Liverpool Football Club responds to anti racist's concerns.

The recent and on going furor surrounding Liverpool Football Club’s handling of the Luis Suarez/Patrice Evra incident continues to illustrate the depth and breadth of racism in the UK.

The recent public letter sent by 18 prominent black and anti racist organisations to LFC has been the catalyst for further denial of the racist nature of this miserable affair. 

In seeking to bring clarity to the debate I want to make a few things clear.  There is no accusation that Suarez himself is a racist. He made racially derogatory and offensive remarks that are unacceptable in the modern British game.

Secondly nobody accused LFC of being a racist club. What was said is that their handling of this particular affair was extremely poor and incited further racism and that they should do something about it. Liverpool has a moral responsibility to football and the country as a whole to ensure that they set the highest standards when dealing with issues of race.

And what is being asked of them? That Suarez should apologise to Evra. He and the club are both, I believe morally compelled to do so.

In addition, that LFC make a public statement alongside others committing themselves to opposing racism and finally organise a conference on racism in football. All simple things, that would go a long way to repairing some of the damage done by LFC’s lack of leadership on this issue. Hardly a life sentence is it?

In response and reported on by the BBC, LFC have said they are committed to tackling racism.

"Liverpool FC made clear its disappointment with what happened recently at Old Trafford and both Luis Suarez and Kenny Dalglish issued apologies.”

Whilst true, LFC have consistently denied the existence of any racist element in this matter

"The player did not previously appeal the FA sanction, served his suspension and apologised to anyone he had offended”.

One assumes that the reason no appeal was made was because both Suarez and LFC accepted he was guilty. The apology issued was in reference to the failed “ hand shake” and not for using racially offensive language.

"In light of recent events, the club has met with a number of key national and local stakeholders on these issues. We are also working with Sporting Equals, an independent UK-wide charity and one of the leading experts in equality and diversity in sport to develop a strategic action plan encompassing both our staff and external stakeholders."

This sounds promising and we looked at Sporting Equals website and to our surprise we found that Dr Zafar Iqbal, 1st Team Doctor at Liverpool FC is also Sporting Equals Physical Activity Ambassador. We have written to Sporting Equals for further clarification.

We will also be requesting the names of those “national and local key stakeholders” who LFC say they are working with. Preliminary enquiries by us have not been able to establish LFC is in contact with any local black organisations in Liverpool. 

LFC continued…

"We are committed to playing our part, alongside the game's authorities and other agencies, in the fight against racism and discrimination of any sort."

Whilst we welcome this preliminary statement by Liverpool in response to our letter, their initial failure to appeal the Suarez suspension speaks volumes.

We hope in the spirit of reconciliation, and in line with LFC stated commitment to play it’s part in the fight against racism, that a full apology is issued.

Black people are reporting to me that Suarez name is now being used as a form of racial abuse. There can be no more compelling reason for LFC to reconsider their position.

It is vital that LFC are seen to be absolutely unequivocal in their opposition to racism. In this instance that requires they provide an immediate apology to Evra and acknowledge and repair the damage done by their mishandling of the whole affair.

Lee Jasper

Community leaders & anti racist organisations accuse Liverpool FC of inciting racism - press release

Press Release
Monday February 20th
Contact Lee Jasper: 07984 181797


Liverpool Football Club has come under fierce criticism from an influential group of high profile, local and national black leaders, alongside a host of anti racist organisations.

The group have written an open letter delivered today accusing LFC and manager Kenny Dalglish of grossly mishandling the Saurez/Patrice Evra affair contributing to the incitement of racism in football and wider society. We know that they have had good advice to assist them and refused to take it choosing instead to continue on in this manner.

The group called on LFC to accept the findings of the FA investigation that concluded that Suarez had racially abused Evra and offer an immediate and unreserved apology to Evra.

LFC is accused of colluding with racism by seeking to dismiss the FA's findings and racially aggravating this sensitive issue by inappropriately and misguidedly showing public team support for Suarez post the publication of the FA's investigative report into these matters. The refusal of Suarez to shake Evra's hand was a further incitement of racism. The group called on LFC to acknowledge the implicit racism involved and issue a statement with other civic leaders committing themselves to opposing racism and to commit to organise a conference on racism in football.

Gloria Hyatt MBE said

" Liverpool Football Club has presided over the worst incident of racism in football seen in recent years. Their misguided handling of Suarez/Evra has let down all of those in the city who worked hard to challenge racism and make Liverpool a better place to live for everyone."

