Nadine White, Race Correspondent for The Independent has written this reflection on another Black History Month and concluded: "​Racial equality in Britain is as distant a dream as ever".

Despite the high profile political appointments of people of colour, the heightened awareness of racial injustice since the murder of George Floyd in 2020 has not been harnessed. Instead "​From the widening ethnicity pay gap between Black and white workers to the “violent” deaths of Black people in prisons, the struggle is real. From the absence of Black history on school curriculums to the majority of Black Britons reporting experiences of racial discrimination by doctors and nurses, there’s yet more work to be done."

She quotes just released statistics that reveal that Black British people are still disproportionately affected in terms of detention and treatment compared to white people. The optimism of 2020 has largely gone as the government presses ahead with plans "to send thousands of Black, Asian and Middle Eastern refugees to Rwanda, describing them as 'illegal' migrants because they arrive by boat. Meanwhile, ministers have rightly opened our doors to tens of thousands of mostly white Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s bloody war."

The government’s Hate Crime Action Plan launched in 2016 appears to have ground to a halt and there hasn’t been a word from ministers about the worrying surge in these incidents in the last year.

​Read the full article here.

October 28 was the annual Thomas Clarkson Day at Manchester Cathedral, hosted by Dean Rogers Govender. which this year featured a screening of MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation'. The screening was followed by a panel discussion chaired by MJR trustee Paul Keeble. Panelists were After the Flood director Sheila Marshall, Dr. Andrew Boayke, Lecturer in Religions and Theology, University of Manchester and Rev Ian Rutherford, minister of Methodist Central Hall. A lively Q&A included discussion on 'power footprints', reparations, comparisons with the legacy of oppression of working class 'white wage slaves' and how to move from words to actions.

One of the attendees Elinor Chohan MBE DL said: "An important and thought provoking event marking #ClarksonDay. I recommend you watch After The Flood documentary on UK churches, slavery and racial equality."

​Find out more about Thomas Clarkson here.

On October 31, to mark Black History Month, international charity Christian Aid will be showing MJR documentary ‘After the Flood: the church, slavery and reconciliation' to all of its staff worldwide. Christian Aid UK Climate Justice Church Programme Manager for Black Majority Churches and MJR trustee Sarah-Jane Nii-Adjei said: "Christian Aid has a global ecumenical platform and will be raising the profile of this film to staff from the UK (including colleagues from Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and countries we work in. Different teams can then contact MJR if they would like to licence the film for training and development purposes." The internal event will include a panel discussion with Rev Alton Bell, Chair of MJR and Prof Robert Beckford sharing more about the film.

MJR documentary  After the Flood was screened recently at Bristol Cathedral.

Visitor Experience and Events Officer Jess Cainey writes:
​
"We expanded the event with a conversation with two members of our Clergy where we did a Q&A regarding the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Church. The documentary was a moving conversation starter that emboldened the attendees to ask difficult questions and explore a variety of challenges the Cathedral need to confront on its journey to address its legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  
​It was beautifully shot and extremely well received. 
Thankyou again to MJR for its kindness in letting the Cathedral show After the Flood."

Shades of Black: The Origins of Colour Consciousness in the Caribbean is an important new book looking at how colour consciousness in the Caribbean has affected immigrants, and issues of race, in Britain​. It is written by former MJR trustees Clifford Hill and Nigel Pocock and current MJR Chair Alton Bell. We have been sent these details of a launch event online.

Should there be positive discrimination in the public sector?
 
As we mark Black History Month, we would be delighted to invite you to an important discussion as part of the launch of Shades of Black, a new book exposing the roots of colour consciousness and racial discrimination with a view to exploring the question ‘Should there be positive discrimination in the public sector to encourage anti-discrimination?’   
 
Aimed at creating conversation across the UK on this important area, you are invited to join us on Thursday 27th October 2022 between 12.30pm and 2.00pm. A meeting in the House of Commons will follow on November 24.

This meeting will be introduced by Sir Stephen Timms MP with contributions from Dr Clifford Hill, Pastor Alton Bell and others.

To join us online, please register here. To attend or for further information, please register or contact Adam May by email or phone 07736 949 869.

Please share this invitation to anyone you believe would benefit from this discussion.
​
Find out more about Shades of Black here.

