Little Mix’s Jade and Leigh-Anne ‘honoured’ to share award for BLM support

Little Mix ‘s Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock have been handed awards after standing up in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, The Mirror can reveal.

The singers say they’re “honoured” to share the Equality prize at the 2020 Ethnicity Awards, and spoke about why they feel it’s so important to use their platform to fight race issues.

They’ll be handed their prizes at tonight’s ceremony, held in association with sponsors HSBC UK.

Earlier this year, Leigh-Anne opened up about the racism she has faced and has recently announced she is making a BBC documentary about her experiences. The pair were also two of the high profile figures to take part in London’s Black Lives Matter march in August.

Leigh-Anne said in a video: “Hi guys, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for voting for me for this award, joint with Jade which is absolutely amazing.

“Thank you so much, I feel so overwhelmed to have received an award like this.

“I will continue to use my platform to speak up about race and fighting the fight.

“I already feel like there are so many people out there working towards change and fighting this fight and not necessarily being projected in social media or in the news so this award is for them.”

Jade added: “Hi everyone, thank you so, so, so much for this award. We’re so unbelievably grateful and still can’t quite believe it to be honest.

“It’s really important for me and Leigh to be using our platform to sort of share our experiences as two women of colour in the music industry, and just generally throughout our lives in the hopes of inspiring our young fans particularly to be proud of who they are and to make a difference in this world.

“I think this year particularly, as I’m sure everyone has experienced, has taken myself and Leigh on a very educational journey about what it means to put words into actions and to use our voices to really take a stand.

“I’m super proud of my sister Leigh and I’m so happy that we get to share this achievement together.”

The virtual ceremony, hosted by TV presenter and former footballer Alex Scott MBE, took on greater significance this year given the prominence of the global Black Lives Matter movement.

The Good Place star Jameela Jamil won the Inspirational Personality Award, Manchester United star Marcus Rashford picked up the Campaigner Award and singer Craig David won the Global Media Impact prize.

Founder of the Ethnicity Awards, Sarah Garrett MBE, said: “The 2020 Ethnicity Awards took on greater significance this year given the impact of the global Black Lives Matter movement. This was a year in which people all over the world took a stand against systemic racism and demanded equality for all.

“The Ethnicity Awards have paid particular tribute to some of the public figures who have been involved in that campaign as well as other Black and minority ethic people who have used their platform to make a difference.”

The 2020 Ethnicity Award winners in full:

Inspirational Personality – Jameela Jamil

Online Impact – Amal Fashanu

Political Figure – Marsha De Cordova MP

Sports Personality – Trent Alexander-Arnold

Music Artist – Rina Sawayama

Equality – Jade Thirlwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock

Global Media Impact – Craig David

Campaigner – Marcus Rashford MBE

Lifetime Achievement – Dionne Warwick

Media Moment – The Black Lives Matter Movement

Charity or Community Initiative – Black Minds Matter UK

Inspirational Leader – Zaheer Ahmad MBE, EY

Future Leader – Tolu Oke, Sainsbury’s

Brand Impact – Argos

Workplace Hero – Bernadette Thompson, Civil Service

Outstanding Contribution to Communities – Shani Dhanda

Network Group – One Employee Resource Group, National Grid

Champion (Ally) – Claire Willis and Matthew Newick

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Little MixJade ThirlwallLeigh-Anne Pinnock