Lee Jasper a national human rights and race equality campaigner said

" The club including the owners, the players and the manager need to realise the enormous damage caused by their reluctance and obdurate behaviour. Kenny Daglish used to manage Celtic he ought to know the importance of stamping out bigotry. The club failed the city, the nation as a whole and in particular Britain's black communities. Their abysmal lack of leadership on this issues has given a green light to racism. They must make urgent reparations and make a clear and unequivocal apology".Letter sent to Liverpool FC:

Statement of Intent

We the undersigned wish to express our grave concerns about the inadequate responses of Liverpool Football Club to the findings by the FA regulatory commission that determined Luis Saurez was guilty of racially insulting the Manchester United player, Patrice Evra.

Football is a unifying sport providing pleasure and entertainment to billions of people across the planet. Young people from every corner of our world passionately support their team. Football players are held in high regard and viewed as positive role models.

Clubs, players and managers have an important and globally recognized responsibility to demonstrate their commitment to the principle of common decency and fair play. Throughout the world, both on and off the football pitch they inspire and socially educate billions of young people who admire and mimic their actions.

The issue of racism in football is one that requires unambiguous anti racist leadership. The actions of LFC in the run up to and following the publication of the FA’s findings fell short of the high standard of leadership expected for a team of their standing in the football community.  

LFC actions, in vehemently rejecting the findings of the FA inquiry, their public displays of support for a player found guilty of racist abuse and his subsequent refusal to shake the hand of Evra at a recent game is completely unacceptable. These actions we believe could be considered as inciting racial intolerance.

Whilst the subsequent apologies for the failure to engage with the traditions of a pre game “hand shake” are to be welcomed, there remains deep concern, about LFC’s absolute refusal to accept the findings of the FA’s investigation. As such these apologies fail to meet the test of genuine remorse and understanding. This is further negated by LFC’s failure to apologise for racism either through the club or Suarez.

Neither have LFC recognised or acknowledged the consequent damage to race relations resulting from their actions and   recognised by many people of all races across the country. As a result, efforts to combat racism in football and the wider society in general have been critically undermined.

Compounding these serious errors is the failures of Liverpool’s civic leaders, many of whom have remained silent on these critical issues and have failed to publicly condemn LFC’s decision not to robustly and effectively challenge racism. 

Such is the overwhelming power of the Premier League and the influence of clubs such as LFC it is imperative that this situation cannot be allowed to stand.

The international reputation of Liverpool as a city committed to race equality is at stake.  In addition there is a real and urgent need to restore confidence in the campaign against racism in football, both here, in the UK and across the world.

To this end we have four key demands;

• that LFC publicly accept the findings of the FA into the Suarez case. 
• that LFC and Suarez publicly apologize to Patrice Evra. 
• that LFC in partnership with Liverpool and national black and ethnic minority organisations commit to and sponsor an international conference on the issue of eradicating racism in football.
• that civic leaders in addition to LFC sign up to a public declaration reaffirming their commitment to combating racism and promoting race equality through pro active actions. 

Love Football, Hate Racism:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LFHRUK
Twitter: follow @LFHRUK

Consortium of Liverpool and National Black and Minority Organisations:

Gloria Hyatt MBE Teach Consultancy Limited

Liverpool Black Leadership Forum

Femi Sowande Merseyside Black History Month Group

Eric Lynch Slavery History Tours

Alec Mcfadden Merseyside Coalition Against Racism and Facism

Alec Mcfadden   Merseyside TUC

Paul Sesay Smith Diversity Group and National Diversity Awards

Earl Jenkins Kingsley United

Paul Jenkins North West Unite Against Facism

Zita Holbourne Black Activists Rising Against Cuts

Shantele Janes Cheshire Halton and Warrington Race Equality Centre

Tracey Hylton Edit Consultancy

Lee Jasper London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium

Peter Herbert  OBE Society of Black Lawyers

Simon Woolley Operation Black vote

Charles Crichlow National Black Police Association

Dave Weaver 1990 Trust

Stafford Scott Tottenham Defence Campaign

Viv Ahmun Coreplan

Press Release: Why it's time to close Operation Trident

17/2/2012 6.00am

Black Leaders condemn the launch of Trident “ anti gang unit” as a political stunt by London Mayor Boris Johnson.


