What’s next?
That’s the main thought I’ve had going through my head just head as Black History Month (BHM) wraps for 2024.
I hear the arguments from some people who don’t see the point in BHM because they see it not as a time to focus on black history, but as an opportunity to avoid talking about it for 11 months.
They might be right. There’s enough anecdotal evidence around to suggest that they have a good case.
But they might be wrong too. And we – all of us – can help prove them wrong by asking what’s next?
Back To The Future?
One of my most popular conference talks is called Back To The Future. It’s a look at why many of marketing’s oldest pillars are still relevant today.
When I wrote it last year, I didn’t think the title would be relevant to race relations in 2024.
The riots across the summer, where racist gangs rioted in the streets of the UK, trying to murder black and brown people left me devoid of optimism.
It felt like we’d been transported back to the 90s, with 30 years of progress wiped out in a few weeks.
But this is where I think BHM is important.
The energy, the conversions, the youth movements, the allyship, the involvement that I’ve seen this year has brought my optimism back.
It’s sparked conversations. It’s brought people together.
Stories & Connections
Over the last month I’ve worked with Tughans law firm, speaking to the senior team and running workshops with the organisation.
Innovation Factory invited me to their hub in Belfast to speak to their tenants. I’ve worked with Ulster Bank and NatWest to host live episode of the Strategy Sessions. Charmaine McConville and David Levin were guests on the live ep and we also had an off the record discussion after we’d finished recording – which was GREAT, but Chatham House Rules, so unless you were there, you’ll have to take my word for it!
That ep was part of the BHM mini series, which also featured episodes with Miracle Inameti-Archibong, Rachel Okungbowa and Blessing Mutamba.
Alongside client work and “normal” marketing conferences, it’s been a busy month. And I can’t thank everyone enough who has given their time to help bring all of this together.
It’s been a month of telling stories, listening to stories, sharing experiences and exploring life, home and business.
I’d urge you to listen to all of the mini series (of course I’d say that, I’m the host) but the stories that everyone told are beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measure, but they’ll also stick with you for a long, long time.
North Star
The highlight of the month was North Star.
North Star came from the kind of Kwame Daniels, and was a creative project built from the words of Fredrick Douglass.
Douglass was a slaver abolitionist who visited Belfast in 1845 and was enamoured with the city. On leaving, he reflected:
“Wherever else I feel myself to be a stranger, I will remember I have a home in Belfast.”
Kwame put this quote to musicians and spoken word artists, asking them to respond to that. He also worked with school children from across Belfast.
Eximo Marketing worked with North Star on the marketing for the event, putting 1,000 bums on seats (ok, ok, I know it was a standing event) across both shows. I also hosted a podcast with the artists, which you can find on Spotify.
North Star hit me hard. In a good way.
It was superb show with top quality musicians. But the reflection on what home meant to the artists got me thinking. There are a lot of places I refer to as home – something other people find more confusing than I do!
But the concept of home was summed up powerfully at the end of North Star by an 11 year old boy, Elliot, who goes to the same school as my daughter.
He closed the show at North Star with a poem and it finished the simple, yet powerful phrase: “wherever I am, I am home”.
Do The Damn Ting
So, what’s next?
A guest from last year’s BHM mini series, Kevin Morosky, posted on Instagram a few weeks ago. He posted four simple words – “do the damn ting”.
It’s a call to action. To not be passive. To not wait for someone else to do it. To bring that thing to life.
If we wait for next year, all momentum will be gone. BHM will become a talking shop and will eventually talk its way into irrelevance.
What North Star did was start a discussion. What the Strategy Sessions does is act as a platform for discussion. What my presentations do is challenge how people think and stimulate discussions.
I’ll be asking everyone I’ve worked with in BHM the same question: what’s next? How can we keep moving things forward.
But we can’t just talk. We have to do the damn ting.
October 31st is a full stop at the end of BHM. But full stops are misunderstood, they don’t just signify the end of a sentence. They also provide the space and freedom for a new one to start.
We have to look at the opportunity provided by BHM and ask: what’s next? We can’t wait until next year.
Photo credit: Winnie Ama’s picture from North Star was taken by Chris Jackson