This article is part of The Athletic’s series to mark UK Black History Month. To view the entire collection, click here.

During UK Black History Month there can be a tendency to focus on telling traumatic stories. It seems we find it easier to talk about pain and anger than we do about Black excellence. This applies to various sectors, including education, the film industry and sports.

This year’s official theme for UK Black History Month, which runs throughout October, is “reclaiming stories”. That means Black people taking ownership of their stories and ensuring they are not misrepresented.

In the summer, anti-discrimination group Kick It Out wrote an open letter to the media following England’s 1-0 defeat by Iceland at Wembley. An image of Bukayo Saka was used prominently after the match, including youHe was not on the pitch when England conceded, as he did not come on until the 65th minute. A black player was effectively put forward as the face of England’s misfortune, forcing the media to acknowledge whether they had been exposed to unconscious bias.

People will understandably feel upset that Nuno Espirito Santo and Darren Moore are the only black managers at the 92 clubs in England’s top four divisions. Deji Davies, non-executive director at Brentford and chair of the Football Association (FA) inclusion advisory board, is the only black board member at a top team. None of this reflects the fact that, according to research commissioned by the Black Footballers’ Partnership, 34 percent of players in the EFL in 2021 were black and that figure for the Premier League was 43 percent.

A study by RunRepeat in partnership with the Professional Footballers’ Association, published in June 2020, found that when commentators talked about a footballer’s ‘strength’, they were 6.5 times more likely to be talking about a black player had, and that figure was 3.3 times. for speed. When commentators talked about intelligence, 62.6 percent of the praise was directed at lighter-skinned players and 63.3 percent of the criticism was at darker-skinned players.

Black players are often judged on their physical attributes and it is long overdue that we move away from this. Something like Ivan Toney’s penalty technique should be appreciated for the genius that it is and we should celebrate the beauty of Trent Alexander-Arnold as he reinterprets the full-back role before our eyes.

Trent Alexander-Arnold finally establishes himself as England’s first-choice right-back (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

As well as these developing stories, stories are also emerging that show how much more needs to be done to tackle issues surrounding football and race. It was only just over two months ago that Chelsea opened disciplinary proceedings against Enzo Fernandez after the midfielder broadcast his Argentine teammates live as they sang an offensive chant about French players of African descent in the aftermath of his country’s victory in the Copa America. Fernandez later apologized and is now Chelsea captain.

Writing and talking about difficult topics is important. Efforts to shed light on key issues impacting the Black community, challenging harmful stereotypes, and reframing people’s understanding of historical events is critical to moving forward. In the past, The Athletics has written about why football audiences are so white, the lack of diversity in the Women’s Super League and the low levels of representation of people of black heritage at boardroom and management level.

But taking on that burden can be exhausting. An equal amA lot of space and time should be devoted to uplifting and inspiring stories; we cannot move forward if we are constantly looking back. Last year we told the stories of the Windrush generation of footballers – including Brendon Batson, Viv Anderson and Clyde Best – highlighted the story of Andrew Watson, the first black international, and visited the unmarked grave of Arthur Wharton, the leader of the Football League. first black professional footballer.

There has been much to celebrate in the last twelve months, including Sam Allison becoming the first black referee to officiate a Premier League match since Uriah Rennie in 2008 when he took charge of Luton’s 3-2 win in December Town at Sheffield United. The former firefighter is now regularly seen as the fourth official in the top class or championship.

Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey, Ola Aina and Alex Iwobi all grew up close together in London in Nigerian households. Affectionately known as ‘The ‘Innit Boys’, they played an important role in Nigeria as they reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, which they lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast. Lookman’s performances for Nigeria (scoring three times in the AFCON knockout stages) and hat-trick for Atalanta in the Europa League final in May mean he has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or.

In April, former England international Eni Aluko made history by being appointed to the board of the women’s team of top Italian club Como. Aluko is part of the investment company Mercury/13, which aims to fund multiple women’s teams around the world and become a multi-club ownership group. Ashley Cole is full-time FA manager, while Joleon Lescott is assistant to England interim head coach Lee Carsley.

It is essential that we talk about the full spectrum of Black communicationunity’s diverse experiences to inspire, educate and empower the next generation. That means deciding which stories get told and staying true to ensuring they’re presented authentically, and that’s what we strive for. The Athletics during the following month.

We hope you enjoy our content and that it leads to healthy discussions. If there are any stories you would like us to write about, please tell us in the comments below.

(Top photos: Getty Images; design Dan Goldfarb)