Category Archives: Race

Ex-Trump aide Sanders defends critical race theory ban as Arkansas governor

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Sarah Sanders, a former Trump press secretary, says move is preventative and ‘to make sure we’re not indoctrinating our kids’

The new Republican governor of Arkansas, Sarah Sanders, said the move to ban critical race theory in public schools in her state was a preventative measure.

“It’s incredibly important that we do things to protect the students in our state,” she told Fox News Sunday. “We have to make sure that we are not indoctrinating our kids and that these policies and these ideas never see the light of day.”

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‘It never stops’: killings by US police reach record high in 2022

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Law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people or about 100 people a month last year, making it the deadliest for police violence

US law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people in 2022, making it the deadliest year on record for police violence since experts first started tracking the killings, a new data analysis reveals.

Police across the country killed an average of more than three people a day, or nearly 100 people every month last year according to Mapping Police Violence. The non-profit research group maintains a database of reported deaths at the hands of law enforcement, including people fatally shot, beaten, restrained and Tasered.

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UK charities watchdog ‘assesses concerns’ about Campaign Against Antisemitism

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Commission opens ‘regulatory compliance case’ after complaints that the charity is politically partisan

The Charity Commission has said it is “assessing concerns” about the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was at the forefront of antisemitism allegations against Labour under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

The commission has opened a regulatory compliance case against the CAA, after complaints including that the charity is politically partisan.

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Labour reaffirms pledge to fight structural racism amid disparity figures

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Exclusive: ONS analysis shows black households five times more likely to struggle to pay energy bills

Labour has reaffirmed its commitment to tackle structural racism after new analysis showed black households are five times more likely to struggle making energy bills repayments.

Black and minority ethnic people were already 2.5 times more likely to be in relative poverty, and 2.2 times more likely to live in deep poverty (defined as having an income more than 50% below the relative poverty line), than their white counterparts regardless of the energy crisis, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

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Africa’s biggest photography library opens in Ghana

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Ghanaian photographer’s crowdfunded project won support of Humans of New York author and boasts more than 30,000 books

The largest photography library in Africa has opened in Ghana’s capital, Accra, showcasing the work of the continent and diaspora’s forgotten, established and emerging talent.

Founded by Ghanaian photographer and film-maker Paul Ninson, the Dikan Center houses more than 30,000 books he has collected. The first of its kind in Ghana, a photo studio and classrooms provide space for workshops while a fellowship programme is aimed at African documentarians and visual artists. An exhibition space will host regular shows, the first of which is Ahennie, a series by the late Ghanaian documentary photographer Emmanuel Bobbie (also known as Bob Pixel), who died in 2021.

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Calls for more antisemitism teaching in UK schools to tackle rise in hate

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Adviser urges governments to act ‘before this form of racism poisons the minds of many more young people’

Schools should be required to teach about contemporary antisemitism, not only the Holocaust, as part of a drive to combat an “alarming” rise in hatred towards Jewish people among British pupils, a government adviser has said.

The former Labour MP Lord Mann, who now sits as a non-affiliated peer, urged ministers across the UK to take action after an investigation found antisemitic incidents in English schools had almost trebled over the past five years.

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Five Louisiana officers charged in death of Black motorist Ronald Greene

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Authorities initially blamed deadly 2019 on a car crash before body-camera video showed white officers beating Greene

Five Louisiana law enforcement officers have been charged with crimes ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, a death authorities initially blamed on a car crash before long suppressed body-camera video showed white officers beating, stunning and dragging the Black motorist as he wailed: “I’m scared!”

These were the first criminal charges of any kind to emerge from Greene’s bloody death on a roadside in rural north-east Louisiana, a case that got little attention until an Associated Press investigation exposed a cover-up and prompted scrutiny of top Louisiana state police figures, a sweeping US justice department review of the agency and a legislative inquiry looking at what Governor John Bel Edwards knew and when he knew it.

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Job discrimination faced by ethnic minorities convinces public about racism

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Study finds exposing inequalities in applications for employment ‘catches racism red-handed’

Researchers believe they may have found the best way to convince the public that racism is a real problem and requires major change: tell them about an Oxford University study exposing discrimination faced by job applicants.

A groundbreaking project exploring how better to boost public support for action against systemic racism tested which messages best move people towards a more anti-racist position.

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London fire brigade put into special measures over misogyny and racism

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Watchdog to monitor force closely after damning report revealed deep-seated behavioural problems

London fire brigade (LFB) has been placed into special measures by the chief fire inspector after a report revealing incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying.

The watchdog moved the LFB into an enhanced level of monitoring on Wednesday, citing concerns about “culmulative evidence” from its last inspection and later of unacceptable behaviour within the brigade.

His Majesty’s inspector of fire and rescue services, Matt Parr, said: “We should recognise that London fire brigade’s recent cultural review was commissioned by the brigade, whose leadership has accepted its findings without reservation.

“However, it is clear that the behavioural problems we highlighted earlier this year are deep-seated and have not improved. We will now examine London fire brigade’s improvement plans more frequently and more intrusively, and work closely with the brigade to monitor its progress.”

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Portsmouth University loses discrimination case against Indian lecturer

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Dr Kajal Sharma was only one of 12 senior academics not to be reappointed to her post

A university has been found to have discriminated against an Indian lecturer on the grounds of race after it failed to reappoint her for a job she had been doing for five years, replacing her with a white candidate with no experience of the role.

