Editors Letter – March

As February draws to a close, I’ve enjoyed the array of BHM 2024 content that had swept over here from America.

As someone who believes Black History Month should be every month, it’s a great excuse to celebrate and acknowledge Black history, black excellence, black stories and black figures all over again.

Black Wall St Media was packed with Black History Month contributions that covered everything from Dunbar’s musical odyssey, to the entrepreneurial spirit of Frederick Massiah and the life and legacy of Afeni Shakur.

As with almost everything, American Black History Month inspired the U.K. Black History Month, so I think we still look to them to set the precedent. More than that though, Black History Month is simply a bigger deal in America.  

Presidents even make a yearly proclamation in reference to the month, which has never happened here. It has also been pointed out that BHM interest and funding actually saw a decline in 2012. Islington, Lewisham and Wandsworth, to make just a few London boroughs, have decreased their BHM budgets by as much as 70%.

This makes me think of just how many important events, issues, charities and organisations rely on funding to truly shine and just how many crucial elements of communities are neglected and overlooked when funding is cut.

The real victims of funding cuts have for too long included projects related to gender, disability, race and ethnicity, the LGBT+ community and more. More and more, we need Inclusion and Diversity Funds that provide financial support for innovative products, charities, activities and research projects.

A central issue is that Black and minority communities are not represented where decisions on funding and support are being made.

So, I was inspired by several articles in Black Wall St Media in February. The first was by Gabrielle Wyatt who wrote,  “Empower Black women leaders to dream big and build lasting change! Join the movement for sustainable investment, inclusivity, and generational impact. Let’s reshape philanthropy and support Black women in imagining and creating a better world.”

Her article looked back to understand how we invest in Black women, and reflected on our culture’s approach to funding Black women from past to present. Her article reminded us that Black women have been—and still are—trailblazers in philanthropy, centering collectivism to advance social change. 

Talk is cheap. Showing us that action is everything in this edition was social investor

Key Fund who are breaking barriers, by spearheading Inclusive Investments for Social Entrepreneurs. In a pioneering move, social investor Key Fund is actively working to address barriers faced by social entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities.

This initiative is a response to ongoing research from the Black United Representation Network (BURN), revealing a significant gap in investment accessibility for ethnic minority businesses in Manchester.

Lastly, a transformative mission to address economic disparities within the United Kingdom’s Black community.

Three black entrepreneurs have officially launched Cashblack – “the platform that rewards you with cashback for supporting Black-owned businesses!” This initiative has my fullest support as it’s exactly what is needed.

As we step in to International Women’s Day 2024, the theme is ‘Inspire inclusion’. The campaign recommends areas for action to improve inclusion, such as: forging women’s economic empowerment.

I’m thrilled this is the theme this year but it really does require companies and government to put its money where its mouth is to effect real change.

So as much as I’m looking forward to a month that’s focused on the advancement of women, I’m also hoping to see more than just motivational talks. Let’s talk the talk, and walk the walk.