Throughout the month of October the Trust has been marking Black History Month by unveiling members of staff who have been nominated by colleagues for championing BAME causes. To end October, there will be a series of short blogs from our BAME colleagues to explain what Black History Month means to them. The first comes from Ibreez Ajaz who combines her role as Internal Medicine Trainee, with being a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian at the Trust and is the South West British Medical Association BAME Co-Chair.

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“I was very fortunate to grow up in a diverse community in the United States, where all backgrounds and ethnicities were celebrated and ‘being different’ wasn’t a concept.

While we would celebrate Black History Month in February, the sentiment is the same. It became a time for me to reflect on the achievements and attributes of lesser-known black scientists, inventors, and engineers. It brought life to words written by novelists covering matters related to race, liberty, and equality. I grew to know and understand more than what my formal education afforded me, to have the opportunity to actually see how society has progressed to allow a more understanding environment.

It encompasses the struggle, the adversities faced, and the anguish of a race of man who just wanted their one inalienable right – the acceptance that we are all created equal. At its very essence, it is a way to honour the work of many who have strived to allow for what freedom and acceptance we have today.”

Ibreez Ajaz

Internal Medicine Trainee (CT3)

FtSUG & SW BMA BAME Co-Chair