MI5 Celebrates Black History Month

Published date: 04 Oct 2021

October is Black History Month - an annual celebration of the history and contributions of Black people in the UK. MI5 is proud to be an employer who celebrates and champions diversity and so throughout October we have a month of events planned for our staff.

Our celebrations will once again be led by our race and ethnicity network, My5. Reflecting this year’s theme, ‘Proud to Be’, MI5 will be celebrating Black colleagues, their identity and cultural history.

As part of our celebrations, we’re joining with SIS and GCHQ for the first time to highlight Black leaders in the UK intelligence community, exploring their career paths and sharing advice for the next generation of Black leaders

My5 are also using Black History Month to spark discussions regarding intersectionality, and the overlaps with issues faced by our other diversity networks.

Whilst Black History Month is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate our Black colleagues, and to reflect on the broader contributions made by people of African and Caribbean descent throughout history, we recognise that our work doesn’t end here. MI5 is continuing to strive to be one of the most diverse workplaces in the UK, one which is fully representative of the country we work to protect. We’ve worked hard this year, but recognise that we still have further to go to ensure that individuals of all races and ethnicities feel like they would belong at MI5.