As the SNP's Westminster Spokesperson on Women and Equalities and simply as me, someone who really cares about this stuff, I was so happy to be able to speak in this debate.
The debate was 'that this House has considered Black History Month' (BHM) and it was a backbench business debate in the name of Abena OPPONG-ASARE, the MP for Erith and Thamesmead.
I was surprised that it was a DEBATE. I assumed there would be lots of consensus but instead there was quite a bit of rancour coming from the Tory benches including an unnecessarily snide intervention on myself which you'll see if you take a look at section 3 of my speech.
It's in 3 sections so you can watch the bits that are of most interest to you.
Section 1 is the WHAT of Black History Month where I talk about what it means to me and this part includes my thoughts on what decolonising the education curriculum actually means.
Section 2 is the WHY of Black History Month - WHY is it important that we acknowledge and celebrate black history? What difference does it make? Take a look to find out why and hear how I think racism would be on its way out if we did this.
Section 3 is the WHO of Black History Month - who am I talking about? Who are these figures in black history who've been 'whitewashed' out of existence? (If you're a Scotland football fan, you might want to watch this as I go down 'memory' lane to the heady days of defeating other teams.)
I want to make a final point. I AM not, I COULD not and I WANT not to lead any of the campaigns on black history or racism. I am white. I have never and will never experience racism. I hope to be the strongest possible ally to my black friends, family and colleagues in the campaigns that they lead.
PS The picture shows me and my wonderful God Daughter Toniann who features in section 3 of the speech.
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