Jamaicans get excited over sensational and salacious stories of the moment and so often overlook events of greater worth, meaning, and significance in the longer term.

This week, judges in the coveted British Journalism Awards began sorting entries for the second Barbara Blake-Hannah Award — which they will present in December — in honour of the much-deserving Jamaican after whom it is named.

The Barbara Blake-Hannah Award memorialises a moment in British journalism history when racism robbed the profession of the richness of variety, notably of black Britons who, in the eyes of bigots, could never be bright or talented enough to make it in.

It would take a Jamaican, wouldn’t it, to smash that racist glass ceiling — people the likes of the late, great Messrs Lindy Delapenha and John Barnes, two of the very first blacks to play football in England; Ms Princess Campbell, one of the first black hospital ward sisters; and Mrs Sislin Fay Allen, Britain’s first black policewoman, among others on that illustrious list.

Ms Blake-Hannah joined Thames Television to become the first black on-screen reporter in Britain in 1968, the same year Mrs Allen joined the Metropolitan Police. By coincidence again, both women were recognised last year for their trailblazing contribution to Britain.

But for Ms Blake-Hannah, the job as a pioneer TV reporter would be very short-lived. Nine months later, according to British media reports, she was shown the door after numerous complaints from white racist viewers, egged on by the notorious right-wing politician Mr Enoch Powell.

Last year, two other happy coincidences took place. A young black British woman journalist, Ms Bree Johnson-Obeng, happened upon Ms Blake-Hannah’s intriguing story in an interview with the Jamaican journalist on Sky News about her dismissal 53 years ago.

At the same time, the Press Gazette, the UK’s leading online media trade magazine dedicated to journalism, was looking to improve diversity in media entries for the British Journalism Awards.

Press Gazette editor-in-chief Mr Dominic Ponsford himself acknowledged that the journalism industry in the UK did not have a good record in reflecting the diversity of the country and that the British Journalism Award finalists and winners had generally illustrated that situation.

The Gazette immediately accepted a suggestion from Johnson-Obeng — that they create an award to recognise Ms Blake-Hannah. The award is called the Barbara Blake-Hannah Award for “the best up-and-coming writer from a minority background”.

Entries from non-white journalists and females who do not have a publication to support their entry were made free of cost, thanks to Google. In the first year of the award there were 200 entries — an indication of the hunger among black journalists.

The first awardee, fittingly, is a young woman journalist, Ms Kuba Shand-Baptiste, who is of Jamaican heritage. As part of her prize she will receive a one-week visit to Jamaica, courtesy of the Jamaica Tourist Board, during which she will meet Ms Blake-Hannah in person and, hopefully, other local journalists.

We salute Ms Blake-Hannah, now 80, for her life of true courage and for continuing the fight against racism and for reparation for slavery.