Celebrating Black History Month

My name is Rhiana Dennis-Small and I am an Economist working in the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.?

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Black History Month (BHM) is important to me as it is a time where members of the black community finally have a safe space to openly discuss our challenges and celebrate our successes more widely. It is also a time where we can look back and celebrate those in history who paved the way for future generations, but unfortunately did not get the recognition that they deserved. This years’ 2024 BHM theme is “Reclaiming Narratives”. This theme is very powerful, as it means taking back control on the narratives that we’ve had to live with, so that we can finally set the record straight.??

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Majority of the time, we cannot bring our entire personalities to work in fear of being judged by the stereotypes or historical narratives made. This is particularly true in leadership positions where having a voice can be seen as “aggressive”, or you are not seen as equal to your counterparts no matter how hard you try. A big part of BHM that makes it so significant is the networking and sharing aspect. This helps everyone feel supported, whether they are just starting on their journey, or further along but feeling a bit stuck currently.?

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The Civil Service Race Forum (CSRF) is important to me personally as I was able to meet those who helped and invested in me. I learnt about the CSRF during a black history month event they put on years ago, and I was automatically embraced by their community. The members I met and the mentors I had, all made me feel heard and seen. They took me in and provided me with a safe space to grow and progress. Being the first one in my family to achieve certain levels has been challenging, as I’ve had to figure out a lot on the way by myself, and I most certainly haven’t always got it right. But I am only this far in my career due to the mentors and support system I was able to form from the Civil Service (CS) Black community.??

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Through making these connections with others, I’ve been inspired to make a difference for those following the same journey I did. Last year, I went to the first Black in Government Gala founded by the chair of the Black Womens’ Working Group. I had the most amazing time but was discouraged by the number of analysts I saw who attended. This is because those from the other professions e.g. policy, law etc. seemed very united on the evening (which was beautiful to see!) and I realised that we don’t have that same core community for CS Black analysts. After this, I decided to set up the Black Analyst Forum, a Civil Service internal network, aimed at addressing the issues black analysts face within the Civil Service specifically. If you’d like to know more, please contact [email protected], as we have several Black History Month events that we are putting on this year.??

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To conclude, Black History Month is a time to celebrate and learn. It is everyone’s’ responsibility to take on, especially those who set the tone and culture in our workplace environment. Where there is an opportunity to learn and celebrate Black History/Culture, I think everyone should be taking it. We should be ensuring that all colleagues for all backgrounds feel acknowledged, included and valued in their teams. Every year BHM gets better, and I hope that the voices heard this month will leave a long-lasting impact to create a more inclusive Civil Service.?

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