BARAC UK
STATEMENT
Solidarity
with the family of George Floyd, campaigning against racism and injustice,
impact of coronavirus on black communities
June 2020
BARAC UK sends its deepest condolences to the family and
friends of George Floyd and we stand in solidarity with all black people in the
USA, UK and globally whose lived experience means that they have to challenge
racism daily, from every day to systemic racism.
As a grassroots black led organisation, marking its ten year
anniversary this month, we have consistently challenged the racism and
injustice faced by black people in the UK, including economic and social
impacts, workplace and labour market discrimination, the adverse impacts of austerity,
institutional racism and in supporting families whose loved ones have died at
the hands of the state and we know the anguish and distress that families go
through in seeking justice within a judiciary system that is systemically racist.
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| BARAC solidarity protest and march against deaths at the hands of the state |
We note that a wide range of organisations and institutions
that have been silent throughout decades of struggle against racism have in recent
days been issuing statements of solidarity, often using the #blacklivesmatter
hashtag but we are also aware that many of these institutions do not have their
own house in order with regards to addressing under representation of black / BAME people in their workforce, the absence of
black people on their boards, discrimination in recruitment, promotion,
progression and in appraisal systems and
pay, not to mention unequal terms and conditions in two tier workforces.
We welcome their acts of solidarity, but we believe that
solidarity needs to be more than symbolic and must be practical and that
standing up to racism is more than just a hashtag. It takes determination and
commitment and real actions which make a difference to peoples lives and that
means that potential workers, existing workers, customers, clients and stakeholders who
are black and minority ethnic must be treated with dignity, respect and
equality by those organisations and that if they really believe that black
lives matter then they cannot speak up one day of the year and be silent for
the remaining 364 days.
In 2017 BARAC published a
2025
Vision for Race Equality paper and launched the campaign in the UK
Parliament hosted by the former UK Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell MP.
In this strategy paper we set out the state
of race discrimination in the UK and the commitments required by government,
politicians, cities, businesses, civil society and others to achieve race equality.
We stressed at the time that achieving race
equality can only succeed if all these institutions and bodies take action,
hold their hands up, examine their own failures and address them with penalties
for any failure to meet targets and make year on year improvements.
Our message to all the organisations currently declaring their
solidarity with the black lives matter movement, race equality campaigners and
the family of George Floyd, is that if
they are truly serious about contributing to creating a society free of racism
in all its forms then they need to get their own house in order and commit to action
not just words and to consider the strategy we set out and declare their own
plan to not just root out racism but to work towards achieving race equality.
It is not enough to be anti-racist, organisations and individuals need to be for
race equality and to call out racism when they witness it as well as take
action to prevent it occurring in the first place. Standing up to racism cannot stop at the exit
from the office, it must continue on the journey home, in social circles, in
neighbourhoods.
When we are silent in the face of racism, it empowers those
who hold racist views to express them and it allows racism to grow – challenging
racism in all its forms is crucial and that must include recognising your own
privilege and speaking out and taking action - not just when there are huge
injustices that are in the public domain such as the horrendous brutal murder
of George Floyd in the USA and many others before him globally including
Sean Rigg in the UK but
addressing every day racism and micro aggressions which black people encounter
in their daily lives and systemic discrimination throughout institutions which
lead to deaths also, such as the tragic case of
Sarah Reed.
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| left: Marica Rigg , campaigner for justice and sister of Sean Rigg with Zita Holbourne, Chair of BARAC UK |
Right now the Coronavirus pandemic is impacting disproportionately
on black and minority ethnic workers and communities, black people are over 4
times more likely to die from coronavirus than white people in the UK
and many of those who have died were workers on
the frontline, keeping essential services running in the health, care , public
transport and facilities management sectors amongst others. We know that black
workers often work with worse terms and conditions in two tier workforces and /
or in frontline jobs. Many of these workers conduct thankless tasks every day,
deemed to be inferior by other workers and the public and face racist abuse and
harassment and bullying in addition.
We
cannot forget when we speak of deaths of black people about the death this year
of Belly Mujinga, a black woman and
transport
sector worker who was spat at alongside another black colleague by a man who
stated that he had coronavirus.
Belly
and her colleague both got coronavirus and Belly sadly died.
As with many deaths of black people in
horrendous circumstances such as these, Belly’s family along with her trade
union the TSSA, have had to launch a campaign to raise awareness and in order
to seek justice.
Following an
investigation,
it has been stated that
no
further action will be taken against the man who spat at them and that it
is not a criminal matter, because he tested negative for coronavirus at a date
after he spat at them.
