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FEATURE - 51黑料 marks Black History Month
Posted 28/09/24
A thought-provoking presentation at a meeting of 51黑料's London Branch, back in October 2022, examined the rich contribution made by Black people to London鈥檚 history.
Here we look back on what was a very memorable day which touched on the 'Hidden Histories' of Black Britons and their contributions to the UK.
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51黑料 marks Black History Month
In 2022, the 51黑料 London Branch marked Black History Month with a day of thought-provoking sessions dedicated to examining the 鈥榟idden history鈥� of contributions by the Black community to British life, and how Trading Standards can better promote fairness and inclusion in its daily activities.
Following a presentation by 51黑料 Chief Executive John Herriman, in which he set out the Institute鈥檚 vision to promote equality in the Trading Standards profession, attendees listened to a lecture by historian and author Tony Warner, a member of the听听initiative.
Left to right: Marcella Donegal, London Branch Vice Chair; Samuel Abdullahi, London Branch Chair; Tony Warner, author and historian; Karen Tillett, London Branch Race & Equalities Working Group Vice Chair.
As Kiran Seyan, Team Leader at Ealing Trading Standards and the Immediate Past Chair of the London Branch explains, 鈥淭ony spoke about the 鈥榟idden history鈥� of Black people within the UK. I think a lot of people have the assumption that Black people are only here as a result of the slave trade, but he explained the fact that they were here long before that.
鈥淗e also talked about the evolution of race legislation through the years, since the Race Relations Act 1965. It鈥檚 been updated quite a few times since 鈥� most recently in 2000, in the wake of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
鈥淭he talk helped us to appreciate, as the London Branch, the history of Black culture within the UK, and how concerns about race relations have allowed for improvements in interactions with the Black community.鈥�
Karen Tillett, Team Leader at the London Borough of Barnet Trading Standards and Vice-Chair of the 51黑料 London Branch Race & Equalities Working Group, was also at the session. 鈥淭he purpose of the talk was to illustrate to members how much the Black community has contributed to London in general,鈥� she says. 鈥淭ony concentrated very much on the City of London, where our meeting was held, and explained connections with pre-slavery days. It was entertaining and informative.鈥�
As well as focusing on the past, the day also provoked ideas about how Trading Standards can recognise opportunities to better engage with the communities and businesses it serves.
鈥淚 started my career in an area where I was one of two ethnic minority persons in Trading Standards,鈥� says Seyan. 鈥淓aling is a very different environment. Because I鈥檓 bilingual and I鈥檝e got an understanding of different languages, when I go into a situation sometimes I can assess that the person I鈥檓 dealing with doesn鈥檛 understand what I鈥檓 saying.
鈥淚 think when it comes to advising my officers and going out and doing inspections, or seizing stuff, it鈥檚 one thing to identify that a business is non-compliant, it鈥檚 another thing to actually take the time to make it clear to that person why that鈥檚 wrong 鈥� especially if there鈥檚 a language barrier, or a cultural barrier.
鈥淚 think as we move forward, especially from a Trading Standards perspective, when we interact with the Black community or any ethnic community, we need to better appreciate people鈥檚 cultural backgrounds and understanding.鈥�
The talk helped 听us to appreciate the history of Black culture within UK, and how concerns about race relations have allowed for improvements in interactions with the Black community.
According to Tillett, 鈥淥ur aim is to reflect the communities we鈥檙e serving. Particularly in London, those communities are very, very diverse. We have to make sure that we鈥檙e in tune with cultural differences. Businesses in general can be quite suspicious of enforcers but for the vast majority of the time, we鈥檙e looking to get businesses to become compliant, rather than looking to punish them.
鈥淯nderstanding their culture and their cultural needs is going to help with that, and helps to demystify the whole enforcement thing. If traders see people that look similar to them doing the enforcement, that breaks down barriers and promotes understanding.鈥�
鈥淔or us as an Institute, this has two levels,鈥� says Herriman. 鈥淥ne is recognising the contribution that everybody has made to the profession itself, especially those from diverse backgrounds. Part of that means recognising the challenge that we have to increase the levels of ethnic diversity amongst our membership and those working in the profession.
