along with many other Black young people have been keen to see the fruit of the endless Instagram Lives, statements on change pinned to social channels and promises to ‘do better’. 

It’s been taxing, having to be the person who people look to for answers on how to improve their own inherited behaviours, their own predetermined perceptions of what it is to be visibly Black daily. And then once a year October comes around and Black History Month begins. 

Originally said to have been founded by a child of former slaves, Carter G Wilson, Black History Month was in fact just a week. But with Wilson’s continued campaigning and support for the education of Black History in America, this eventually became a month, February in the United States to pay respect to American abolitionist Fredrick Douglass. In the United Kingdom, Black History Month is traditionally celebrated in October, rumoured to be in line with the new school year, helping young people to reflect on all the contributions Black people have made towards the UK. 

But this year it’s felt like companies have retreated on their promises to Black consumers and that October is business as usual, at least from my personal perspective. Whilst major study has been ongoing into just how much the Black Pound is valued in the UK, one thing is overwhelmingly clear, it’s not valued enough to openly and proactively celebrate Black History as it deserves to be celebrated. 

I remember going through secondary school never celebrating inside the walls of my all-girls school, we always celebrated on the 31st of October. My aunt was a drama practitioner and an actress and she always curated a space which celebrated everything from Black historical figures to up-and-coming sculptors. Those were the moments where I felt like I really endeavoured to embrace my Blackness. I didn’t go trick or treating with friends, instead, we learnt about Olive Morris, Lenny Henry and other formidable UK-based Black activists and trailblazers. 

But as I have gotten older, I have realised just how much Black History I left in my youth. Education became conversations around restaurant tables about what businesses were doing to cater to Black consumers and how they’d failed to honour the most simple of promises. In my later years, these conversations all around me are ever-present and we hold companies and the places we work to an expectation that they’ll rally around not just Black employees, but Black people in October. 

Over the last few years, there are companies that I've seen attempting to “do the work” and to ensure that Blackness is visible in October but of course, there are still organisations that have more to do and are still getting it wrong. 

UBER

With Uber having been previously involved in employment tribunals involving drivers of colour and facial recognition software, the app has had an unfortunate history of Black and Brown drivers being negatively impacted and in some cases even suffered termination of employment. It has been documented that this style of facial recognition tends to not work as effectively on people of colour and could fail to recognise them. 

This year, Uber has continued to work with and spotlight Black businesses and restaurants. Last year the company placed money in the pockets of Black Restaurants with its ‘Black Business Fund’, they also produced the campaign ‘Black, British + Proud’, spotlighting several of its drivers and couriers. This campaign was effective in my eyes as it wasn’t just a chance to throw money at Black Businesses but also the chance to ensure that startups (under 18 months old) felt supported financially during the pandemic which was reported to further negatively impact businesses and restaurants owned by non-white entrepreneurs according to studies conducted by Warwick University Business School. 

While the obvious flaw in Uber’s plan remains that they can’t support all businesses. It is clear that the continued support and investment in Black Businesses go a long way to Black people placing their faith in schemes and programmes meant to support them. The more red tape removed, the easier it comes to apply and maximise the money to invest back into Black communities. 

TRANSLATE CULTURE 

With ethnic minority businesses representing a sixth of registered businesses in the UK and as of 2021 contributing a massive £74 billion to the UK economy, Black History Month is of course the main time we should be highlighting business owners, entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners. 

Entering the marketing sphere isn’t easy in the UK, but Translate Culture has seemingly nailed its brief every time. Working authentically with Black businesses in the UK the agency has spent this October tapping into the upcoming brands and community-led spaces we know and love. 

From Ruka Hair co-founded by Tendai Moyo and Ugo Agbai to the community builder Jackson Mclarty, who most don’t realise is behind the best foodie spot partnership in London, ‘Black Owned Hackney’, alongside Bohemia Place Markets. Jackson, also runs the first Black restaurant directory in the UK. I remember completing a university assignment on Black businesses back in 2021 and speaking to Jackson about his desire to let his work and directory speak for themselves. 

I'm glad that he’s working with forward-thinking agencies like TC, who know the community and ultimately do the work not just in October but year-round.  

AMAZON ALEXA 

Flagged by influencer and campaigner Nyome Nicholas - Williams (@curvynyome), I was made aware that the company Amazon Alexa, yes that Alexa that lives on your bedroom side table, was running a BHM campaign which featured the voice of Sir Trevor McDonald, along with other prominent Black figures, who had been commissioned to use the device to tell users of key stories of Black figures and about Black History. 

This campaign whilst amazing in expectation to deliver content to Britons had strangely been partnered up with by a white American woman. This partnership felt inauthentic just not to Black History Month, but to the purpose of the campaign. While I understand that nowadays influencing and marketing is largely a numbers game, I feel that brands should be prioritising authentic practice and letting smaller Black partners know that they had made space for them this October. And if the campaign’s overarching goal was to educate non-Black Britons this could have been achieved by working with individuals based within the UK. 

Of course, this partnership could have just been a one-off and all other influencers used in the campaign could have been Black and UK based but it still reeks of a lack of care in my opinion. 

In conclusion, for many I’ve spoken to this year Black History Month felt silent, and yet things were being executed by brands and agencies. I think the ultimate solution here is to stop working in secret and start working early. If agencies are desperate for Black contributors come October, start early, be intentional and pay those who you want to see in your campaigns adequately. Also actually ask Black people what they want to see for once in our lives. 

Written by: Sabrina Fearon-Melville