Cyrille Regis, the former West Brom and England forward, has died aged 59.
He scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for the Baggies before joining Coventry City for £250,000 in 1984.
He was a pioneer for black footballers in the game when he played alongside Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson at The Hawthorns. More
The Football Association will interview at least one applicant from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background for future roles in the England set-up.
English football’s governing body will adopt its own version of the ‘Rooney Rule’ implemented in the NFL in 2003.
Chief executive Martin Glenn said the move showed the “FA is for all”.
“The FA wants to become a more inclusive organisation where the workforce more represents the people who play football today,” Glenn said.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he added: “What it will say is the opportunity to have a career beyond playing is something that the FA is serious about promoting.” More
The BBC has pledged to “raise our game” on religion by increasing the portrayal of all faiths in mainstream shows.
The corporation said it would “enhance” the representation of religion on TV and radio dramas and documentaries.
It said it would also create a new global religious affairs team, headed by a religion editor, in BBC News.
The BBC will also keep Thought For The Day on Radio 4’s Today programme – despite presenter John Humphrys saying it’s often “deeply, deeply boring”. More
In a salute to a “remarkable” man, the University of Oxford has paid tribute to its first black student. But who was Christian Cole and what was life like for him at a time when being black at the university wasn’t merely unusual, but remarkable?
Cole was always likely to turn heads when he arrived in Oxford to read classics.
It was 1873 and he was a 21-year-old black man from Waterloo, Sierra Leone, studying alongside young men from the elite families of Victorian England (His arrival pre-dated the institution of the university’s first women’s college by six years.). More
October is Black History Month and with that in mind we have chosen Shirley Thompson as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.
Shirley is an English composer who became the first woman in Europe, within the past 40 years, to have composed and conducted a symphony with her New Nation Rising, A 21st Century Symphony written in 2002.
Shirley was born in London to Jamaican parents. Her early musical experience included playing the violin in various youth symphony orchestras in London, and choral singing with local choirs in Newham. She graduated in music from Liverpool University and in composition from Goldsmiths’ College.
After university she composed a body of solo and instrumental ensemble works for concert hall as well as working as a freelance composer of music for TV, films and the theatre. She set up the Shirley Thompson Ensemble in 1994 and this became the main vehicle for her instrumental and vocal works that fused contemporary classical orchestrations with popular and world music styles.
Shirley was the first woman to compose and musically direct music for a major drama series at the BBC and she also directed the film Memories in Mind, which was broadcast by the BBC in 1998. She also co-scored the award-winning ballet PUSH, which premiered in 2005 which has since toured the world in major and prestigious venues.
Shirley has composed for opera, orchestra, contemporary dance, TV and film. Some of her other works include:
In 2010 Shirley was included in the “Power List of Britain’s 100 Most Influential Black People 2010”. In April 2016 she was honoured with the Luminary Award (presented to people of Caribbean heritage) who have made significant, outstanding contributions on an international scale or have brought to prominence issues that affect the Caribbean region.
To find out more about Shirley and her work see her website at http://shirleythompsonmusic.com/
To find out more about Black History Month see the website at http://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/
The UK’s first black Shakespearean actor is to be honoured with the unveiling of a blue plaque in Coventry.
Ira Aldridge was given the job of manager at Coventry Theatre after impressing the people of the city with his acting during a tour in 1828.
The impression he made during his time there is credited with inspiring Coventry’s petition to Parliament for the abolition of slavery.
His life, 150 years after his death, is described as “unbelievable but true”. More
International Youth Day is on 12 August and as 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) we have chosen them as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the month for their with the local community and programmes for young people.
The community programme was established in 1992 and became Charlton Athletic Community Trust in 2003. Known as CACT, it is famed for its work in its local communities and has scooped numerous prestigious industry awards over recent years.
The community initiative began when the football club returned to The Valley in 1992. It started with just one member of staff, a bag of footballs and a telephone and has now grown into an organisation that employs 100 permanent staff, has a pool of over 100 casual coaches and engages with thousands of people on a weekly basis.
CACT uses the power of football and sport to engage, empower and provide positive opportunities and activities for young people.
The trust delivers successful community programmes is the following areas:
As well as young people the trust has many other initiatives in the community, with their work on mental health in the over 65 age group, recently being nominated for a national award.
The university has strong connections with the football club and continue to be a patron following a three year period as the shirt sponsor. Our LGBT+ staff network have continued links with Proud Valiants, Charlton’s LGBT+ fans’ group and the trust have often attended university events, particularly in relation to their stop smoking campaign.
To find out more about CACT and the excellent work that they do go to their website at http://www.cact.org.uk/
Follow them on twitter at https://twitter.com/CAFCTrust
Chris Evans has topped the list of the BBC’s best-paid stars.
He made between £2.2m and £2.25m in 2016/2017, while Claudia Winkleman is the BBC’s highest-paid female celebrity, earning between £450,000 and £500,000.
Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker earned between £1.75m and £1.8m, the BBC annual report said.
Director general Tony Hall said there was “more to do” on gender and diversity.
The figures reveal large disparities between what men and woman are paid.
There is also disparity between what white stars and those from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background are paid.
George Alagiah, Jason Mohammad and Trevor Nelson are the highest paid BAME stars, each receiving between £250,000 and £300,000. More
The art world’s response to the birth of Black Power is being highlighted at a major new exhibition at the Tate Modern.
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power explores what it meant to be black – and to be a black artist – in the USA from 1963 to 1983 as cultural identity was shifting and reforming. More
Britain’s first memorial to the African and Caribbean soldiers of the First and Second World Wars has been unveiled in London.
An estimated two million Afro-Caribbean soldiers fought in both world wars.
The sculpture, in Windrush Square, Brixton, is formed of two 6ft (1.8m) long obelisks, with a combined weight of just under five tonnes.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the “recognition today is long overdue”.
He added: “I hope this memorial will remind us of the ongoing contribution of our African and Caribbean communities to our country and to the defence of our country.” More