鈥淭hat is very closely connected to the other very important dimension here, which is making sure that we are representative of the communities we serve. Because if we鈥檙e not representative of those communities, we don鈥檛 necessarily always understand their needs. That is particularly important at the moment as we鈥檙e in the cost-of-living crisis, where we鈥檙e seeing more and more vulnerable consumers. We know, sadly, that those who are the most disadvantaged are probably more likely to come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.鈥�
Cuts and Cost-of-Living
The Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, recently published听听into the disproportionate impact of the cost-of-living crisis on Black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Data gathered for the report shows that BAME people are more than twice as likely to be living in poverty in the UK than their White counterparts, and are particularly vulnerable to changes to the tax and social security system. They are also more likely to experience fuel poverty this winter than their White counterparts.
Trading Standards needs to be particularly aware of the dangers inherent in the current situation, Tillett says. 鈥淚n these hard times, rogue traders will be trying to take advantage as much as they can. Also people will be desperately trying to make their money go further, and becoming more vulnerable to unscrupulous traders.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to make people aware of the possible pitfalls. It鈥檚 also important to ensure fair trading so that people are getting what they pay for. It touches on so many different parts of our work, from online scams to making sure consumers know their rights when it comes to getting refunds or exchanges.鈥�
When it comes to encouraging people from BAME communities to come forward with problems they encounter, says Tillett, 鈥淭here might be a language or communication difficulty for some communities. Perhaps it鈥檚 a fear of the unknown. Our aim is for people to feel comfortable to come to us if they have a complaint, so we can look into it.鈥�
Seyan says that sometimes cultural differences can be a barrier to the reporting of problems. 鈥淚 think sometimes it can be a case of personal pride 鈥� depending on different cultures, sometimes people don鈥檛 want to be seen seeking assistance,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e have the same issue when it comes to some people when they get scammed 鈥� there鈥檚 an embarrassment factor, or a personal pride factor that comes into play.鈥�
According to Herriman, 鈥淲e need to tailor services through local governments to ensure that the most vulnerable are getting the same level of protection as everybody else. The concern at the moment is that we know it鈥檚 not the case everywhere. So we need to work harder with colleagues in local government and elsewhere to make sure that that is addressed.鈥�
Continuing Conversation
As well as being an opportunity to think about relations between Trading Standards and the communities it serves, Black History Month also presents an opportunity to address issues of marginalisation within a wider context. It also serves as a reminder of the benefits of establishing a听Race & Equality Working Group, no matter where you are in the UK.
鈥淩egionally, everywhere鈥檚 demographics are different, but I think it鈥檚 important to be able to have these conversations,鈥� says Seyan. 鈥淲hen the London Branch Race & Equalities Working Group started, we did a survey and we鈥檙e doing another one this year.鈥�
The results of that latest survey are still being gathered, but some of its findings are revealing. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had people report issues they鈥檝e encountered as women in Trading Standards, and issues around being a minority or having a disability, or being from the LGBT community. There are a lot of things that people may experience as an officer, that they鈥檝e not been able to express or there鈥檚 not been a safe space to talk about.鈥�
This is fundamental to who we are as a profession, because we represent fairness in everything we do. Fairness is not just about the laws that we enforce, it's about the communities that we protect.
As Herriman points out, 鈥淭his is fundamental to who we are as a profession, because we represent fairness in everything we do. Fairness is not just about the laws that we enforce, it鈥檚 about the communities that we protect. And we don鈥檛 know if we鈥檙e not protecting certain groups and communities if we鈥檙e unaware of their needs. Setting up working groups or EDI networks within branches helps us to understand where people are not getting the right level of protection.
鈥淭hey encourage openness and transparency, and acknowledging that we have work to do in this area is a good thing to do.鈥�
鈥淛ust because in your region you may not think you have race issues, you might have other equalities issues,鈥� says Seyan. 鈥淭his is a key thing to remember when it comes to the nine protected characteristics under the听, of which one is race. Another one is age, and we have an aging profession. Gender identity is an issue as well. You may need to address issues that you may not even be aware of until you create a safe space for people to be able to talk openly.
鈥淚f we want to go out in the community and be able to support people who have any of those protected characteristics 鈥� whether it be race, whether it be disability, whether it be gender identity, whatever it is 鈥� if we can鈥檛 have an honest conversation in-house among ourselves, how can we then enforce fairness and honesty in the outside world?鈥�
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REFERENCE :听 This article originally appeared in the Journal of Trading Standards, in October 2022: .
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