Black History Month: Silence is Not an Option
By Dr Katherine Cox
A White person writing about Black History month. Is that OK?
Maybe I should have asked a colleague from the Global Majority to write something here. On the other hand, there is a danger of asking our Black and Brown friends to shoulder the emotional burden of educating White people and supporting their community. So, rightly or wrongly, I am writing this with as much thoughtfulness, humility and sense of allyship as I can. In doing so, I am reminded of the words of Dr Martin Luther King:
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
So, I / we at TFSW, will not be silent. More than ever before, in this Black History Month, we are starkly reminded that the struggle against racism is very much part of our present, not consigned to history. The emboldened racist rhetoric on our streets, the shocking (or perhaps sadly not so shocking) exposé of racism within the Met police by an undercover Panorama reporter, are surely a call to action and to allyship.
And what about our own field of mental health? One of the many, many pioneers I want to celebrate here is Dr Ellen Kitch Childs (1937-1993) a pioneering clinical psychologist and activist whose work championed gay and lesbian rights. Born in 1937 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she grew up against a backdrop of racial discrimination, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement, experiences that profoundly shaped her worldview and activism.
Kitch prioritised accessible and inclusive services for the most marginalised groups. She implemented sliding scale fees and offered free services, prioritising Black clients, sex workers, and those living with HIV, among other groups. Her commitment to inclusivity and social justice was a hallmark of her practice, and of her contributions to the field of psychology.
At TFSW we walk in her footsteps in our offer for free therapy to refugees, asylum seekers and trafficked people; in our commitment to making therapy accessible; our desire not to turn anyone away and to see our clients through a lens of social justice and being trauma informed, rather than that of medical pathology.
Thank you to Kitch and to the many others who have paved the way.
The theme for Black History Month UK 2025 is “Standing Firm in Power and Pride,” a powerful tribute to the resilience, strength, and unwavering commitment to progress that defines the Black community across the globe. For further information and resources to get involved visit https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/
