Black History Month - Reclaiming Narratives on Men's things

An invitation to talk

A few weeks ago, during my radiotherapy treatment, I was invited to attend a Black History Month event and a panel of discussants. This is something I would have willingly done, but I could not with the side effects I was experiencing guarantee I could attend, and sitting on a panel was ambitious at best.

When Saturday came, I felt I had the strength to grace the occasion. My view then was that they had a substantive panellist with me as an alternate. I sat in the back of the meeting room, nursing the issues of comfort and discomfort as the proceedings progressed. I had tacitly agreed to join the discussion if I had the energy, and my voice was amplified.

Let’s talk men’s things

The theme for Black History Month 2024 is “Reclaiming Narratives,” marking the shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture. I do not think they expected the direction in which I thought to reclaim our narrative.

After my introduction, I raised the issue of black men being comfortable talking about “Men’s things”, their sexual health, primarily, prostate cancer, but testicular cancer and erectile dysfunction are such intimate issues too along with sexuality, that we should not feel emasculated when those topics are discussed as they matter to our health, wellbeing, life, and happiness.

Culturally, broaching this subject in many communities belies a loss of masculinity and vulnerability where we should be projecting strength. Yet, strength is in accepting the vicissitudes of our humanity, openly, honestly, and confidently creating the conversations that help others seek essential help to deal with issues long before nothing can be done for them.

Talking empowers us all

Part of me felt I had hijacked the conversation but the questions, interest, engagement, and feedback suggested it was a necessary topic to discuss as I took the time even with my waning voice to explain in sufficient detail the risk factors and the essential tests, along with signposting material they could read to gain knowledge about taking control of intimate health issues.

To that end, I compiled all the blogs I had written about Men’s things and Photons on the Prostate to continue the discussion from this blog. Men's things - Prostate Cancer blogs

The narrative we need to reclaim is black men boldly discussing men’s things and helping each other to achieve the best outcomes for our sexual health, supporting and strengthening each other through adversity and increasing the talent pool of advocacy out of interest or experience to give more black men the tools to live healthy and well.

Black History Month 2023 - A contribution

Preamble

I wrote this at the beginning of the month on invitation from George House Trust, a community charity that has provided HIV support, advice, and advocacy services to improve health outcomes since 1985. For some administrative reasons yet to be determined, it was not published.

However, minutes before Black History Month 2023 runs out, I have decided to post my contribution to my blog.

Black History Month 2023

Black History Month to someone who is not involved in activism would sometimes appear in one’s consciousness as a commemorative event to which one has been invited and so presenting an opportunity to meet with the community and share experiences.

Yet it is quite easy to absent oneself from many of the attendant issues when one has had unusual privileges and enjoyed many things that are not easily afforded others.

In 2023, the theme of Black History Month is Saluting our Sisters, I think about my Greater Manchester community as I walk along Oxford Road and see a significant black face Sir William Arthur Lewis (1915–1991) who was an economist, a 1979 Nobel Prize laureate and Britain’s first black professor, at the then named Victoria University of Manchester.

In present times, Erinma Bell MBE DL has worked within our community to help reduce street and gun crime, her work is highly commended, and she gave the Manchester Annual Legal Service address at the Manchester Cathedral in 2022.

Diane Modahl MBE was an athlete in the 800m category and once a Commonwealth Games champion as well as twice a medallist. She is involved in a lot of charity work to help the youth in Greater Manchester.

What is evident is there are a lot of unsung heroes and heroines of black heritage who are contributing significantly in areas of education, sports, business, healthcare, the clergy, charity work, and other spheres of endeavour. Many of them seek no recognition but need all the support to help make their contributions to the community positive, lasting, and successful.

What Black History Month means to me is seeking out these exemplary people as role models and examples of what is possible and achievable to ensure that the resplendent tapestry of British history of which the persons who people this nation of all races and most especially of every kind of global African descent is not lost in the reading of the milestones that shaped this nation.

In Saluting our Sisters this year, and recognising the many unmentioned yet outstanding women in our local communities and beyond, the relevance of each Black History Month is again assured with a sense of belonging and pride, we know that Black history is also British history.