London,
25
May
2021
|
08:08
Europe/London

A statement on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd

On the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council, Councillor Abdul Hai, Cabinet Member for Young People, Equalities and Cohesion and Councillor Sabrina Francis, Mayor of Camden said:

“Today marks one year since the murder of George Floyd – a heart-breaking event that sparked worldwide protests and a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, including here in Camden.

“We want to acknowledge this important moment together. We know George Floyd’s murder has had a huge impact on our communities, especially our Black, Asian and other ethnic communities, and acknowledge the grief and trauma that many of our residents have faced over the past year – including during the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on our Black, Asian and other ethnic communities.

“However, over the past year, we have been encouraged to see individuals and organisations, locally and across the globe rethinking what systemic racism really means and reaffirming their commitments to anti-racism and social justice.

“We have come together as an organisation and as a community to reaffirm our commitment to standing up against racism. Over the past year, the council’s Race and Equalities task and finish group have strived to implement meaningful change at a local level, to tackle racial inequalities in Camden, influence the Council’s policies and projects whilst continuing to listen and learn from each other.

“This year, the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement highlighted the urgency and importance in delivering inclusive outcomes for our residents, which places equality, justice and fairness at the heart of it.

“We have reaffirmed our commitment to race equality and defined ourselves very clearly as an anti-racist organisation with zero-tolerance approach to racism and discrimination. Through our work, we have produced the Building Equal Foundations report and a comprehensive Race Equality Action Plan, including the commitment to rolling out a mandatory anti-racism learning offer across the whole organisation over the next three months.

“We have also successfully overseen the renaming of Cecil Rhodes House and Beckford School, both in partnership with residents, parent, and staff. We still have a lot to do, but we have committed to radical transparency, developing power to our communities and accelerating our work and efforts.

“This week we also launched our Race & Equalities Stakeholders group, which brought together stakeholders and experts, a passionate and inspiring group of people who are serious about radical action to tackle structural racism and inequality.

“It is vital that we continue learning about, and having conversations around how we can all be truly anti-racist and be better allies. Let us take this anniversary as a call to action to continue the hard work to make meaningful change happen together.”

Further support

We recognise that the anniversary of George Floyd’s tragic murder has the potential to take a significant emotional toll. Please consider accessing some of the below resources if you are struggling or needing support.

  • Black Minds Matter's mission is to connect Black families and individuals with free mental health support.
  • Black River Counselling is a free online service from Mind, supporting people of Black, African and African-Caribbean heritage. Currently the service is full, but you can call to be added to the waiting list.
  • Burnt Roti is the UK's leading South Asian magazine. Online they offer a directory of women South Asian and East Asian therapists in London.
  • Rethink provides a broad range of mental health and wellbeing services, including specific services for Black, Asian and other ethnic groups depending on your area.
  • Stonewall has published a list of Black LGBT+ organisations that both offer support for Black LGBT+ people, and also provide opportunities to come together, share and campaign on issues specifically affecting Black LGBT+ communities.