Lewis Hamilton is making Black History right now. The F1 world champion commits his time off-the-track to improving the representation of Black talent in the worlds of fashion and sport. The Hamilton Commission was launched by Hamilton in 2019, following an end-of-season F1 drivers’ photo that lacked diversity. Since then, Hamilton used his table at the 2021 Met Gala to support emerging Black fashion designers, and now the pro racing driver launched a scheme to recruit more Black teachers into STEM education.
The Hamilton Commission’s partnership with The Royal Academy of Engineering is an opportunity to address the underrepresentation of Black people in UK motorsport, as well as the STEM sector, by recruiting more Black teachers with specialisms in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The 2021 report “Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport” published by The Hamilton Commission is a result of a ten month research period with The Royal Academy of Engineering that proposes ten recommendations to improve Black representation via education and employment opportunities.
“I am proud to have published The Hamilton Commission report, Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport, alongside The Royal Academy of Engineering,” Hamilton wrote in a public statement. “Through this report, I feel that we have a clearer understanding of what is preventing the motorsport industry from being truly representative. I am committed to turning these recommendations into action and making real, lasting change for the better.” Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport is an initial two-year programme in partnership with education charity Teach First that aims to recruit and train 150 Black STEM teachers to work in schools and under-served communities across the UK.
