Ways to Support Black People in the UK
The recent death of George Floyd in the US has had a much bigger impact on me than I initially expected. The thought that if I lived in the US, I could’ve easily been George Floyd is what terrifies me. Sadly, however, this is not the first time such atrocities have happened in the US. To support the fight against racism in the US, check out these great resources.
Whilst the blatant murder by police in the US doesn’t occur on our soils as often, the UK is not completely innocent. We still live in a society where the proportion of black and minority ethnicity deaths in police custody is two times greater than others [1], where Black people are four times more likely to die from Covid-19 [2] and where black people are paid up to 23% less on average than their white colleagues [3].
This is a deep-rooted issue and requires both short and long-term solutions as well as effort from everybody, especially by white people. I believe we have to tackle this together on 3 fronts:
Education:
- For people who are our allies, we need you to educate yourself about your privilege and your unconscious racial bias. Some resources are captured here.
- Companies need to start making anti-racism training mandatory for all staff. Demand this from your employer.
- We need to start educating all of the younger generations on Black British History. Sign this petition and email Gavin Williamson (Education Secretary) to make it part of the school curriculum.
- We need to ensure we give black children access to top quality education and encourage them to pursue high-impact careers. Support these organisations with a focus empowering black youth.
Politics:
- We need to continuously support black activist and justice organisations financially.
- We need to start questioning our local MP’s about what they and their party are doing about these issues. We need consistent engagement on this front. Send your MP this email about police brutality (click here for instructions on how to find your MP’s details).
- If you can, join peaceful protests when they happen but be conscious of social-distancing and take precaution by wearing masks and gloves.
Economic:
- As consumers we need to make a conscious effort to support black-owned businesses (find a list here) and divert our spending from organisations that don’t speak up against or exhibit racism.
- We need companies to start reporting on the ethnic make-up of their staff (at all levels) and the ethnicity pay-gap. Sign this petition to make it mandatory for businesses to report their ethnicity pay gap. Sign this petition to make it a legal requirement for organisations to have a discrimination policy.
- For investors, especially tech investors, we need you to increase the volume of your investments in black entrepreneurs.
Please share this article with your colleagues, we need many people to start taking action from today!
PS: Find the google doc with all the resources listed above and more here.
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