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When I first thought of writing this, my inclination was to write; ‘Heroes and villains of 2020’, but as quickly as that thought came to me it was instantly banished. Given all the heartbreak and awfulness that many have endured, some much more than others, I thought it best to focus on the remarkable people who have emerged during this dramatic year, not the nasty, heartless unforgiving individuals who seem to take centre stage even when we are trying to celebrate.

Birmingham City Council will name a street after the City's first Black Councillor, Bert Carless. 'Bert Carless Way' will be the name given to what will soon be a new road within the Perry Barr Residential Scheme.

For Black students interested in computer science and soon preparing to head off to University, a surprise announcement from gaming publisher Ubisoft may turn heads toward Newcastle. This is because they have announced the launch of a new scholarship which will see two black studying computer Science at Newcastle University eligible for a three-year programme of support from Universities prestigious school of computing, in 2021.

The Race and Ethnic Disparities report into racial inequality has been pushed back to Spring 2021 due to delays caused by Covid-19. The report had been commissioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests which were sparked by the death of George Floyd. It had originally been scheduled for release at the end of this year, with the commission being headed by Tony Sewell.

The Home Office has responded to criticism of the Windrush Compensation scheme with an announcement from Home Secretary Priti Patel promising to implement significant changes to the scheme.

The new changes have pledged to increase the minimum compensation from £250 to £10,000 - a forty fold increase on the current figure. Additionally, individuals applying for the scheme will receive quicker responses to claims under new preliminary payments.

The adage reminding us that 'time flies' is often used as a stern reminder to make use of the time which we have left. However, for those fortunate enough to use that time well, the phrase stands as a remembrance to diligence and achievement.

The wandering carousel of constant zoom meetings has been exhausting, to say the least. It had taken me to New York, London and back again all within the space of a week and I was at my wits’ end. Yet just when I was so fed up with online meetings that I was ready to throw the iPad into the local pond, along came a long-anticipated engagement with Serlina Boyd, Founder and Publishing Director at Cocoa Publishing, the UK’s first black children's magazine!

I hadn’t heard of the botanist James Wong until today, but I imagine he’s not having the most pleasant of weekends.

The presenter of BBC gardening programmes has said that the British horticultural world is doing itself a racial dis-service by the terminology it adopts, highlighting the use of terms like “heritage” and “native”.

You may have missed it but amidst the slew of new shows announced by Disney was the announcement that the entertainment behemoth has partnered with Kugali media, a comic book publisher founded by three friends of Ugandan and Nigerian descent.