Three former high profile members of the Metropolitan Police Service

Operation Trident Independent Advisory Group have called on the existing

Group members to resign in protest at they describe as “the political hijacking

of Metropolitan Police Operational Command Unity Trident” by the Mayor

Boris Johnson.

Founded in 1999 Trident IAG is made up of members of London’s black

community and was established to exclusively tackle gun violence in black

communities. The IAG is the preeminent community police black consultative

forum in the capita and has been instrumental in helping to build community

trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service.

Lee Jasper founder member and former Chair of Trident IAG, Stafford Scott

Of Tottenham Broadwater Defence Campaign, set up in the wake of the

August 2012 disturbances and Viv Ahmun, former member of Boris Johnsons

Mayors Expert Advisory Group on youth violence, condemned the widening of

Tridents brief to tackle “ gang crime”.

Lee Jasper and former Policing Director for London and current Chair of the

London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium said:

“Boris Johnson has hijacked Operation Trident in naked political attempt to

co-opt London’s black community into his enforcement led war on gangs.

And yet under his leadership we have witnessed the worst deterioration of

police and black community relations seen in decades with massive increase

in stop and search and deaths in police custodies resulting in anger that

exploded onto the streets of London last summer.’

He added,

“ Central to the partnership ethos of Trident is the principle of policing by

consent. That principle is sacrosanct to maintaining community confidence

and support. The fact is that confidence and trust has been seriously eroded

by malign neglect of the Mayors Office and increasing levels of institutional

racism within the MPS. No one in London’s black community was properly

consulted about this changes and that includes the Trident IAG.

Trident and the MPS no longer enjoy that trust and confidence. This reality

can no longer be ignored.

Recently the Commissioner quite rightly stated that the MPS cannot deal with

this problem alone and highlighted the need for effective gang intervention

and diversion programmes. Not only does the Mayor have no real prevention

strategy, he has supported local authority public spending cuts that have led

to the sacking of thousands of youth workers and closing down of hundreds of

frontline youth projects. “

Youth violence is on the rise and the abysmal record of this mayor on an

issue, that was his supposed top political priority, has become a real issue.

Simply absorbing Trident into an all encompassing “ gang unit” constitutes a

real disaster for London. In this context the IAG cannot allow itself to be seen

to tacitly endorse a return to the discredited, aggressive and discriminatory

policing strategies of the past. It’s time the Mayor and MPS were forced to

take these matters seriously and I am calling on all members of the Trident

IAG to resign.”

Viv Ahmun commented:

“ Dealing with black youth violence and tackling gang culture in London has to

be done in genuine partnership with black communities and have a real focus

on prevention as well as enforcement.

This Mayor has taken three years to deliver a mentor scheme for a black boy

that has to date matched only 62 mentors. Ray Lewis, the Mayors lead on

Mentoring recently stated he was “disappointed” with the progress of the

scheme. That’s an understatement the black community is profoundly

disappointed.

At the same time I see local councils slashing funding to community

organisations at a grass roots level. These organisations working alongside

the police are the lifeblood of any effective police community partnership.

Boris Johnson has failed to balance his police led enforcement approach with

a multi agency intervention strategy that focuses on harm reduction,

prevention, diversion and rehabilitation.

This against a backdrop of rising tensions between black young people and

the police as a result of issues such as deaths in custody leads me to

conclude that its time for the IAG to stand down and resign forcing the Mayor

and the MPS to consult seriously or not at all. ’

Stafford Scott commented:

‘ Relations between black youth and the police are bad now and are about to

get a whole lot worse. The reality is you can’t police your way out of a ‘ gang

problem’. Deaths in police custody have enflamed police community tension. I

see this move as nothing more than a cynical election ploy by Boris.

 His anti gang policy is all about splintering doors and media opportunities.

We can’t allow Boris to assimilate the Trident IAG into giving a green light to

his heavy handed indiscriminate policy of mass arrests in the run up to the

Queens Jubilee and the Olympics.

 The Trident IAG have been ignored and marginalized and should resign. They

should all reconsider their positions and refuse to go along with this ill thought

out strategy that will intensify the mass criminalization of black youth in

London."

