The organisers of Channel 4’s Black to Front initiative have spotlighted the challenge of forging a project that attracted public criticism from the likes of comedian London Hughes.
Vivienne Mookwu, C4 Commissioning editor, oversaw the project along with Shaminder Nahal & Kelly Webb–Lamb. She said that while some might have assumed the initiative was a failure, she understands their feelings. “a gimmick”But the organizers were “united behind a clear vision.”
To Catch A D*ck star Hughes criticizes the Day of Black programming “insulting”And “performative tokenism”In a series of tweets, just before September’s delivery, she stated her concerns to C4 commissioners.
Molokwu spoke on a panel for the C4 Inclusion Festival. “By its very nature you can see how easily people would think this was a gimmick and to ignore that would be insanity. It would have been tokenistic if it was only the day but the day was never the end. We had a united vision of what we wanted to achieve and the challenge was hearing those voices who wanted us to change direction and weighing up whether to fight that particular fight.”
Webb Lamb, C4’s Deputy Head of Programs, has announced his departure. He stayed on as a consultant to the project but will soon be leaving C4. “If we’d been too worried about the day being perfect we wouldn’t have taken the leap.”
C4 made it clear that the initiative which featured prominent Black talent like Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu, was intended to be a catalyst of change.
Chief content officer Ian Katz unveiled yesterday a set of initiatives that will see the broadcaster triple spend on indies run by ethnically diverse people to around £22M ($29.6M) by 2023, as C4 becomes the first broadcaster to ringfence money for ethnically-diverse-led production companies.
Webb-Lamb added that that the project wasn’t just about practical considerations” but also “challenging tropes and changing mindsets about how we as an industry think about people who work in the industry.”
“The day was better for London Hughes’ criticism”According to Marcus Ryder (Sir Leny Henry Centre For Media Diversity Head External Consultancies), C4 responded positively to his concerns. Ryder was speaking out after Marcus Ryder reported that Tim Davie, BBC Director General, had vetoed his appointment as a BBC News senior role. Last week, he met with Davie to discuss his concerns.
C4 asked for help from Sir Lenny Henry Center on the initiative, and Ryder stated that Katz initially told him to: “If you think this is not a good idea, then we’ll drop it.”
Ryder mentioned another unnamed UK broadcaster who failed to respond to criticisms following a letter received by the broadcaster concerning diversity issues. He declined to reply.
Pat Younge, a former BBC Chief Creative Officer, said in today’s panel: “I was nervous when I first heard about Black to Front as I’ve done plenty of ‘seasons’ and ‘holidays’ in the past and in 10 years’ time you’re still playing the same game. But for me, the channel was serious. I was moved.”