Seasonal Greetings from OBV

There’s no doubt that for many, including ourselves 2013 has been a tough year. It seems that in this present political/economic climate in which many BME individuals and groups have been particularly hit hard, organisations such as ourselves and others are doing more with a lot less resources.

We’ve always tried to be an organisation that is more proactive than reactive, and yet on a daily basis our phones ring with almost desperate individuals seeking help. (I guess back in the day many of these individuals would have called the CRE) And most of the time all we can do is listen, sympathise and point them to the most appropriate agency.

Sometimes our reactive battles can have profound positive effects on both individuals and institutions. The Mary Seacole campaign earlier this year, for example, brought together a great group of dynamic individuals and not only saved Seacole from being scrapped from our school books, but the group also ensured that African, Asian and Chinese ancient history is enshrined in our nation's history curriculum.

Individuals such as Raja Basharat Ali, bennifited from both our proactive and reactive work. Ali wanted to become a Magistrate having been a mentee on one of our magistrate programmes. He faced some huge obstacles which would have defeated many, but with the help of Deputy Director Francine Fernandes who took up his battles he was able to achieve his dream, and just last week was sworn in as one of Her Majesty’s Magistrates.

The 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech gave us all a platform to celebrate the past and plan for the future. As did the sad passing of Nelson Mandela too. BBC presenter Vanessa Feltz said to me the day after he died, ‘Nelson Mandela makes me want to be a better person’.

And she’s right, but it’s the collective spirit and action that will be the real force for long lasting change. Our work next year will focus on the ground-breaking research done by for us by Lester Holloway which shows we can decide the fate of 168 marginal seats in the 2015 national elections. Potential power, the likes of which we’ve never had. But for this to be realised, I/we need you in a big way. If we mobilise our communities in these areas and beyond it will be the greatest political achievement by BME communities in British history. The reward will be the much greater race equality, greater respect, and opportunities for our children to really excel.

So, as you come to your Christmas break, have a well deserved rest; be with your family and friends, have fun or do nothing and not feel guilty. Because early in the New Year our collective turbo-charged year begins.

Merry Christmas

Simon Woolley and the OBV Team