For more information contact:

Lee Jasper 07984 181797

Viv Ahmun 07985 395166

Stafford Scott 07830 133076
(All three are available for press interviews)

Rev Jesse Jackson supports call for public inquiry into deaths in custody UK - videos

Link to Press Release:

 http://leejasper.blogspot.com/2011/12/rev-jessie-jackson-calling-for-total.html

Link to video of full Press Conference:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/19160308

OBV

OBV

'American civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson was at Operation Black Vote's headquarters on Thursday 15th December to address a press conference where gave his full support to a group of campaigners calling for an independent judicial review into the current handling of Black deaths in police custody.

Reverend Jackson joined a number of agencies including Operation Hope and Recovery, The United Friends and Families Campaign, Inquest, Black Mental Health UK, Operation Black Vote and the Campaign 4 Justice to stand with the families who have been affected by these tragedies.'

Uploaded by jetblakink

'American civil rights campaigner Reverend Jesse Jackson addressed a press conference in east London on Thursday 15th December 2011, to publicly give his backing to the growing number of calls for an independent judicial inquiry into the current handling of deaths in police custody.

A number of agencies including Operation Hope and Recovery, The United Friends and Families Campaign, Inquest, Black Mental Health UK, Operation Black Vote and the Campaign 4 Justice have come together to stand with the families who have been affected by these tragedies.

The meeting highlighted the widespread distrust that the recent spate of deaths of Mark Duggan, Kingsley Burrell Brown, Demetre Fraser and Jacob Michael, at the hands of the police has caused. It will also focused on the urgent need for the establishment of an independent judicial public inquiry.'

Video - Reverend Jesse Jackson - UK solidarity

 Click on link to watch: Press Conference on Deaths in Police Custody

by OBV with Jessie Jackson 

 http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/19160308

Operation Black Vote - click to go to website

                                                ( Uploaded by jetblakink on 15 Dec 2011)

'American civil rights campaigner Reverend Jesse Jackson addressed a press conference in east London on Thursday 15th December 2011, to publicly give his backing to the growing number of calls for an independent judicial inquiry into the current handling of deaths in police custody.


A number of agencies including Operation Hope and Recovery, The United Friends and Families Campaign, Inquest, Black Mental Health UK, Operation Black Vote and the Campaign 4 Justice have come together to stand with the families who have been affected by these tragedies.


The meeting highlighted the widespread distrust that the recent spate of deaths of Mark Duggan, Kingsley Burrell Brown, Demetre Fraser and Jacob Michael, at the hands of the police has caused. It will also focused on the urgent need for the establishment of an independent judicial public inquiry.'

The audacity of hope and recovery - by Lester Holloway

The burning carpet stores, the looting, the photo-oped clean-ups, the CCTV mugshots, the inflated jail terms and David Starkey. Finally, the black community had a chance to gather and debate strategies for “hope and recovery”, the title of a rally in central London last Friday.

And for all the acres of newsprint devoted daily to the riots, not a single mainstream journalist showed up. Fleet Street’s finest were evidently too busy printing articles about the “black supremacy” of menacing hooded youth and the dangers of “street patois.”

As one of the speakers, Lee Jasper, noted on his blog:

This is illustrative of the failure of [the] mainstream press to understand the reality of black communities; preferring instead their own prejudice. Black people doing good things is not considered newsworthy.

The journalists missed an event, held at Friends House in Euston, full of determination to reclaim an agenda which had failed to acknowledge that any of the people taking part in the disturbances might have had genuine grievances. An agenda that had made a YouTube star of a woman scolding the looters, but had ignored this man who spoke his mind at a clean-up event.


Considering the rally was organised in less than a week, the 700-strong audience is an incredible testament to the desire to formulate a black community response distinct from a government and media-dictated one. There was also frustration expressed towards a media that was increasingly blaming youth and black culture for the looting and arson. The underlining fear, I suspect, was that black communities will once again face the kind of negative portrayal and criminalisation experienced from the 1950s to the 1980s.

The mood was summed up by larger-than-life church leader Bishop Wayne Malcolm, head of Christian Life City Church, who told the audience:

It is clear that we will never, as a people, be able to make the changes we so desperately want to see unless we fully, strategically and cohesively engage in the political process. We are going to have to politicise our community and bring the kind of education that informs our community, and inflicts the necessary wounds on institutions that have walked over us so far.

The charismatic pastor went on to call for no less than economic emancipation so that the community no longer relied on “our oppressor” to fund initiatives that uplifted and educated the masses. Strong and brave stuff.

Bishop Malcolm’s call carried echoes of his nearly namesake, Mr X. It is certainly an old idea that is enjoying a revival with the recent news that a leader of the US National Bankers Association is calling for a black bank to lend and invest in a community failed by mainstream institutions.

