09 Sep You didn’t come this far just to come this far

If I were to choose the most talked about topics in my LinkedIn and Twitter feed this last year (2018), it would be race and equality. As the discussions around these issues gained momentum, I have discerned voices seasoned with frustration, hurt, pain and, bewilderment crying out for relief from the injustices of discrimination. 

Bone deep weariness

Disturbingly, I have also heard voices of those filled with a bone-deep weariness bordering on resignation. When will effective action be taken on reports that prove time and time again, what is already known? Inequal treatment exists, it is systemic, it is deep-rooted and, it is deeply damaging.  

In the early hours of last Tuesday morning, I woke up thinking about the injustices particularly around race and, I recalled a talk I had given at a BME general meeting four years ago, (we’ll come back to that in a moment.) Simultaneously I remembered these words from a song by the gospel recording artists Mary Mary.

I just can’t give up now,

I’ve come too far from where,

I started from,

Nobody told me,

The road would be easy,

And I don’t believe He’s brought me this far,

To leave me.

The just nurse

Quick on the heels of those words, I remembered a senior white nurse who rendered the outcome of no case to answer in favour of a black HCA, irrespective of criticism. Her actions – a reminder that although discrimination abounds, so does justice. I said earlier that we would come back to the talk I gave at a BME general meeting four years ago. I believe God wants me to share it with you. Here it is:

Answering the call

“Black history month is about celebrating, recognising and valuing the contributions of inspirational individuals and events from black communities. Take my grandparents as an example of their generation. It’s the 1950’s, and Britain’s economy is suffering from high labour shortages. The British government looks overseas to the colonies for assistance, and they encouraged migration to fill many job vacancies.

Like 100,000’s from the Caribbean, South Asia, and Africa, my grandparents, answer the call – many worked in the public sector. My grandmother worked as a cleaner for 18 years at Kings College Hospital. My father-in-law worked for London Transport.

Pioneers

So they arrive in this country, but I wonder how many of them realised they, would-be pioneers. They had to go before us and break new ground. The ‘ground’ or the circumstances they faced were a hostile, dry, compacted culture that at the time with minimum yields – many faced racism, discrimination, and injustice. It wasn’t uncommon for whole families to live in one room.

They didn’t have the protections in law that we have today or the promotion of equality or indeed, the amenities or services we take for granted. If they were called the N-word, there wasn’t much recourse open to them. I imagine that many of them had to bite their tongues because they had children to feed. But, here’s the thing, I love about this generation, despite the difficulties and hardships they were creatively creative, and they were resilient. Take, for example:

• They developed their own housing system (my grandparents rented out rooms in the house they owned to other families, and when those families saved enough for a deposit, they bought their own homes.)
• They had a childcare system.
• They had a financial system called pardner.
• They had a cohesive community.
• They had an intelligence system – if you were up to something while out playing or on the road news got back to them before we got home.
• They demanded social etiquette (your greeting to adults better start with Good Morning or Good afternoon, Mr. or Mrs. so and so on)

Breaking through?

Now, fast forward to 2005/2006, I’m attending the Breaking Through Conference hosted by the Department of Health (DH) with a colleague. Delegates began to share their experience of unfair treatment, injustice, and discrimination with the team from (DH). I felt their pain despite being seated some distance away. One of the delegates said she had to pay their delegate fee (£35) to attend. My mouth dropped open. One of the team members from DH asked who else had to pay their fee? To his surprise, tens of delegates stood up. Immediately, he committed that they would be reimbursed.

When I left the conference, my thoughts were not on discrimination, injustice or anything like that. No, I was saddened. I thought to myself they (the delegates) had knowledge, skills, and abilities they were not drawing on. For example, many of them could have formed a social enterprise and ran the services they were delivering.

So, what happened between the generations that came over in the ’50s and ’60s and the generation represented at the conference. These are my personal views:

• They had become despondent.
• They believed if they studied and worked hard, they would be rewarded.
• The community that pulled together in times of difficulty were not as strong as in previous generations.
• They became focused on the treatment they had received instead of strategising a plan for the future

Putting the courage back in

A fundamental start to any plan in any area of your life is to know who you are. I asked them “have you met you?” Then I gave them these charges from my inspirational range ‘Encouraging You To Be Your Best’:

• There is only one of you.  Make you count.
• It’s ok to say you are a work in progress, as long as you are progressing.
• Confidantes are in your most intimate circle. Choose them very wisely and treat them well. Find confidantes.
• In pressurising situations, you sometimes need the gift of laughter. It’s not that the situation itself is funny; it’s that laughter relieves the pressure.
• Opposition can either promote you or demote you. It’s all a matter of choice.
• The truth is as much as I have encouragers, I am the deciding factor. You are the deciding factor.

 As I talked, I saw heads nodding, smiles, reflective looks and, even laughter. I saw people shift from despondency to the possibility that they were more than what they thought.

Standing on the shoulders of greatness

I don’t know what your experiences have been or how they have affected you. However, I do know that we stand on the shoulders of those who pioneered in the face of discrimination, who defied isms and schisms, showing courage, resilience and creatively. That legacy lives on.

The SAS motto

The SAS motto is “Who Dares Wins.”

Dare to:

• Refuse discrimination to define you.
• Refuse discrimination to hinder you.
• Refuse discrimination to embitter you.
• Throw off self-imposed or otherwise imposed limitations.
• Believe you can and will achieve your dreams.
• Strategise a plan for your future an execute it.
• Convert bias from a stumbling block to a stepping stone.
• Return to school and, apply for that job or promotion.

As you dare, keep in mind that you didn’t come this far just to come this far. Surpass isms, surpass schisms, keep going and dare greatly. Someone is watching and, waiting to stand on your shoulders. Journey well.

© Dawn H Jones is an HR Specialist.

Initially published on 9 December 2018; slight revisions 9 September 2020.

Please note that this post does not constitute specific HR or employment law advice if you require help please contact an appropriately qualified professional or drop me an email info@hopeplace.co.uk