By Drew Christie
What does October mean to you – clocks going back? The realisation that Winter is coming once again? Halloween?
It’s all those things and more, and that ‘more’ is Black History Month. 31 days for us to celebrate all that people of African and Caribbean descent have contributed to this country – and the world – from antiquity up to the present day
Put like that, it doesn’t seem anywhere enough, does it? Because it isn’t.
As Chair of BCOMS (the Black Collective of Media in Sport), we try to celebrate and elevate Black excellence in sports media all day, every day. Which isn’t always easy, as an unfunded, voluntary organisation.
Through our masterclasses for young talent, opportunity sharing, network building and relationships with industry leaders, we aim to be a conduit between our communities and the UK sports media that knows it needs to diversify to survive and thrive in a new time.
This is the era of Black Lives Matter, and a generation that feels rightly emboldened to demand a fairer, more equitable society for all people, and across all sectors.
We hope our part of the UK puzzle – the sports media industry – keeps its word and strives to embrace the change that we all recognise is necessary.
We’ll see a flood of activity this October, as we do every year. But Black History – and Black Lives – are not only about 31 days once every Autumn.
We’re important each and every day. And at BCOMS we’ll keep pushing that message, as we’ve done 24/7, 365 for the past 10 years.
Happy Black History Month.
#BlackLivesMatter
Drew Christie is the inaugural Chair of the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS). Now a freelance producer, Drew has worked for the BBC, Endemol, Abu Dhabi Media and Sport360 in his 20-year career. You can follow him on Twitter @MrDrewChristie.
