This article was originally published in The Dundee Courier on 26 November 2016.
BLACK NURSES: THE
WOMEN WHO SAVED THE NHS
Thursday,
BBC Four
LIFE AND DEATH THE
PENTECOSTAL WAY
Sunday,
BBC Two
When
the great Aneurin Bevan created the NHS in 1948, it soon became apparent that
his heroic endeavour required urgent assistance from beyond these shores.
There
simply weren’t enough doctors, nurses and midwifes in Britain to support it, so
thousands of Caribbean women were shipped over to assist the “Mother
Country”.
Their
story was told in BLACK NURSES: THE
WOMEN WHO SAVED THE NHS, another revealing entry in the BBC’s excellent
Black and British season.
This
primarily mournful documentary illustrated how, despite playing a vital role in
creating and sustaining the NHS for 70 years, they’ve rarely received the
respect they deserve.
It
starred a group of eloquent older ladies sharing vivid memories of their
nursing careers, many of them tainted by anger and sadness. While they remain
understandably proud of their achievements, the racism they experienced painted
a dispiriting portrait of Britain then and now.
They
recounted tales of white patients who refused to be treated by black nurses.
One woman recalled being attacked in the street by a group of men. This was the
thanks they received for serving our great nation?
The
prejudice was horrendous. Angering archive footage revealed white ‘50s Britons
decrying black immigrants as dirty, whereas in reality these young women were
scrupulously hygienic. Indeed, they were shocked by the grubby state of Britain
when they first arrived.
As
far-right groups exploited rising tensions – images of ‘Keep Britain White’
graffiti mirrored recent reports from America of daubed hate speech in the wake
of Trump’s triumph – most black women, regardless of ability, were unfairly
funnelled into the junior nursing category. Their chances of promotion were
almost non-existent.
To
this day, black people represent only a tiny percentage of NHS senior
management position. Several nurses spoke of becoming demotivated after being
repeatedly passed over when applying for promotion.
Only
in the field of midwifery did they gradually flourish, as midwives tend to be
regarded as more important than nurses. Not true, of course, but that’s the
prevailing view.
The
programme was bookended by the observation that the midwife who helped to
deliver ‘Prince’ George and ‘Princess’ Charlotte is black. That’s an
achievement of sorts, I suppose, although I couldn’t help thinking that perhaps
it wasn’t the best way of illustrating a semi-optimistic kernel of progress.
The
Black and British season continued with the observational documentary, LIFE AND DEATH THE PENTECOSTAL WAY.
Pentecostalism
is the fastest-growing Christian faith in Britain, with Black Majority Pentecostal
churches proving particularly successful.
The
programme spent time with the curators and parishioners of the Brixton New
Testament Church of God, which was established by Windrush West Indians in the
1950s.
Religion
gets short shrift in our increasingly secular society, often for good reason,
but this was a convincingly positive portrayal of a church that embodies truly
altruistic Christian values.
It
plays a vital role in a community troubled by poverty, crime and police
harassment. If Jesus Himself ran a charitable inner-city drop-in centre for
vulnerable people, it would probably look something like this.
Even
the way the church is funded, by locals donating however much they want, seemed
sound.
Regardless
of your beliefs, there’s no denying the admirable endeavours of these genuinely
kind, tolerant children of God. I was particularly impressed by a rousing
sermon from the charismatic Bishop Brown, as he urged his flock to treat all
people equally.
It
was a reminder that you’ve got to have faith, at least in human nature.
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