Since ‘Unite the Movement’, Sport England Strategy was launched, the sad death of George Floyd and the non-political Black Lives Matter movement, there is a much-needed, greater focus on addressing the ethnic breakdown of governing bodies, their sub-national structures and most importantly their participation and experiences. It’s important every now and then to sit back, take a breath and reflect – my reflection is that this is not new. In fact, it’s an issue of hundreds of years of migration, colonisation, and discrimination in many forms.
Sometimes the lived experiences of White, middle-class people like me can aid and support addressing the inequalities faced by those from diverse ethnic communities. Having worked in inner cities, I can draw from this and hope to give confidence to others. I started my career in an inner-city school in Birmingham and moved to manage a sport centre at the heart of Handsworth just after the riots of the eighties. In fact, the sports hall was out of action for the public inquiry.
The issues coming out of that public inquiry, in the late eighties, were related to poverty, the criminal justice system, poor educational achievement of males of black heritage in particular, housing and representation. How much do we, as the sport sector, consider this within our reach and delivery for diverse communities? Three activities I am proud of were firstly addressing the participation levels of local women in the sports centre, which stood at 13% when I took over. After going to local Caribbean centres and the local Gurdwara, I identified small changes to make a difference. These included streetlights and women’s only sessions with incentives. We saw participation rise to 33% for women and participation for males maintained. Secondly, in terms of activities, we increased the charges for men’s football to discount women’s club activity including netball and basketball. The latter was a team I coached, and I learnt loads about the indirect discrimination those with black heritage faced.
| This was my steep learning curve and since then I have developed and delivered many resources and training materials based on my experiences. I continue to upskill my own knowledge and I am always keen to get the views of people with a different heritage through their lived experience. This video is a great example of showcasing lived experiences of individuals who have been successful in the sport sector. View the video here. |  |
What has improved?
Open discrimination, negative language, and terminology in the media and in the public has reduced. However, a long way to go. I wanted to share the learning that makes me conclude that education is essential if not the key.
Let’s look at history and identify why certain aspects and actions in society are discriminatory and offensive to Black people, that for White people it appears surprising.
History shouldn’t be forgotten or repeated, but by understanding what has been, we can empathise with why people feel offended. I have learnt over the years why hair is so important to Black people, and how acceptable language has evolved.
From the 1700s the slave trade started, and the Kings of England were the first to blockade West Africa, so the UK could benefit from this cheap labour to produce food and goods in the southern states of America and the Caribbean.
When slavery started hair was a status symbol in West Africa, but the slavers shaved all heads before forcing people onto ships heading west. In slavery, women grew their hair and used plates and beads as a sign of defiance, and of course, slave owners changed that. To this day there are companies in the Southern States of America that state, in employment terms, that nobody can have platted or beaded hair. Things often seem too slow to change and sport needs to be more proactive and responsive to meet the needs of diverse communities. Black hair is more liable to damage in chlorine so swimming hats must be tight around the head and the Black Swimming Association have recently gained approval by FINA for their recommended hat. Check it out for more info.
Appropriate and non-offensive language is another key area to consider. So, let’s look at the “n” word. Why can black people use the “n” word in songs but a white person cannot use this word? Well, it’s all about “power”. Racism is in my view, about the assertion of power. Historically, White people decided that this was a word to call Black people in a derogatory way without agreeing with Black people if was OK. If Black People choose to use it within their own friendship group, there is no assertion of power.
Does “free” speech mean we can say what we want? I am sure you have seen or heard people use the phrase “I am not racist but…..”. There has not been any occasion in my experience where this sentence has ended well. I have heard the phrase related to free speech “I cannot be responsible for how you deal with what I say”. Well, actually you are, due to the Equality Act. It is on the receiver to decide whether they are offended. Social media has been spotlighted for this – in particular the West Brom supporter who got 6 weeks in prison and lost his job (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-59180875). We must, in my view, be respectful and considerate of the person on the receiving end and make every effort not to offend.
Rightly, we are now considering how to engage and involve a more representative reflection of society in everything we do and say. However, there is still a long way to go.
I hope this short article stimulates debate and self-reflection and how still we need to work extremely hard to culturally affect change through education and awareness. It is positive now to see there are longer-term funded projects within sport that can positively affect change. However, I do believe it is on all of us to learn through our own experiences, as well as listen to other lived experiences.
