Following the worldwide Black Lives Matter Movement in 2020, the Academy and many notable awards, stepped up their efforts for diversity.  2021 saw a record-breaking year for the number of nominations from people of colour.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for the 2022 award.  This year’s Academy awards which takes place at the end of the month (March) features just four actors of colour compared to the nine last year.

“It is bittersweet that we are still having ‘first’ moments in this year’s edition, laments, award winning film director, Frances-Anne Frances. For instance, Ariana DeBose’s nomination, makes her the first Afro-Latina actor, but also the first openly queer woman of colour to score a nomination, as well as ‘The Power of Dog’ director Jane Campion, who is the first woman in history to earn a repeat nomination for best director. This is unacceptable.”

Many of those actively involved in the industry like Frances-Anne Solomon, saw this season as an opportunity for the film industry to prove that the changes which began in 2020, and now being reflected in society were being mirrored in the business, not just in creating more roles and opening cast and crew to be more diverse and real, but also in recognizing the outstanding work of those already in the sector.

“Whilst it’s refreshing to see the number of new faces and first-time nominees at this year’s BAFTA awards, for example, she; continues, there’s still some way to go.”

All in all, it is important for the film industry to show that diversity is not just a trend, it is a bet on the future, the future of equality that society is fighting for right now, and that needs to be reflected and encouraged in films.

For more information contact: Email: [email protected];

Every so often a person enters your life and touches your soul in ways you were not aware of until sadly that person passes, leaving you with a big sense of loss even though you were not particularly close during the living years.

In this case, the person is Count Prince Miller, a trailblazer actor/entertainer who achieved critical and popular success for his longstanding career which began in his native Jamaica in the early 60s. He first gained popularity for his distinctive rendition of Mule-train. The reggae version became a staple request from audiences all over the world. Count Prince Miller broke onto the international scene as a result of his wide repertoire of singing, acting on screen and stage, presenting and being a master entertainer.  Viewers from the 80s and 90s will remember him for his portrayal of ‘Vince’ in the TV comedy, ‘Desmonds’ and in the spin off series ‘Porkpie’. He was also linked to the James Bond series through a brief appearance in the Dr No film of 1962.

Since his passing, I also learnt that the Count played an instrumental role in staging the Caribbean Music Festivals at Wembley in the late 60s – early 70s. An event I had no knowledge of until reading the many tributes dedicated to his life. He had also shared equal billing with the likes of Ray Charles, Chubby Checker and Chuck Berry at concerts at the Jamaica Hilton, during his heyday in Jamaica. In real life Count Prince Miller was unassuming and self-deprecating in terms of his achievements. But to my generation he was a pioneer. Without fanfare he opened doors and paved the way for younger artists to make their mark in the tough and unforgiving industry of show business, particularly if you were a black performer.

I had the privilege to work with Count Prince Miller in the long running show ‘ Black Heroes in the Hall of Fame’ written and produced by JD Douglas. Miller was cast as Marcus Garvey and in my mind, gave the definitive performance of the man in a role he was to reprise in the JA story, also written and produced by JD Douglas. In every performance, Prince Miller infused his particular brand of warmth, exuberance and showmanship, winning audiences young and old alike.

A memorial service to celebrate his life was held at the Holy Trinity Church in South Kensington in London on 4^th September 2018. The service was organised by the Jamaica High Commission in London in recognition of his massive contribution to the entertainment industry. Count Prince Miller had actually been awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) from Governor-General, Sir Kenneth Hall in Jamaica for his services to entertainment in 2007.

The great and the good came out to remember his extraordinary life including celebrities from ‘Desmonds’ TV comedy and the cast of ‘Black Heroes’. JD Douglas gave a personal and moving tribute to his friend and the choir of Black Heroes gave stirring renditions of numbers from the show including the hit song, ‘We Need Hall of Fame’ to which no doubt the legacy of Count Prince Miller will surely be added.

Count Prince Miller (Clarence Linberg Miller), singer and actor, born 30 March 1934; died 16 August 2018

For more about Count Prince Miller view the links: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/23/count-prince-miller-obituary

http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/legendary-entertainer-count-prince-miller-passes-away

It was nice to bump into my friend and colleague Nanda Arulparam at the Creative Digital Big Chat hosted by Sian Murphy and Mark Jennings from Stormchasers Digital in collaboration with The Dragon Co Working in Rochester. It’s a free, monthly networking event about, ‘everything you wanted to know about Word Press.’ So a must in one’s diary.

