Black History Month is a time to recognise, appreciate and celebrate the contribution black people have made to society and our communities.
This month, EDI Lead Teresa Mulholland and trust colleague Niall McNullty, have delivered a series of events, alongside partners, with a commitment to go beyond Black History Month and to continue the same throughout the year.
During 2024, we have worked with partners such as University of Cumbria and Tullie House to deliver a series of events including:
- Delivering a workshop and answering questions at the University Equality, Diversity and Inclusion conference.
- Hosting a Black History Month conversation with past players: Dean Walling, George Oghani, Andy Watson, Derek Walsh and John Halpin.
Filmed conversations with current and past players on their experiences in football and their thoughts on Black History Month, which are being shared through our social media platforms and on CUTV.
It is important we celebrate the huge contribution that black and brown players have played in our club’s history and recognise the future players yet to play their part. All of them are role models on and off the field, part of our club and deserving of their place.
Black History Month is a chance to celebrate, but we remember to do this all year round and we will continue to take opportunities to share our filmed conversations with past and present players, and work with our partners to celebrate and show our appreciation of how black and brown players have contributed to CUFC's history.
This event was organised by the CUFC EDI group, supported by Tullie and kicked off with a film featuring past and present CUFC players discussing what Black History Month means to them, their role models, allyship and racism.
The three guest footballers then formed a panel and went onto reminisce about their time at CUFC, their first impressions of Carlisle in the 80’s and 90’s, emotional memories and highlights such as going to Wembley, as well as the life-long friendships they’ve made.
It was such an enjoyable morning, and the group could have reminisced all day long, but one of the main takeaways for us is the importance of allyship.
It was a great opportunity to listen to the experiences of black players and think about the steps we need to take to reach a point where everyone is educated, and racism is not tolerated in any of its forms.
It’s everyone’s responsibility to tackle racism, and the CUFC EDI group and Sports Trust will continue to work with the club to make progress.
Teresa Mulholland said: "A huge thank you to Dean Walling, George Oghani, Andy Watson, Derek Walsh, John Rosary and John Halpin for your time and the heartfelt and entertaining stories that were shared.
"I would also like to thank my Community Trust colleagues, Niall McNullty and Ryan Godderidge, for all of their support with this event, along with the EDI volunteers that attended.
"Plus the Carlisle United Collective for creating a brand new display featuring Saturday’s panel members and Lyndsey Atkinson from Tullie House for all her support on the day and lead up to the event."
Thanks to Stuart Walker fo the use of the image at the top of this article.
