Why we are supporting Show Racism the Red Card & Intercultural Youth Scotland
Today, while out jogging, I noticed a huge crowd of people gathered by Holyrood Palace in the park. “What's going on?” I thought, “A strange thing to see in the middle of a pandemic on a Sunday afternoon”, but then I saw the 'Black Lives Matter' plaques, and felt a little bit guilty and out of place with my sopping, sweat soaked tee shirt and red, dripping face. It definitely felt like I was running the wrong way against the sea of earnest young activists marching to protest in the opposite direction.
The protests are important and must be supported. However, my brilliant idea of taking our 7 year-old daughter to the protest - despite the fact that we have not yet inducted her into the world of race hate and bigotry - was immediately questioned by Viana. Did I really want to explain the whole business of police killings and Black Lives Matter in the 15 minutes it takes to walk to the park to a child who still believes in Unicorns?
So, while the protests need to continue, pRESPECT wants to look beyond, to the next stage. We don't want to see protest disappearing into inaction, as has happened so often before. There has to be quiet as well as loud change. Part of that is Equality in the Workplace and the stamping out of racist attitudes which affect the majority of ethnic minority employees in Scotland, as you can see in the video.
Show Racism the Red Card has made great advances in changing attitudes within football and beyond and they produced this video which is also available on their site.
Racism in the workplace doesn't come from the void. Intercultural Youth Scotland , an organisation for ethnic minority children , has produced this report showing that many of the attitudes existing in our society have deep roots that must be challenged. It's becoming clear in the current political climate that young people have a voice that cannot be ignored any longer. If young people are angry, they have reason to be. We really like and support their work and we encourage you to gofund them.
Please share this blog & video and if you are an organisation, individual or company that needs help with overcoming racial barriers to employment, then please do get in touch with us via our contact page. We have a track record of helping qualified long term unemployed minority candidates find fulfilling work or make meaningful changes to their careers.