This does not
prove that he did not have coronavirus at the time and we know that test
results currently cannot be entirely relied upon for accuracy which is
confirmed by the medical profession,
the
fact that he spat at them in the course of them carrying out their jobs is
abuse and if he believed he had coronavirus then he intentionally set out to
spread the virus and to potentially kill them. In comparison when a police
officer was spat at, the perpetrator
was jailed
for 12 months.
BARAC believes that given black people are dying
disproportionately, employers should be treating them as being in the high-risk
category and taking series steps to prevent further deaths of all workers due
to coronavirus. This means that thorough
risk assessments, equality impact assessments and individual assessments must
be carried out for all workers including black / BAME workers which consider not just the
impact on the individual but on the people they live with and care for, the
public transport workers if they use public transport to get the work and the
facilities workers who are disproportionately black and which include cleaners
and security guards at their workplaces and that if full safety and protection
including PPE cannot be guaranteed then employers must take the threat to lives
seriously and consider other duties, working from home (or continuing to for a
longer period if they are already), or not
being required to work with no detriment to pay, terms and conditions and
rights. Trade Unions have a key role to
play in negotiating these protections and we strongly encourage black workers
to join a trade union if they have not already done so.
BARAC UK was initially established to campaign on the
disproportionate impact of cuts and austerity on black workers, service users
and communities but hand in hand with those impacts came deepening racism and
injustice faced by black communities so our remit soon broadened to include
campaigning on the wider range of concerns and linked issues.
We also played a central role in campaigns
for migrant rights and against Windrush injustice –
warning
of this long before the Windrush Scandal was described as such. As part of
our commitment to practical solidarity, for the past seven years we have coordinated
regular humanitarian aid and solidarity missions to our sisters and brothers
who are displaced due to climate change, poverty, persecution and conflict.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/BARACHumanitarian.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic we have been unable to distribute aid
and the charities we work with on the ground have had to stop also in order to
prevent risk of spreading the virus to those who are refugees and those who
volunteer and due to borders closing.
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| makeshift school for refugee children in Calais |
It is essential that in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis
and the economic one to follow, that we do not allow the Windrush Scandal and it’s
impacts to be buried. The vast majority impacted have received no compensation, the government is continuing with actions including legislation, to further its 'hostile environment ' agenda, at a time that migrant and BAME workers are keeping essential Services running across the UK. Many members of the Windrush generation before them were directly recruited from the Caribbean to work in the NHS and on public transport. Right now there are hundreds of women and men, who were legally allowed to
work in the UK and when they lost their jobs due to the coronavirus
pandemic have no recourse to public funds
due to their immigration status despite having paid their taxes for years. Many of those
impacted have children - some of whom are born in Britain and are destitute and
without food or funds for essentials, dependent on local community group charity
donations just to survive.
These are just some examples of areas where large
businesses, if they are serious about giving something back to communities who
are impacted globally by racism and injustice, could direct their funds
and resources.
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| Banner Drop on National Windrush Day, June 2019 |
Every year we join the
United
Family and Friends campaign annual march against deaths in custody in the
UK but all of the institutions and businesses now declaring their commitment to
“black lives matter” are absent from such campaigns and actions. We hope to see
those based in or with a branch in the UK putting their symbolic solidarity
into practical action by joining each year going forward and demonstrating visibility
in their commitment to challenging racial profiling.
We welcome and encourage all to speak out against racism,
but we object to the discourse on racism and injustice faced by black communities
by those with lived experience being side-lined by others, suggesting that
their own voices are more important.
Many black people have been speaking out about these issues for their
whole lives, often met with disregard at best and abuse at worse. Therefore if businesses and institutions want
to engage with the issues, a way of
doing this could be to invite guest blogs, hosting of virtual events and talks
by black activists, campaigners, writers, artists etc as a way of engaging their customers and
staff in a meaningful way beyond symbolism.
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| Press conference hosted by BARAC UK for the family of Trayvon Martin |
We are living through a collective trauma due to the pandemic,
racist murders, police brutality, institutional racism and every day racism and
the pouring of outrage at the death of yet another unarmed black man at the hands
of the police is understandable and needed. Because of the disproportionate numbers
of black people dying from coronavirus, although we fully understand why people
are attending protests, we are worried about the impact of coronavirus, where social distancing is not being practiced, either to get to protests and whilst at them and we have taken the decision not
to organise or participate in physical mass protest action during the pandemic,
particularly as there are concerns about a second wave. We will be protesting
and engaging in other ways, virtually and behind the scenes through engagements
with others and creative avenues. The unusual response by institutions and
businesses to want to demonstrate solidarity should be harnessed and
transferred to long term commitment towards race equality going forward, if they are genuine, in our view.
Our love and solidarity to all living through and standing
up to racism in all its forms.
Zita Holbourne, National Chair
On behalf of BARAC UK
