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We know many of you will be feeling pain, anger and hopelessness. We want you to know that we will stand by you and that the death of George Floyd, and the institutional racism and injustice here in the UK, will not go ignored.
In the UK, black people are 3x more likely to be prosecuted and sentenced than white people. Black boys are 3x more likely to be permanently excluded than white boys. Black workers with degrees earn 23% less than their white counterparts. We must do better.
Remember their names: Christopher Alder, Michael Powell, Kebba Jobe, Olaseni Lewis, Jimmy Mubenga, Mark Duggan, Kingsley Burrell, Demetre Fraser, Sarah Reed, Leon Briggs, Julian Cole, Adrian Thompson, Sheku Bayoh, Dalian Atkinson.
Belly Mujinga, a London essential worker, died of COVID-19 after being spat at by a man who claimed to have COVID-19. The police say there's no evidence of a criminal offence, even though a suspect was brought in for questioning from CCTV footage, as well as witnesses.
We’ve come a long way, but ‘less racist’ is still racist. To the black community- you are not alone. While this is a time for amplifying black voices, remember that your mental health is the number one priority. If you are struggling, seek help from @YoungMindsUK and @MindCharity
To our non-black followers- this is the time to show our allyship. We must push back against systemic racism. We must listen to our friends from the black community, read books and follow people who can help educate us. And most of all, amplify black voices.
After tragedies like this white people often go to black people to ask for guidance. While this may seem sensible, it’s actually asking black people for free labour when there are lots of resources already freely available. Here are some we compiled:
This is a link to a petition to Mayor Jacob Frey for charges to be filed against all the officers involved in the death of George Floyd http://chng.it/BB7qH7CCvg
This is a link to the GoFundMe to support the family of George Floyd https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
You can also support the Minnesota Freedom Fund here, who work to support black movements and communities https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/donate