My friend Nanda (below right) is a business owner with Forever Living Products and will be holding a stall at Made in Kent event in Sittingbourne this week.  So much to catch up with.

See link for details: https://diversitybusinesspromotes.uk/forever-living-products-made-kent-indoor-market/

It certainly has been a merry month of May. Kicking off with the May Day celebrations in Medway followed by the feverishly pitched but joyous royal wedding and still plenty more festivities to come in my part of the world before the month is over.

A few words about the royal wedding which has consumed British attention since the happy announcement back in November last year. We at Diversity Business confess to have been smitten by the Meghan effect. We are pleased to see a woman from a mixed race background being included into the royal family. Kudos to them for being forward-sighted. If the wedding ceremony is anything to go by with lovely touches of Gospel singing, evangelist style preaching and wondrous young cello player Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Meghan is certainly changing the way they do business. A modern, vital and exceptionally talented addition to the family. Congratulations to the happy couple we look forward to their unfolding role as ambassadors to the commonwealth.

May Day celebrations kicked off in my neck of the woods with the curiously called Sweeps Festival. It is an annual event which dates back to the 17^th century when the chimney sweep men and boys were given a day off to enjoy the traditional May festivities. Today local folk dress down in tattered clothes and blacken up their faces to mimic the chimney sweeps of the time! As a relative newcomer to Rochester and the Medway towns, the first time I witnessed this event and the act of blackening up like the abolished black and white minstrels show, I got a bit miffed that this type of thing was allowed to carry on.

I was soon enlightened about the origins and significance of allowing the sweeps, a group from the most marginalised echelons of society to mix and mingle with the establishment. Tatters and all with faces covered in soot this was the one day they were accepted as part of mainstream communities and were given recognition for what they do.

Today the sweeps festival is made lively with hundreds of Morris-Dancers, live bands, local craft market, fun fair, traditional may pole dancers and the Jack in the Green. The festival has won me over. I look forward to taking part every year, particularly because of the changing demographics of Medway towns, with more minority groups pouring out of London into north Kent and transforming communities and cultures like this Jamaican food stall selling delicious jerk chicken.

And it’s not over yet. The Dickens Festival beckons at the end of May. Rochester’s most famous son is celebrated in a three day festival which covers the last bank holiday of the month. Residents dress up in famous Dickens characters like Fagin, Miss Havisham, the Artful Dodger, Samuel Pickwick and many more to parade the high street and make merry.

Yes May 2018 has been full of festive fun, cheer and inclusiveness. All the traditional ceremonies are breaking barriers, reinventing themselves to stay relevant to changing communities. After all the noise about immigration and the disgraceful Windrush debacle, we hope this trajectory is a sign of things to come.

Inviting all Creatives to Participate in The Creative Goddess Online Summit

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Creative Goddesses from the African Diaspora:
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Just for you an amazing array of 20 Creative Goddesses from the African Diaspora have gathered to share their uplifting stories of how they tapped into their creative source to use their talent to reach out and positively affect thousands in their communities

They have shared their stories so you too can discover how to:

• Transform your creativity into a source of income
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So register now FOR FREE and learn how to

• Turn disadvantage into glorious opportunities
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Register here for the online summit  and get access to all free interviews starting soon from 17th October 2016.

Growth and Diversity: Meeting needs, seizing opportunities

According to a new paper published by the Diversity and Inclusion Business Council (DIBC) last month women and ethnic minority led businesses are still not making the grade in terms of their performance against other groups in the UK.

Yet the story is not all gloom as they are still contributing a staggering £25-32 billion to the UK economy per year with women contributing £70 billion.

So tell us what we don’t know I can hear you shouting.

What we have been waiting to hear is that the DIBC has put together a set of 7 key recommendations to support women and minority run businesses achieve their full potential.

