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IMPORTANT: Dawn Butler MP

SHADOW EQUALITIES minister Dawn Butler has told The Voice that Black History Month is more important than ever in light of the Windrush scandal.

Butler was speaking after concerns by campaigners that Black History Month is being downgraded by several local authorities.

Among the borough councils that have come in for criticism are Wandsworth, in south London, which has reinvented the celebration as Diversity Month.

The Brent MP told The Voice: “Black History Month has a particular importance this year following the Windrush scandal, which was a prime example of how black people are often undervalued and how easily policies become institutionally racist.”

Historian David Olusoga and Butler are two prominent figures who have expressed their concern about the changes.

“I’ve been critical of Black History Month in the past, but I think it really is becoming a shared experience. We can have Black History Month with all people learning about it. Can black people not create things without being seen as exclusive? Black History Month feels to me really inclusive,” The Guardian reported Olusoga said.

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