By Pauline Lewis LLB(Hons)
Events over the past two weeks have plummeted our country into a protest against racism. Issues of social injustice, particularly in relation to race, have suddenly risen to the surface of an already turbulent world. So many aspects of this issue have come to the forefront and how we see this and how we respond to this will be the key to whether we, as a country, come out of it in either a healthier condition or with deeper racial tensions.
For two weeks we have seen unprecedented protests across the globe against the police in response to the USA’s brutal and broad daylight murder of a Black US citizen. His death was completely preventable, but for the actions of one police officer and the inaction of three others. The reason for his death appears to be blatant racism. Sadly, the death of a Black citizen in police custody is not new and this time, it seems, the whole world has been awakened to a reality we are not willing to accept.
It seems that there is a time in every movement for justice when it takes the form of a resolution that cannot be contained or quenched. The Suffragette movement came to this point after Emily Davison lost her life for the cause. The Civil Rights movement came to this point after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated. The Anti-apartheid movement came to this point after Nelson Mandela remained imprisoned and the whole world joined in outrage and applied sanctions. The Abolition of Slavery movement came to this point after William Wilberforce resigned from Parliament after years of campaigning.
There has been a movement for social justice in the UK for a long time. Many have campaigned for racial justice, many have marched and protested and, to be fair, much has been done. However, the death of George Floyd has shown us that whatever has been achieved pales in comparison to actual and real racial social justice. The light that has shone on racial injustice in the US has shone on racial injustice everywhere and this is being keenly felt here in the UK.
In the UK there has been progress in equal treatment for Black people. The Race Relations Act was passed in 1976. Racial discrimination was outlawed by law. Fair treatment in renting homes, obtaining loans, getting jobs and even going to church was won by Black people fighting for their rights and White people moved by justice, joining that fight. Things were better in many ways. However, a young Black man called Stephen Lawrence was murdered on the streets of London just for being Black 27 years ago and the issue of race in the UK reared its ugly head again. The outrage sparked many protests and resulted in the MacPherson report. This report made an official finding in the UK that the UK police were institutionally racist. Many sad incidents of Black UK citizens losing their lives, or being permanently injured at the hands of the UK police have taken place since these changes were implemented.
The good news is that people of all races, creeds and colours have come out on the side of racial justice. The protests have drawn people from all corners of society and many, both Black and White, have reported taking part for a first time.
What we must be committed to is peaceful protest and real change. This is an ideal that we all strive towards and we must all make the efforts to achieve.
We have made great strides and we are now going to make even greater strides. The Black Lives Matter movement has been moving us to address the issues of racial injustice and with peaceful agreement and unity we will all work together to continue the hard work of taking racial justice from the centre of British society where Black Lives Matter.
Our time has come.