Dr Kajal Sharma was one of only two senior lecturers at the University of Portsmouth who were not reappointed to their jobs when their contract came to an end, while 11 out of 12 white colleagues were successful, an employment tribunal heard.

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Safety fears force Ngozi Fulani’s charity to pause work after palace racism incident

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Sistah Space says many domestic abuse services temporarily halted after founder spoke of encounter with Susan Hussey

A charity led by a black domestic abuse campaigner who was asked where she “really came from” by the late queen’s senior lady-in-waiting has had to pause its operations because of safety fears.

Sistah Space said it was “forced to temporarily cease” working after its founder, Ngozi Fulani, spoke out about her treatment by Susan Hussey at a reception at Buckingham Palace. The charity supports women of African and Caribbean heritage who have been affected by domestic and sexual abuse.

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Former police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back sentenced to prison

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J Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and will serve a three and a half year term

The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back while another officer kneeled on the Black man’s neck was sentenced Friday to three and a half years in prison.

J Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty in October to a state count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange, a charge of aiding and abetting murder was dropped. Kueng is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, and the state and federal sentence will be served at the same time.

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Romany leaders appeal for calm after second day of protest violence in Greece

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Outrage continues over police shooting of teenage boy, with clashes erupting in major urban centres

Romany leaders in Greece have appealed for calm following a second day of violent protests triggered by the police shooting of a teenage boy, who is in intensive care.

Outrage over the incident, which took place in Thessaloniki when the 16-year-old reportedly sped out of a petrol station without paying a €20 fuel bill, has resulted in thousands spilling on to the streets and clashes erupting in major urban centres.

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Harry and Meghan win racial justice and mental health award

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Duke and Duchess of Sussex honoured for their activism days ahead of revelatory Netflix show

A US human rights charity has awarded Harry and Meghan its Ripple of Hope award for their activism on racial justice and mental health.

In a statement celebrating their award, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said “a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change”. The couple received the award on Tuesday night in New York, two days before the release of a tell-all Netflix show expected to include damning revelations about the royal family.

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Mississippi man pleads guilty to burning cross in yard to intimidate Black family

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DoJ says Axel Cox ‘admitted he burned cross because of the victims’ race and because they were occupying a home next to his’

A Mississippi man pleaded guilty in federal court to burning a cross in his front yard with the intent to intimidate a Black family, the US justice department said.

Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport in south Mississippi, mounted a wooden cross in his front yard on 2 December 2020, officials said. He then doused it with motor oil and lit it within view of his neighbors, who are Black.

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‘It’s awakened a consciousness in me’: Collingwood urges AFL clubs to conduct racism reviews

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Magpies implement 14 recommendations of Do Better review with four in progress as president Jeff Browne says new systems will build inclusive club

Collingwood says it is making strides to remove the stain of racism and wants other AFL teams to learn from its lessons, two years after an external review found systemic racism within the club.

The Do Better report, the result of an independent review in 2020 by the Jumbunna Institute, outlined 18 recommendations for Collingwood to transform its processes, values and culture to become a more inclusive workplace – all of which were adopted by the club.

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‘Diversity is a beautiful thing’: the view from Leicester and Birmingham

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Minority ethnic people make up 59% and 51% of respective populations in UK’s first ‘super-diverse’ cities

Leicester and Birmingham have become the first “super-diverse” cities in the UK, where most people are from black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, according to the 2021 census.

A total of 59% of people in Leicester are from minority ethnic backgrounds, while 51% of Birmingham’s population are people of colour, as are 54% in Luton, according to the data. Across England and Wales, 18% of people are BAME.

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Mother of London firefighter who killed himself welcomes damning report

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Exclusive: Linda Francois, whose son Jaden Francois-Esprit was bullied in Wembley, says culture must change

The mother of a firefighter whose death triggered a review into the culture at the London fire brigade, has welcomed the findings of a damning report.

However, Linda Francois, whose son Jaden Francois-Esprit killed himself in August 2020, said that much remained to be done and making real changes in the workplace for people like her son was what really mattered.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.

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Report finds misogyny, racism and bullying at London fire brigade

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Author Nazir Afzal labelled the service ‘institutionally misogynist and racist’ and hoped the review would be a ‘turning point’

Incidents of misogyny, racism and bullying have been exposed by an independent report on the culture at the UK’s largest firefighting and rescue organisation.

Female firefighters have been groped, beaten and had their helmets filled with urine, a review of the London fire brigade has found.

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Louisiana police release footage of officer fatally shooting Black motorist

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High-profile lawyer who represented family of George Floyd calls Derrick J Kittling’s death ‘unwarranted’ as he takes on case

Footage of a deadly traffic stop in central Louisiana between a Black motorist and white officer, which spiraled into a 30-second struggle on the ground before the officer fired his weapon, has been released by state police.

Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney representing the family of Derrick J Kittling – the 45-year-old motorist fatally shot in the head – called the death “unwarranted” and “completely preventable”. In addition, Crump demanded that the officer involved, Rapides parish sheriff’s office deputy, Rodney Anderson, be fired and accused him of profiling Kittling. The deputy has been placed on administrative leave while Louisiana state police investigate.

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