Freedom of Information data obtained by Labour MP Kate Osamor has revealed that only 1 per cent of payout reviews under the Windrush compensation appeals process have been successful. Out of 3,479 claimant appeals in 2021, only 42 resulted in a settlement. The MP has said Windrush claimants are being told to “take it or leave it” when they receive offers. “The Home Office perpetrated the Windrush Scandal. Now they are deciding how much compensation should be awarded to their victims. The result is unsurprising – consistent and poor-quality decision making resulting in insultingly small offers of compensation.”

Read more and some individual claimant's stories here.
​Read here about the Home Office's refusal to speed up the case of a woman with terminal cancer.

The Racial Justice Advocacy Forum, which draws its membership from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Baptists Together, Methodists, the United Reformed Church, Quakers, Sam Sharpe Project, Churches Together in England, the Ascension Trust, The Evangelical Alliance, The National Church Leaders Forum, Movement for Justice and Reconciliation, Christian Aid and the Salvation Army, have issued a statement following the shooting of Chris Kaba in South London on 5th September 2022.

It appeals for "compassion and justice for a wounded community" in the wake of the Metropolitan Police-related shooting. Download the full statement here.

​On 29 September 2022 from 7.30pm, the RJAF will be hosting a webinar that aims to better equip churches and communities to respond to critical incidents, and to engage with the police. For more information, click here.

The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth after a reign of 70 years has led to much reflection on her strong Christian faith. MJR felt it appropriate to quote something she said about race and discrimination in her 2004 Christmas message –  at a time, then as now, of anxiety about migration. Based on the New Testament story of the good Samaritan, she said: “Everyone is our neighbour, no matter what race, creed or colour. The need to look after a fellow human being is far more important than any cultural or religious differences.

“There is certainly much more to be done and many challenges to be overcome. Discrimination still exists. Some people feel that their own beliefs are being threatened. Some are unhappy about unfamiliar cultures. They all need to be reassured that there is so much to be gained by reaching out to others; that diversity is indeed a strength and not a threat.”

Rev Guy Hewitt will take up this post in November and lead the Church’s Racial Justice Unit. It follows a recommendation from the unit in its April 2021 report 'From Lament to Action'. The announcement follows the resignation of the Archbishops' Adviser for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns, Dr Sanjee Perera who hinted a potential tension over her role's continued place alongside the Archbishops' Racial Justice Commission.

Ordained in 2005 Rev Hewitt has a background in social policy and development, working internationally on issues of marginalisation, economic enfranchisement, racial justice, youth empowerment, and gender equality. He is a staunch critic of the UK government over its handling of the Windrush scandal, saying in 2018: “The UK is still not at ease with race. Colonial history is still not taught here. The modern global Britain, with a multicultural society, is still an aspiration rather than a reality.”

Chair of MJR Rev Alton Bell commented: "Although MJR welcomes the appointment of the CofE's first racial justice director, we hope this is not just another PR exercise analogous to the shuffling of the deckchairs on the Titanic. We want to see concrete evidence of change. We want the CofE to take the lead in reparatory justice practices, such as: changing the way slavery is taught in schools, advocating for a national memorial to those who were enslaved, and returning stolen artifacts. We wholeheartedly welcome the new racial justice director if this new position is a catalyst for systemic change".

​Read more here.

This article by Nadine White, race correspondent for The Independent is headlined: 'The Commonwealth Games are rooted in slavery – let’s consign the event to history'. Despite being a fan of sport, White says this particular event "sticks in my throat because the Commonwealth, as an institution, is rooted in chattel slavery and the brutalisation of African people."

She continues: "After the abolition of slavery in 1833, financially prosperous Britain skipped off into the sunset without investing in the economies of its former sources of slaves in any meaningful way – and those left behind in the former colonies have grappled with poverty and destitution ever since. Britain paid nothing to the freed slaves in an attempt to redress the injustices they suffered."

Most of the 56 member states of the Commonwealth are former British colonies. But "the wealth is not common. ... The Commonwealth purports to be about 'promoting justice and human rights', yet reparatory justice for chattel slavery, a heinous crime perpetrated against African people by colonialists, has not been paid." The Commonwealth Games should be: "scrapped and replaced with a sporting event that isn’t bonded by racial trauma against a backdrop of Eurocentric denialism".

Read the full article here.