Following the anniversary of Windrush Day (June 22), which honours the Carribean migrants that came to the UK in the decades after the second World War to rebuild a depleted workforce, the BBC have now announced that they will be pledging £100m on "diverse productions and talent" over the next three years.
The announcement states that the budget will be invested into "diverse and inclusive content", with everything from children's education to current affairs receiving lumps of cash. Money will be put into these departments in 2021 and for the three years following that, the BBC's content budget will experience the "biggest financial investment in diverse programming in the UK TV industry," they said in a statement.
"The senseless killing of George Floyd—and what it tells us about the stain of systemic racism—has had a profound impact on all of us," said the BBC's Director-General, Tony Hall. "It's made us question ourselves about what more we can do to help tackle racism, and drive inclusion within our organisation and in society as a whole."
June Sarpong, BBC's Director of Creative Diversity, said: "I came to the BBC as an outsider. Before joining, I had an idea of this being an organisation that did not want to change. What I found was something different—an organisation that had ambitious goals for diversity and inclusion, but didn't know how to reach them. This commitment will help to drive real change that will be felt by all audiences. It will also create a strong framework to help diverse storytellers succeed at all levels of the industry."
She added: "As director of creative diversity, I'm pleased that we're announcing this fund as the first of a series of bold steps that will help make the BBC an instrument of real change. As a black woman, I feel and share in the pain that so many are feeling worldwide. It makes it all the more important that we show up now not just with words but with meaningful action."
Today is one of the proudest days of my working life. @bbc 100million commitment to diverse storytelling. Huge thanks to #CharlotteMoore @jimpurnell @franunsworth for driving forward this change & @MirandawTV diligently working behind the scenes to get it done #RightTheScript pic.twitter.com/71Zt8XDOWs
This new move from the BBC is definitely a step in the right direction.
