Posted by Elizabeth Simenstad
There is a new page on social media, and its mission is a long time coming: to hold space for historically underrepresented Black mariners in North America, and to encourage and support more Black folks to join the industry. We were so excited to meet Buki Hough of Melanated Mariners, and we recently caught up with Buki to get some more background on her new project.
Sea Sisters: What was the inspiration for starting Melanated Mariners?
Buki Hough: The events of the Summer of 2020 that resulted in the renewing of the Black Lives Matter movement had a profound impact on me. I’d always been vocal about issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but the need to do something more tangible grew in 2020.
In the 6 years I’ve been in the industry working in marine education recruitment and enrollment management, I’ve been involved in various round-table discussions about addressing the under-representation of Indigenous people and women in the Canadian Marine Industry. While taking part in this discussions, I was also acutely aware of how much I stood out as a Black woman in every space I entered, while no one was acknowledging that as being an issue.
After the death of George Floyd and renewed Black Lives Matter movement last summer, something shifted in me and the desire to take practical action about how few Black people I encountered in the Marine Industry became important to me. In addition, I found that while many companies and industries were making stance of anti-racism, few people and organizations in the Marine Industry were saying anything about where they stood on these issues or what they would do to bring about change.
I did some research and noticed how few North American Black people were represented on any Marine Industry related social media pages and how much I had to dig to learn about the history and experiences of Black people in the industry and decided that there was a gap there no one was addressing.
SS: What is your overall goal or mission?
BH: My goal is to make Melanated Mariners a gathering space to bring Black people in the North American Marine Industry together. I want it to be a space to both celebrate and showcase the contributions Black people are making in the Marine Industry in Canada and the US and to ultimately attract more Black people to our industry. I believe that representation matters and my goal is to show Black young people the wide variety of career opportunities people who look like them are engaged in within the industry and to help them see that they belong in this industry. It is also a space to bring awareness to the Marine Industry - we’ll talk about the variety of opportunities in the industry as well as education options to get started or progress within the industry.
SS: How do you support Black mariners?
BH: I see my page as a space to amplify Black Mariners’ voices by bringing attention to the excellent work being done by them in the Industry. Since starting the page, I’ve connected with some incredible Black Mariners making waves in their part of the industry and I look forward to giving them a stage to share their stories, achievements, and businesses with the goal of helping them gain prominence, while connecting them to other Black people within the industry.
One of the themes I’m hearing a lot from Black Mariners is how, like me, they deal with either being the only or one of few people who look like them within their organization. My goal with Melanated Mariners is to support Black Mariners by helping create a community that shows us that we’re not alone and also provide useful information to encourage other people who look like us to consider careers within the Marine Industry whether that’s sea-going or ashore.
I don’t presume to be the voice for every Black person in the industry; our experiences are as diverse as we are. That’s why I hope that Melanated Mariners will be a safe space where Black Mariners can give voice to the issues they are facing in the industry and also a gathering place to share the solutions they have to these issues. We won’t just focus on issues though, we will celebrate our achievements and cheer each other on as we grow and make a difference in the industry.
SS: What can the maritime industry do to support you?
BH: Spread the word: like the page, share the posts and amplify the voices of Melanated Mariners featured on the page. Also, if you know of a Black Mariner, tell them about the page - I want to connect with many Black Mariners in a variety of careers as possible within the Industry and give them to opportunity to share their stories and wisdom.
Engage with the content these Mariners are sharing by asking questions, encouraging them and showing them that their stories and lived experiences matter. The industry can also use the stories being shared by Black Mariners on the page to spring board much needed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) conversations within their own organizations.
SS: What is the best way for people to support Black/BIPOC mariners in the industry?
BH:
Acknowledge that there is an issue with a lack of focus on racial diversity in the industry. At present, there is little to no information about Black people within the industry and very little attention paid to their unique experiences including experiences of overt racism and micro-aggressions. As James Baldwin said “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it’s faced”. Acknowledge that Black people are underrepresented and Black women even more so, is a starting point for us as an Industry to start putting plans and strategies in place to address this DE&I issue.
Listen to the voices of the Black Mariners and create safe spaces for those stories and experiences to be shared. This is how we start changing culture and making the Industry more inclusive. I’m looking forward to meeting Black Mariners through Melanated Mariners and the variety of stories and experiences they will share. I’ve already learned so much in the last two months since I started the page and I can only imagine how much more is to come.
Be intentional about addressing the underrepresentation of Black people within your organization through addressing internal culture, hiring, and career progression practices that create barriers for Black people to enter and thrive. The strategies we’ve been engaging in for increasing women Mariners, let’s approach them from an intersectional lens with the goal of increasing the participation of Black Mariners as well.
SS: How do you want Melanated Mariners to grow or evolve in the future? What will it look like in 5, 10 years? Will it still be going in 10 years? (I sure hope so, personally).
BH: My dream for Melanated Mariners in 5-10 years is that we’ve evolved to a community of senior leaders within the Marine Industry both at sea and ashore who are mentoring the next generation of Black Mariners as they grow in their careers. I want to see the page thriving as the premier community for Black Mariners to gather, network, and share ideas that improve the representation and experience of Black people within the industry.
At present, there are very few Black women in positions of power within the commercial Marine Industry. It wasn’t until 1995 that Ghana produced the world’s first Black woman Captain, Beatrice Vormawah, and there are few Black women in C-Suite positions at the large Marine Industry companies in North America. I couldn’t find any such information for the Canadian Marine Industry (I haven’t discovered any yet; if you know of any please send them my way, I would love to hear and share their stories). In the next 10 years, my hope is that through the work done by Melanated Mariners to promote the skills and excellence of Black women Mariners, we will see more Black women promoted to leadership positions and influencing the trajectory of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the industry.
Thank you so much Buki for giving us your valuable time! We look forward to watching Melanated Mariners grow, and we pledge our full support to your success.
Ms. Buki Hough