Everton’s first 11 black male players are being celebrated with a display at Hill Dickinson Stadium throughout Black History Month this month.
The club has worked alongside Show Racism The Red Card as part of a pilot programme, which the organisation aims to roll out across all clubs to highlight the major contribution made to the game by black players.
Invited guests gathered in Trinity Place Bar at the waterfront stadium to launch Everton’s XI, researched with the help of Everton’s Heritage Society, unveiled on banners that will be visible to visitors in the public space throughout October.
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Everton giant Peter Reid joined club officials, representatives from Show Racism The Red Card, the Premier League and Unison General Secretary Andrea Egan, to honour the trailblazers who made their mark with the Toffees.
Ben Osu, head of equity and inclusion at Everton, said: “It’s fantastic to be able to launch our Black History Month exhibition, celebrating the first black men’s players to represent the club, in partnership with Show Racism the Red Card.
“Players of Black heritage have made an enormous contribution to the history, success and culture of our Club, both on and off the pitch, and it is fitting that we take this opportunity to recognise and celebrate those achievements during October.
“This exhibition shines a light on the pioneering individuals who helped pave the way for future generations, often overcoming significant barriers in the process.”
The careers of Mike Trebilcock, Cliff Marshall, Daniel Amokachi, Earl Barrett, Terry Phelan, Danny Cadamateri, John O’Kane, Olivier Dacourt, Ibrahim Bakayoko, Kevin Campbell and Abel Xavier all feature in the exhibition, which will also be the backdrop for an educational visit by schools connected to Everton in the Community next month.
Show Racism The Red Card’s Paul Kearns added: “This is a really important project for us. It encapsulates the history of the club and tells really important stories and lived histories of the players who set the foundations and were pioneers for the players that came after them.
“We started these exhibitions as a pilot project and it’s proven to work, so we aim to get this across the whole city to make sure as many people as possible can learn about these histories and now important these players’ stories are.”
Iffy Onoura, head of race equality and inclusion at the Premier League – and a boyhood Everton supporter – was another at the launch of the exhibition.
He said: “Fair play to the club and Show Racism The Red Card for putting this on because it’s important to the whole of the city. Everton has always been the people’s club, but something like this just shows the inclusion and everything that it stands for.
“It’s important to keep fighting the fight because there is no room for racism. Unfortunately, we’re in an era now where we’re seeing some of those elements creep back into society and dissenting voices are coming from dark places. It’s always a vocal minority and somehow we’ve got to find a way to embolden that decent majority, so events like this just speak to that.”
Black History Month, which runs throughout October each year, brings communities, schools, organisations and institutions across the country together to honour the contributions of Black people to Britain’s past, present and future. This year’s theme, “Honouring Our Communities,” invites us to recognise the individuals whose everyday contributions shape, support and sustain Black life across the United Kingdom.
