Pinnock, second from the left, is the only Black member of Little Mix

The star has been opening up about her struggles with discrimination and prejudice amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and suggested that her experience in Little Mix has been different to those of her bandmates because of the colour of her skin. The singer admits that, as the only Black member of the band, she sometimes feels ‘invisible’ in her own group, and senses that she is the least preferred among Little Mix fans, confessing that she feels this especially strongly when touring predominantly white countries. 

Despite her early experiences of racism, Pinnock says she was taken aback by the extent of this disparity, telling Channel 4 ‘I just wish that I knew more… that I was more educated on this and I knew that, yeah, your race will hold you back a bit. I just wish I knew so I could prepare myself’. Pinnock recalls that in 2011, after Little Mix’s X Factor win, choreographer Frank Gatson told her ‘You are the Black girl, you have to work ten times harder’. At first confused by his words, the singer says that this advice from Gatson, who is also Black, ‘made sense’ later in her career. Pinnock indeed feels greater pressure to work harder to satisfy fans and impress critics, observing that ‘Talent alone isn’t enough’ for Black artists to be successful, and that ‘Our reality is no matter how far you think you’ve come, racism exists’.

The Little Mix star is not the only Black musician calling out racism in the industry. Fellow X Factor winner Alexandra Burke also recalls having to put in additional effort to please white audiences, revealing that she was even asked to bleach her skin to appear ‘whiter’, and told not to style her hair in braids or an afro, because ‘You have to have hair… that appeals to white people’. Another Black X Factor contestant, Misha B, also recently expressed her feelings of being ‘devalued’ by the music industry, and said X Factor producers created an unfair ‘angry Black girl narrative’ during her time on the show.

As previously reported, Pinnock will be fronting a TV documentary about racism and colourism in the UK. Leigh-Anne: Colourism & Race will be broadcast on BBC Three, where last year Pinnock’s bandmate Jesy Nelson spoke out against cyberbullying, but no air date has yet been confirmed.

The disgusting racial slur was dropped during a BBC report that described a recent racist attack in Bristol. In spite of the awful slur provoking over 18,600 rightful complaints from the public, the BBC initially defended the use of the word.

Sideman announced the news of his departure on the 8th of August via social media. Sharing a poignant post to Instagram entitled ‘I can’t look the other way’, Sideman explains his reasoning behind leaving BBC 1xtra.

Sideman explains in the Instagram video that he has “thought long and hard about what I’m about to say and what it means” and “on this occasion I just don’t think that I can look the other way.” When speaking on the systematic racism present in the media and society as a whole, Sideman says “that there will need to be a lot of learning and tearing down of certain building blocks of our society that took a long time to build up.”

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A post shared by David “Sideman” Whitely (@sidemanallday) on Aug 8, 2020 at 7:09am PDT

Continuing his speech on the pressing matter, Sideman states“the BBC sanctioning the N-word on national television by a white person is something I cannot work with.” Sideman’s Instagram video can be watched in full here.

Generating a whopping 310,000 views and 5,829 comments, Sideman’s post was met with a strong show of support from the public. Sideman’s announcement has also garnered support from various industry players.

Eddie Nestor, esteemed actor turned Radio DJ, implied that he was drafting an open letter to the BBC following the incident. Fellow Radio DJ Charlie Sloth also spoke on Sideman’s departure, saying “I admire and respect you David! Well done for standing up for what you believe is right! You’re a King!! This world needs people like you!”

Disappointedly, the BBC’s initial treatment of this sensitive incident was wholly inadequate. In their first official statement, there was no accountability taken for the use of racist vocabulary. A spokesperson for Radio 1xtra stated “Sideman is an incredibly talented DJ. Obviously we are disappointed that he has taken this decision. We absolutely wish him well for the future. The door is always open for future projects.”

Welp! It only took 19,000 complaints, serious Twitter backlash and a member of BBC staff quitting his job!!! ….But we finally got what we should have had in the first place…. An apology..https://t.co/KeRuQxeEsS

— London Hughes (@TheLondonHughes) August 9, 2020

Following further complaints, the BBC has now apologised for their initial defence of using the word – a word that should not be used, no matter the context. Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC, released the following statement in an email to staff: “The BBC now accepts that we should have taken a different approach at the time of broadcast and we are very sorry for that. We will now be strengthening our guidance on offensive language across our output.”

Hall concluded the apology with the promise to action positive changes. Hall stated “Every organisation should be able to acknowledge when it has made a mistake. We made one here. It is important for us to listen – and also to learn.”

Incorporated within the letter is the important hashtag, #NoSilenceInMusic. An apt title, the initiative advocates speaking out against any form of racism, homophobia, transphobia and antisemitism present within the music industry. 

Along with being co-signed by hundreds of artists, producers and managers, the #NoSilenceInMusic letter has received support from music label giants Sony Music, Island Records, Warner Music and Universal Music. 

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#nosilenceinmusic A copy of the the open letter and all of its signatories can be found in the link in our bio

A post shared by Island Records (@islandrecordsuk) on Aug 2, 2020 at 12:12am PDT

The open letter examines the disgusting acts of racism and intolerance towards minorities that the world has witnessed in recent months and the unlawful silence against such awful acts. The letter states: “In recent months through a series of events and incidents, the anti-black racists and antisemites, plus those who advocate islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia, have repeatedly demonstrated that they clearly want us all to fail. Whether it be systemic racism and racial inequality highlighted by continued police brutality in America or anti-Jewish racism promulgated through online attacks, the result is the same: suspicion, hatred and division.”

The letter maintains that remaining silent against such issues is advocating the oppression the music industry is trying to wipe out, saying “We, the British music industry are proudly uniting to amplify our voices, to take responsibility, to speak out and stand together in solidarity. Silence is not an option.”

Presenting a pathos of unity through art and standing together against the systematic oppression of minorities, the letter also says “There is a global love for music, irrespective of race, religion, sexuality and gender. Music brings joy and hope and connects us all. Through music, education and empathy we can find unity. We stand together, to educate and wipe out racism now and for our future generations.” The letter can be read in full here.

Many beloved UK artists, including the Smile hitmaker Lily Allen, pop princess Rita Ora, indie darling Circa Waves and rising stars Sports Team, have displayed allegiance against racism in the industry and co-signed the vital letter. Other industry players that have pledged their support to the #NoSilenceInMusic letter are vocalist Ella Eyre, pop group Years & Years, musician and producer Tom Misch and pop songstress Jess Glynne. The full list of which artists signed the open letter can be found here. 

On the 22nd July, indie band The 1975 also showed their support for the WarChild UK, a charity that works to protect children against the negative impacts of the coronavirus crisis. Posting to Instagram, the Manchester quartet showed their support to the charity, and included a direct link to the WarChild UK website to help with donations.