Black History Month 2022 at the MOD

Here at the MOD, we believe that to build a better tomorrow we need to acknowledge the past and learn from it, but real change for the future will come through action, not words. We need to move beyond short-term or talking the talk to taking real, long-term actions. This might mean creating impactful policy changes, improving learning and development or thinking about what you can do as an individual to create change.

Black History Month is a chance to celebrate and learn from our colleagues’ black history, heritage and culture and the legacy of iconic figures. But it is so much more than a time to reflect on the past. It is a chance to see what Defence is doing now to build a better tomorrow and to look to the future and understand what actions we can take to enact change.

This year Defence has taken great strides forward setting up a cross Defence Race Equity Programme to cohere all race-related actions. As part of this we delivered a clear and visible mandate for change with the Race Action Plan, which will be delivered in two phases and focuses on increasing representation, improving progression and retention, improving services and making Defence a better place to work.

The action plan sets out tangible actions which will be monitored to make sure the words in the plan become actions. It also highlights the role everyone can play in driving race equality across Defence and creating a workplace where everyone is committed to equality and diversity for all.

A message from Major General Paul R Griffiths, Director Personnel, Army Headquarters:

“The enduring relevance of Black History Month (BHM) lies in the continued need to understand our history, and both recognise and celebrate the people who have been marginalised or overlooked by history. Each generation will write its own history and re-evaluate the past. An honest understanding of the past ‒ including the forgotten and neglected accounts ‒ builds a stronger organisation and shapes how we move forward.

“Diverse teams are still one of the best ways to build and foster understanding of all our people and their needs and it maximises the organisation’s outputs, the effectiveness of the Army and our Armed Forces. While Black history should and can be celebrated year-round, BHM offers a focused opportunity to prioritise our engagement with Black history. It brings context and allows us to understand why we are the society we are and to explain how we wish to be in future.

It is an opportunity to develop the understanding of Black histories (which is British history) that goes beyond the stories of slavery and racism and celebrates leaders, activists, achievers, and contributors.”