We discuss Black History Month with Sy Joshua, who leads our work to ensure the RSPB is as welcoming to everyone as possible.
I was born and raised in South Wales near Cardiff. My ethnic heritage is from Cuba, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and the little Island of Aruba in the Caribbean. I’ve grown up with a strong connection to coastal wildlife and nature both here and overseas, always mesmerised by the sight of frigates, hummingbirds and the Kestrels that live near me in South Wales.
From as far back as I can remember, I've always been passionate and vocal about social justice, particularly racial justice. Unfortunately, this has been shaped by personal experiences of racism. Throughout my work career I have chosen to tackle exclusion and improve access. Prior to joining the RSPB in February, I was Head of Operations at the UK based charity Race Equality First.
What’s this got to do the RSPB? Well, Black and ethnic minority people are disproportionately affected by climate change, significantly under-represented in the conservation sector workforce and often not in the room when responses to the nature and climate emergency are being discussed. My role is to drive change towards achieving race equity ensuring that we at the RSPB, save nature through people: all people.
The chart below shows the racial diversity gap between the UK working population and staff in 91 environment, conservation, climate and sustainability charities. The RSPB has signed up to the RACE Report Initiative to address this gap.
Black History Month is a time to honour and acknowledge the historical contributions and achievements of Black people within communities.
This year we’re exploring blackhistorymonth.org.uk’s powerful theme of “Recognising the Achievements of Black Women in Movements”. It’s through Black History Month, that we acknowledge Black women such as Wangari Maathai, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for sustainable development.
Over the month we’re providing opportunities to reflect on the rich and diverse heritage of Black women while shedding light on accomplishments which often have been blurred or erased from history.
For us at the RSPB, Black History Month represents an opportunity to shine a light on the contributions and achievements that Black people make in conservation and in society. This can be a great way to inspire people, particularly our Black supporters and staff.
But we know it's not enough to just do this for one month a year.
We know that the conservation sector is one of the least ethnicity diverse sectors in UK society. We understand that widening ethnic minority access cannot be reduced to one month of the year. We recognise that we need do more and we’re working internally and with partners throughout the year to improve opportunities for everyone to spend time in nature and to ensure that everyone has the chance to act for nature.
We are working to ensure that everyone can be a part of our movement because we need as many people as possible on nature’s side.
Involving people from diverse backgrounds and communities is important not only for bringing in a range of experiences and perspectives but also increases our reach more generally, growing the conservation movement.
You can find out more about the RSPB’s Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here. This commitment underpins the work we do to save nature. We are in a nature and climate emergency, and we need to save nature through people: all people.
