BWC marks Race Equality Week 2025
Here at BWC we are proud to mark Race Equality week with various in person and online events for our colleagues including a visit from Richard Grant: Dreadlock Alien and the 10th Birmingham Poet Laureate, and the Race Equality Matters Five-Day challenge, which families can get involved with.
Race Equality week aims to open opportunities for conversations surrounding anti-racism, allyship, and culture. We are also aiming for our patients and families to be included within this approach through addressing health inequalities and support we offer.
This year’s theme for Race Equality Week is ‘Every Action Counts’ and this is why we are taking time to reflect and see how as a Trust we can improve colleague, patient’s and families experiences.
2025 marks three years since we launched the See Me first campaign. See Me First was introduced by our GUARDIANS Network to support all our colleagues, patients and families across our Trust. It works by colleagues making a commitment to treat everyone with dignity and with respect and in the words on Dr Martin Luther King that ‘people should not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the contents of their character.’ The national campaign is being showcased at the Science Museum (Search our collection | Science Museum Group Collection) as it pioneers key important changes for Race Equality. This is again part of our anti-discrimination approach as every action counts.
GUARDIANs Network are encouraging everyone to think about being ambitious, speaking up for what we believe in; be brave, challenging conversations may need to be had; and be compassionate, by showing respect and kindness to all staff, patients and families. Families are encouraged to think about this in their own communities across the West Midlands and beyond.
Colleagues are being asked to take part in a five-day challenge. This involves taking five minutes out of your day each day of the week to reflect on diversity, intersectionality, inclusive language, code switching, equality and an anti-racism approach with the See Me First Pledge. The reflection means we can take action to make changes and can see what we can do to make things better. During the week people can share their thoughts on social media using #RaceEqualityMatters about their experiences of code switching and masking their culture because of societal norms. As a Trust we are committed to educating ourselves to be able to provide an inclusive service, meeting the needs of our patients. .
Earlier this week our chaplain Rev. Cassius Francis joined other NHS colleagues in a local book launch of Black Grief and Healing. Rev Francis contributed a chapter to a book surrounding race equality. His section is a personal reflection about his experience of the pandemic in 2020, a family bereavement during that time, having a parent in hospital and his role as a minister supporting other families. You can find the book, Black Grief and Healing - https://uk.jkp.com/products/black-grief-and-healing online.
Remember to take up your challenge and make ‘Every Action Count’.