Inspiring 5 Series: British Edition

I have a confession.

I am a believer in the power of shared experiences.

A true seeker of resonating tales.

I crave inspiration and require it daily.

So I treasure hunt for nuggets of wisdom and handfuls of fables and feed gracelessly off any offerings.

This is my addiction.

In my mind, I see life as one big testimony service. In which our failures and victories, our strengths and weaknesses, our mistakes made and lessons learned can be imparted with others in the spirit of encouragement and progress. At times we are the ones in the service who are sharing our journeys. Celebrating successes, creations and our respective enlightenment by both our words and our examples. At other times we are the ones on the receiving end, in the thick of our challenge and in desperate need of that glimmer of hope, that light at the end of the tunnel, that living proof that “we can make it” also.

And so I search.

As a woman, I generally find easier to identify with women’s stories. I find their chronicles of overcoming challenges or pioneering movements often speak to my inner visionary in an almost spiritual capacity.

A few days ago, my attention was drawn to a particular woman seen on American television sets daily, Soledad O’Brien. Soledad is a CNN morning anchor, who has been trailblazing for Black and Hispanic American journalists since the early nineties. A voice for many voiceless communities, she has reported on some of the world’s most tragic news stories, heart-wrenching tales and humanitarian issues. In addition, she is a woman who believes in using the opportunities that she has been given through her success, to her to sow back into society. Quite frankly – Soledad O’Brien is a lady after my own heart. After indulging in many hours of Internet research, placing her book “The Next Big Story” on my wish-list, and creating a mental storyboard on how I would interview her within the next year, it struck me – (oddly by surprise) that once again, a woman I was deeply inspired by, was – not – British.

Although this may not seem immediately alarming, as I ran through my mind of all the women whose journeys and achievements have touched me recently (Chimamanda Adichie, Ory Okollah and in particular, Melissa Harris-Perry), I could not help but noticed that there was significant void of women from my very own background who had affected me in the same way.

This absence could be explained by many factors, but it raised three main questions:

1) Is there a lack of outstanding BME (Black & Ethnic Minority) British women in my fields of interest (communication and politics)?

2) Am I not being exposed to outstanding BME British women in my fields of interest?

3) Have I been in my academic hole for far too long and have been blind to this plethora of BME British women doing extraordinary things?

In my opinion, the answer to all three questions is “yes”. But what does this mean for me?

MK Asante Jnr’s mantra encapsulates it beautifully:

“If you make an observation, you have an obligation”

And with that, I challenged a friend on Twitter (who faced a similar dilemma in the fields of business and entrepreneurship) to find five BME British women who have made significant progress in our respective fields in less than 24 hours. By the evening she had admittedly already beaten me to it (Find her list on Twitter: @Mdmflow), yet what was encouraging in that, was that she had found women that we both weren’t aware of, with incredible journeys.

However – I decided I was going to challenge myself one step further.

The challenge: To find and share five outstanding women every Friday (at least one British) for 365 days.

The aim: To encourage, inform and inspire. To give hope. To give light. And for these women to be the distant, virtual “aunties”, that some of us often so deeply need.

So here it begins.

1. Hannah Pool

Hannah is a writer, journalist and self-described “beauty-junkie” from a British-Eritrean background. She was born in the height of The First Eritrean Civil War, which led to her being adopted as a baby, leaving the continent to spend majority of her life in Britain. She has written for The Guardian for well over a decade, worked freelance for various mainstream publications and is the features editor for ARISE magazine. In addition she is one of the curators for an upcoming festival to be held at the Southbank Centre “African Utopia”.

Her memoir, “My Father’s Daughter” (which has been added to my wish-list) chronicles her powerful journey back to Eritrea and her brutally honest thoughts on reuniting with her birth family.

Three things that make her inspiring:

• Overcame issues with identity and belonging.

• Leading Black print journalist in Britain.

• Believer in the power of shared experiences.

Twitter: @HannahPool

2. Charlene White

Charlene White is a journalist and newsreader for ITN. She is from South East London (literally down the road from me) and started her journey in broadcasting with radio. For a while she had her own late night talk show on BBC London and moved into news reporting in the early 2000s.Towards the end of the last decade, she transitioned to ITV news and became one of our evening favourites on our screens.

Three things that make her inspiring:

• One of the few BME women to be seen on ITV – full stop.

• Her transition from radio to TV is particularly admirable. (Especially for something I one day aim to do)

• She has been involved with many workshops and programs that aim to encourage women from BME backgrounds to enter into the media.

Did I mention she is from down the road? Sigh.

Twitter: @CharleneWhite

3. Baroness Valerie Amos

Baroness Amos, where do I begin? She is currently the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Yes.

Before that, she was the British High Commissioner to Australia.

Yes.

More importantly, and perhaps more significantly she was the first black female cabinet minister, one of the first black female peers, the first black leader of the House of Lords.

YES.

There is not even space to give her all the credit she is due.

Three things that make her inspiring:

• She is the embodiment of the word “pioneer”.

• She has broken ground for BME women in the UK, with little public recognition.

• She is now impacting lives on an international scale.

I would like just five minutes with her please.

4. Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith is one of my favourite authors to date. Her writing style is impeccable, relatable and unique. Author of three novels, whilst many were completing their dissertations - she completed her first award winning book, “White Teeth” during her final year of university. Since then she has gone from success to success in her field, and has even taught creative writing at Columbia and NYU.

Three things that make her inspiring:

• Author of three incredible books (fourth due out this year – there’s that wish-list again)

• Since a young age she has displayed that she is undoubtedly gifted and wise beyond her years

• Her success is international, and her impact is translatable to many different cultures and backgrounds.

5. Sherry Dixon

Sherry Dixon is a wearer of many hats including: PR specialist, journalist, lecturer, public speaker, presenter and former editor for Pride Magazine. Sherry is specifically passionate about raising the platform for women of colour in the UK, and providing avenues for creating diversity within the media field.

Three things that make her inspiring:

• Expert multi-tasker, penetrating multiple areas within the media

• Always sowing back into society and creating opportunities to build fellow BME women.

• An all-round dedicated, persistent and hardworking woman

Twitter: @SherryADixon

So, there are my five women for this week. Hope one of you found some inspiration there. Look out for next Friday’s!