Hello PPMA members and friends

As you will all be aware, October is Black History Month and in recognition, we wanted to share some of the great initiatives that our members are doing throughout the month. Below Essex County Council outline some of their work.

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Saluting Our Sisters,

This year’s theme, for Black History Month is  Saluting Our Sisters and we have been encouraging employee’s to share information on black women who inspire them. This gives everyone the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the sometimes-forgotten achievement of black woman. Through the theme, the hope is to highlight the vital role black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities.

So to show our support and celebrate black women at Essex County Council we asked our employees the question: ‘Which black woman or women inspire or have inspired you and why?’.

Here are some of the responses we received:

• Maya Angelou, the great poet and civil rights activist and Aretha Franklin the queen of soul.
• I’m inspired by mother, very beautiful woman, very loving, very caring, very giving – and for all of the sacrifices that she laid down for me so that I could accomplish and thrive

We also have some videos on our YouTube channel of employees sharing stories of the black women who have inspired them.

Black Men’s Mental Health with Steve Gilbert OBE – Tuesday 10 October

In addition, we also held a focused session on Black Men’s Mental Health to coincide with World Mental Health Day on October 10th. Below is a description of the event:

Black Men’s Mental Health with Steve Gilbert OBE – Tuesday 10 October

In honour of Black History Month and World Mental Health Day, Steve Gilbert OBE will be delivering a powerful and enlightening employee session focused on the critical topic of Black Men’s Mental Health.

Black men’s mental health is a topic that deserves our attention, understanding, and support. To shed light on this critical issue, we have invited the distinguished Steven Gilbert OBE, a renowned advocate for mental health awareness and anti-racism consultant, to guide us through an engaging and thought-provoking session.

This session aims to shed light on the unique challenges faced by Black men in relation to mental health and provide guidance on fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace environment.

This session is not just about awareness; it’s about empowerment and change. It’s an opportunity for us all to make a difference in the lives of our Black colleagues, friends and wider community.

The campaign has been a great success and is due to run throughout the month.

If you’d like to find out more about the work we are doing in this area contact our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Lead Faizal.Hakim@essex.gov.uk