Last year, I wrote that Black Lives Matter protests around the world had sparked a commitment among many individuals and organisations to educate themselves about Black history, heritage and culture – as part of understanding racism and standing in solidarity against it. So a year on, has anything changed for the better?

The resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, following George Floyd’s murder and the conviction of the police officer Derek Chauvin a powerful reminder of an ongoing universal human rights campaign, with more and more white people fully embracing the notion that structural racism is not a figment of black people’s imagination.

During Black History Month, I want us to tell the stories of those less well-known individuals who we will forget if we don’t showcase them. Where people have been excluded, it is right that we highlight them so their valuable contributions to that evolution are not forgotten.

Black History Month is a good opportunity to reflect on what more needs to be done in order to ensure that our education system is fit for purpose. The challenge is to prepare by a policy of inclusion rather than exclusion all young people to thrive in a diverse and multi polar world in which no region or race holds sway over all others