There are:

• Focus on growth– enterprise policy should encourage women and ethnic minority entrepreneurs to enter high value-added sectors.
• Provide local support– local-level targeted enterprise support is likely to be more effective than a national ‘one size fits all’ policy of intervention.
• Advocacy and promotion of EMWs– the Government should consider establishing a central resource for the provision of thought leadership and best practice for ethnic minority and women-owned businesses.
• Diversity proofing policy and practice– Government should monitor operations to obtain evidence as to which groups are being engaged in central and local work, and which are being excluded from these initiatives.
• Support and widen ethnic minority business networks– more should be done to consult ethnic minority business networks on national and local government decisions, as well as improving their connections with wider business networks.
• Putting diversity on the agenda –enterprise support agencies need to ensure that they take into account the needs of their local minority businesses in developing their priorities.
• Support the widening of access to markets– efforts to widen access to markets should include every UK Trade & Investment overseas mission should ensure a good proportion of the delegation is drawn from businesses run by women and ethnic minorities.

“This report highlights the importance of women-owned and minority-owned businesses to the UK economy, and shows the important steps that can be taken to best support diverse firms” said Professor Sara Carter from Strathclyde University, co-chair of the DIBC. “This isn’t simply about government action; the private sector has a role too, particularly in the areas of mentoring and in supporting firms in accessing new markets.”

Professor Monder Ram from Birmingham University, co-chair of the DIBC went further by underlining the unrecognised input ethnic minority groups make when he said that, “evidence of the economic and social contribution of migrants, ethnic minorities and women to entrepreneurship continues to accumulate. It’s vital that this contribution is recognised by policy-makers and institutions charged with supporting entrepreneurship in the UK. My colleagues and I on the BBA’s Diversity and Inclusion Business Council are determined to ensure the issue of minority entrepreneurship is placed at the centre of the small business agenda”

The DIBC looks at policy affecting women and ethnic minority groups in business with an aim to strengthen and design measures to improve performance. It is made up of leading women and ethnic minority entrepreneurs, business organisations, banks, Trusts, academics and specialist skills groups.

For more on the paper log onto https://www.bba.org.uk/policy/business-finance/growth-and-diversity-meeting-needs-seizing-opportunities/

I know what you’re thinking! Not another business magazine about high flyers earning loads of money and making it in the hard world of commerce. Fortunately, it’s not that kind of business magazine. Frankly there are too many of those already and I wouldn’t dream of replicating them.

Diversity Business Magazine offers a new type of magazine, catering to small business owners and as the name suggests we ‘d like to promote a variety of people whose creative flair, inspiration and innovation is changing the face of entrepreneurship in Britain today. People like our front cover couple Vini & Bal whose Rustic Indian sauces are enriching the home cooking experience of millions of people now that they have won investment from Piers Linney the Dragons’ Den star. Their emotional performance on TV captured the hearts of many and we are willing them to take on the big supermarkets and change how we eat as a nation for the better.

In much the same vein, Tamara Arbib from Rebel Kitchen has not compromised her ideals to introduce great tasting children’s snacks without the need to overload natural flavours with too much sugar. She is at the forefront of a food revolution and we learn how she is using entrepreneurship to propel her mission. We will return to the subject of food innovation in later editions so keep posted to these pages

Flying the creative flag on the filming front, Bibi Owusi Shadbolt a film maker from London goes through the highs and lows of seeing her original story mounted on celluloid. Though it’s probably a digital recording these days, the independent film industry is one of the toughest markets to crack, posing many challenges to those who offer a different vision. But that’s precisely what we are celebrating here between these pages, the difference, the uniqueness of a multi-talented, multi-cultural, entrepreneurial Britain.

There is much to be cheerful about as the new figures for economic activity in the south east, the highest concentration of entrepreneurs in UK portray the highest increases in business performance. Business owners have responded positively to a number of surveys indicating a new air of optimism for the future.

Finally, my clarion call to other mothers out there embarking upon a journey of entrepreneurship, is to please join me as I navigate the stormy waters. In my business blog, I reach out to you for advice and moral support. In fact I reach out to all entrepreneurs for guidance and support. For in telling our stories, we may motivate others. So please open up and showcase your creativity and daring. We want to be inspired. We want to rejoice in all your splendid colours. This is your magazine; lay claim to it. Diversity Business Magazine is finally launched!