Anthony (Tony) Durrant MBE JP

Tony is a retired strategic manager who lives in Stockport. He migrated to the UK as a student from St Vincent and the Grenadines in 1967 and worked for decades in the British civil service, specialising in economic and community development. Tony was also an active trade unionist and supported local equality and diversity initiatives in his spare time. He was awarded an MBE for his services to the public in 2009. In this interview Tony discusses racial discrimination in the workplace and the impact this had on his own distinguished career. He outlines some of the projects he developed professionally to support black communities – providing training, leadership and employment opportunities, as well as the voluntary work he undertook alongside – championing colleagues and advocating for wider structural change. Tony considers the struggles black employees continue to face today and the measures needed to overcome them.