Black History Month

Debate between Taiwo Owatemi and Kirsty Blackman

Thursday 23rd October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Taiwo Owatemi]

I thank the right hon. Member for raising that point. The Government are looking at how to address educational outcomes for all groups.

It was heartbreaking to hear from my hon. Friends the Members for Brent East (Dawn Butler) and for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) about their experiences of racism. Racism is completely unacceptable and has no place in our society, and any instance in which it occurs must be treated with the utmost seriousness. That is why we have a strong legal framework in place to deal with the perpetrators of racist and other forms of hate crime, and we expect the perpetrators of this abhorrent offence to be brought to justice.

[Kirsty Blackman]

Does the Minister agree that not only do we need to be not racist, but we need to be anti-racist, in order to tackle the situation in society right now?

[Taiwo Owatemi]

Absolutely. We have to be proactive in speaking out against racism in any area or situation in society in which we see it.

It was disappointing and concerning to hear about of the police incident raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East. There is no space for racism in policing or for intolerant policing.

One reason I like the Black History Month debate is that it provides an opportunity to hear from Members across the House about the wonderful trailblazers in their constituencies, in both the past and present. It was wonderful to hear from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) about her constituents Bertha, Ify and Jane—about all the work they do and the contribution they are making to make Aberdeen North a better place for all.

It was also wonderful to hear from my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey) about Johnny and Noor; from my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) about Lilian and her family’s legacy of service; and from my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Matt Turmaine)—I really hope he enjoyed the best jollof rice in the world. It was good to hear from him about the contributions from Clive, Councillor Favour and Enoch from One Vision.

We cannot have a Black History Month debate without recognising the trailblazers in this House. The Mother of the House, the right hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was the first black female MP, and she paved the way for other young girls, like myself. I always feel incredibly lucky to be able to sit on these Benches with her—something that I never thought I would be able to achieve.

It is also wonderful for this year’s Black History Month debate to be chaired by Madam Deputy Speaker, who is the first ethnic minority Deputy Speaker. It would not be right of me to speak about the contributions made by trailblazers in this House without mentioning our own Serjeant at Arms, who was previously in the Chamber. He is the first black holder of his post in its history of over 600 years. He was appointed in 2019, and moved to this country in the 1990s after being born in Nigeria.

In conclusion, Madam Deputy Speaker—