“Now is the time to end the severe class and racial inequalities which exist across the world”: Brighton Council issues statement of solidarity with BAME community

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Brighton and Hove City Council have made public their support of global demonstrations and protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25th. 

In a statement published on their website, the Council said:

We stand in solidarity with the family, friends and community of George Floyd in Minneapolis. We in the UK cannot ignore yet another death of an unarmed person of colour in police custody.

As a council, we recognise that George Floyd’s death took place in the context of centuries of social deprivation and economic extraction that have been endured by people of colour.

As anti-imperialists we recognise that America has been built on the slavery, dispossession and subjugation of its native and BAME population.

As anti-racists, we stand shoulder to shoulder with all those in America and across the world who feel anger, hurt and fear after yet another instance of discriminatory state violence.

Acknowledging that racist policing is not just an American problem, they added:

It is crucial that we in the UK recognise that we are still not immune from institutional racism in our justice system.

Despite progress following the McPherson Inquiry, BAME people still statistically suffer more use of force in the UK, are over-represented in the prison population and are more likely to be sent to prison than white offenders.

According to INQUEST, BAME communities were twice as likely to die in custody. The Runnymede Trust found that, between 1995 and 2015, no police officer was prosecuted over a person of colour’s death in custody.

We call on the UK government to take this opportunity to reassess the racial disparities in our criminal justice system.

Today, from 8pm, the Palace Pier, Brighton Centre and the BA i360 will be lit in purple as a signal that Brighton rejects inequality in all its forms. The Council have also urged Brighton residents to come out on their doorsteps at this time and ‘take the knee’ as part of a minute’s silence for all members of the BAME community who have died in police custody. 

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