The impetus for me and others who founded Black Thrive was the death of Sean Rigg in 2008. Sean was a 40-year-old mentally ill Black British musician who had a cardiac arrest while being violently restrained by police in Brixton, South London. I co-chaired the Black Health and Wellbeing Commission which followed in the aftermath. The commission focused not only on improving mental health services but rather sought to improve the whole trajectory from childhood that leads to Black people gathering in mental health hospitals.
We are excluded from schools, excluded from good employment, and excluded from good housing. There is a misunderstanding of the factors that are at play to create the foundation of our experiences and the inability for Britain to make progress towards racial and social equality. Impartiality is about the structural nature of the opportunities that make up a society, and if these are biased towards White privilege, how can we make our way through that? I cannot stand injustice. I am driven by a vision for a better future for my people.
In my role as Deputy Leader for Lambeth Council and the Cabinet member for jobs, skills, and community safety, putting in place systems and structures, so that the people who need the most help can get it, is absolutely what I’m about.
There are a lot of excellent Black-led organisations, but what I think distinguishes Black Thrive is our ambition to change systems forever. We cannot constantly be crabs in a barrel scrabbling for morsels of funding that may be thrown our way. If we are to tackle the root causes of Black mental ill health, we have to have Black people in key decision-making positions who understand the roots of the condition in which we find ourselves and have the capability and determination to create change.
Mental wellbeing from cradle to grave has got to be the goal for every human. The Black Thrive agenda will always be at the heart of all that I do. It is my life commitment and it is global. I feel proud of what we have achieved and what we are yet to achieve. We need a global movement that is humane and humble. That is our mission, and I have the right leadership around me to make me feel confident that we can make this happen in the 21st century and I feel excited that it will happen in our lifetime.
The documentary series is available on the AppleTV app in over 100 countries and regions.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can find some resources HERE (Suggested by Apple TV).
Written by: Dr Jacqui Dyer MBE (Founder & Director, Black Thrive)