Black Lives Matter
On 25 May 2020, George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. Mr Floyd had been arrested after he was accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit bill (fake money). Although Mr Floyd cooperated with the officers, he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground.
One of the officers, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck to hold him down, slowly stopping him being able to breathe. He was ordered to ‘relax’ as he said ‘Please, I can’t breathe’. Onlookers urged the police to stop but the incident lasted for nearly nine minutes. He was later pronounced dead. Since then, a wave of demonstrations has broken out across the United States and the world, calling for an end to police brutality and injustice. For more information, read
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52813673
Whilst this outpouring of emotion and subsequent protests may have been provoked by mass solidarity to an American issue, it is important to remember that racism is not a distinctly American problem and indeed by categorising it as such, creates a distance that allows us to attempt to ignore or downplay it. Racism is an issue that cannot and must not be ignored, no matter where you are in the world.
With the Coronavirus pandemic and us all living in lockdown, the past few months have proved to be a global challenge like no other. The fear, uncertainty and challenges they have presented us have only served to compound the pain surrounding the most recent of many reminders that racial inequality continues to exist and damage society. But the heightened activism and opening up of challenging conversations about race provides hope at this dark and difficult time.
Whilst we cannot physically come together right now, your teachers will be setting you work on this topic over the next few weeks. There are some things we can do remotely to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter campaign and to work at being a united and actively anti-racist community. Angela Y. Davis, (an American political activist) said, “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” Just because we cannot see each other right now, does not mean that we cannot work to actively facilitate our Vision of working together and by applying our Christian Values in all we do.
As a school community we would like you to consider doing one or more of these actions:
1. Take a picture of yourselves kneeling in solidarity with the cause and send it to admin@st-marks.islington.sch.uk
2. Writing about how the current situation makes you feel.
3. Educate yourself through talking to your friends and families, reading and keeping up to date with the news.
We all have a part to play in fighting racism and striving for an equal society where people are not judged or persecuted for their skin colour, let alone harmed by those in authority who should be there to keep them safe.
Remember that we are all stronger together. If you need help and support, then please ask for it. If you’re interested in finding out more or would like someone at school to talk to about these issues, please let your teacher know through google classroom.