Wes Morgan’s Message Of Equality During Black History Month

- Wes Morgan discusses Black History Month, the Premier League’s BAME advisory board and his personal experiences of racism
- The Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign launched this month
- Morgan highlighted the need to improve equality and diversity in the sport

The diversity of players in England’s top division has helped make it one of the most watched competitions in sport, and after the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign was launched this month, Morgan spoke of the importance of driving change in society.

In a recent interview with LCFC.com, the Foxes’ title-winning captain discussed the importance of Black History Month, his involvement on the Premier League’s BAME advisory board and his personal experiences of racism.

Morgan said: “Black History Month is very important because it recognises the achievements and contributions that black people have made in society, but more importantly it looks back and celebrates past events that black people have been a part of, which ultimately has helped us to get where we are today.

“We’re at a key point in life now with regards to this topic. I sense there’s a real passion and a want to address the issue because it’s widely recognised that things could be better and that things aren’t as equal as they should be.

“We’re driving for change in society and want people to recognise, contribute and help towards the goal of what we’re trying to achieve, which is to improve equality and diversity.”

Morgan’s role on the Premier League’s BAME advisory board sees him utilise his leadership skills to initiate change in the sport.

“My role is to improve and make change in football by addressing the issues that are happening in our game right now,” the defender explained.

“As a group we try and help make things better and work out how we can make positive changes that will benefit other players.”

Describing his own experiences of racism in football, he said: “I came across a few incidents when I was younger where I received racial abuse, but as time has gone on, I’ve seen it less and less.

“Back then the attitude was to be the bigger person, ignore it and not rise to the abuse, whereas these days we know we can challenge it and say no to it because it’s not accepted.

“In football, we can bring it to the attention of the referees now so they know that this is happening, and we’ve also got the powers to stop games, address the situation and remove the culprits. We’ve definitely come a long way since I first started out as a footballer.”

When asked how we as a society are able to have productive conversations about the issue of racism, Morgan added: “People can sometimes be unaware of situations others have gone through, so I think the key to it is to talk to people who are not from BAME backgrounds and for them to understand the experiences black people and those from different ethnicities have had to go through.

“It’s more for them to realise that they’ve probably been a bit more fortunate in that sense, so like I say it’s all about understanding and realising why black people are campaigning and trying to drive change in society.”