NCB Strategic Director of Practice and Programmes and Director of Research in Practice Dez Holmes reveals her pride but also mixed emotions at being awarded an MBE in the King's New Year Honours List.
I am extremely proud of the work we do at Research in Practice and across the National Children’s Bureau to support evidence-informed practice and policy, and I appreciate this recognition of the hard work and commitment of our brilliant team. I’m also grateful for the kind words and support I have received.
However, it was not an easy decision to accept this MBE. I have no desire to be associated with the notion of ‘empire’ and all its painful, pernicious connotations. Far from being history, the racism and injustice that the empire represents continue to reverberate in today’s society. Black and Global Majority children, young people and adults continue to face discrimination, hostility and barriers to safety.
In our work to support professionals across the country to do their difficult jobs well, and in our own organisation’s ongoing journey to become anti-racist, we see how structural racism affects every part of our sector and the lives of the people we serve. The urgent need for change is evident in multi-agency responses to exploitation; in how children’s identities are considered in safeguarding reviews; in the disproportionate rates of homelessness and poor mental health for racialised groups; and as a means of enabling social worker retention.
The effects of classism and wider inequities are equally apparent. Poorer children consistently experience greater adversity and this translates into poorer health outcomes in adulthood. Austerity policies have served to worsen inequalities, even affecting mortality rates, and public and voluntary sector services have been decimated by funding cuts. Against this backdrop, an honours system that has its origins in the relationship between the sovereign and the nobility is hard to celebrate. A country where families cannot afford the basics should have no place for gold carriages.
Of course, you can turn these things down. The cool people often do, frankly. But I am not an artist, or celebrity poet, or a rock star. I am never going to be sat on Graham Norton’s sofa telling prime-time Britain why I rejected an award. And this recognition isn’t for me alone, it is for everyone in our organisation who works so hard to improve lives. Whilst we are privileged to do the work we do; we don’t have a royal patron or a group of well-connected philanthropic backers to draw on. So, if I can do anything to advance our organisation’s impact and reach then I will grab it with both hands. Ultimately, it seemed to me, this was not only my award to accept or decline.
So, whilst I won’t be using the letters after my name, I will be using the opportunity it gives me in at least one sense: to loudly and proudly support the #ExcellenceNotEmpire campaign.
Now, back to work – just as soon as I can find a leopard-skin ermine cape…