Such a move would not only elevate the economic empowerment message of Rev Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition to a new and higher level, it would also in part fulfil the vision of political and economic independence advocated by Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Labour MP Diane Abbott, whose Hackney constituency was marred by disorder following the police shooting of Mark Duggan, said that the time had come for the black community to “stand up and support each other.” She commented:

We have to offer a collective leadership; a sense that, as a community, we are going to have to save ourselves. In every generation there comes a time when the community has to stand up; and now we all have to step up and reach out and support each other in a way we haven’t before, because the future of our youth depends on it.

Abbott went on to attack rubber bullets and water cannons, saying that she rejected the “militarisation of our communities” Such tactics “sent out [the message] that… the state is at war with young people.”

The event concluded with a rousing and entertaining speech by Lee Jasper, who talked about the responsibility of parents to keep their children in check. However some of the audience responses in the final Q&A stressed that politicians and the media were wrong to blame mothers who faced a battle for their children in competition with peer pressures, the allure of material trappings and negative influences from gangster rap and video games.

Many of those audience members are right of course, but the reasons for this unequal battle between parents and society needs greater focus. We should not shy away from analysis of the legacies of enslavement and modern-day oppression and racism in understanding the breakdown of the extended family and the dissolving of cultural knowledge and self-pride.


The dominance of coprorate-inspired “urban” music and clothes and the limited horizons and low self-esteem caused by an excluding education system are also part of the underlining issues that cannot be ignored when seeking to understand the current predicament.

Just as important is the fatalism and disconnect from the world of work as a result of government policies and endemic racism in the jobs market, and the disrespect and violence which is a consequence of the absence of spirituality and lack of connection with ancestors and the way they faced struggles with dignity.

After a fortnight’s deluge of newspaper headlines about looters and rioters, it is crucial that we reject any implicit assumptions that ‘we’ (the parents and those that did not partake in the disturbances) are separate from ‘them’ (the youth). If the word ‘community’ is to mean anything, it must accept that all generations are part of one body, however different our outlooks may be. Without this sense of community how can we be part of a Diaspora, where we look beyond our household and neighbourhood and consciously feel our deep historical roots.

What was missing on Friday was a sense that achieving hope and recovery was more than a black response to the disturbances – as important and welcome as that was – but is a process that must be fully owned by the young as well as the older generations. An inter-generational conversation, perhaps including a “people’s inquiry” advocated by Professor Gus John, must surely be the foundation of any serious political and economic empowerment, let alone economic independence.

This article is published on my blog: http://cllrlesterholloway.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/the-audacity-of-hope-and-recovery/

By Lester Holloway

London Rally - 'Operation Hope & Recovery'

 

"If you want to be part of something more than just a discussion in response to recent events please come along. I need you to work hard in support as this event has been organised at incredibly short notice on the basis that an urgent response was necessary, please spread the word far and wide." Lee Jasper

http://www.blackmeninthecommunity.com/hopeandrecovery

Friday, August 19, 2011 from 18:30 to 21:00

Friends House
Friends House
173-177 Euston Road NW1 2BJ London
United Kingdom

Directions to venue:-


By rail: From its position opposite Euston’s rail and tube stations, it is a ten minute walk from King’s Cross Station and St Pancras International Terminus. All major rail terminals are easily reached by tube. 

By tube: The nearest tube stations are Euston and Euston Square, which are on the Northern, Victoria, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. 

By bus: Numbers 10, 18, 30, 73, 205 and 390 pass the door whilst 59, 68, 91, 168, and 253 stop nearby. 

By car: Friends House is within a meter parking zone. Charges must be paid Monday to Friday 08.30 - 18.30 and Saturday 09.00 - 13.30. There are alternative, longer-term parking facilities under Euston Station. Please note that Friends House is within the congestion charge zone. For details of how to pay please go to http://www.cclondon.com/.
International visits: St Pancras International Terminus is a ten minute walk away. Nearby Paddington Station offers a frequent shuttle service to Heathrow Airport. All London airports are easily reached from Euston. 

This is a call for action to join ‘Operation Hope & Recovery‘.

 Please read on to find out more and register your attendance

Transformation through Representation, Education and Enterprise (TREE)
 Mission
Transformation through Representation, Education and Enterprise (TREE) has been established as a response to the huge level of damage, frustration and anger that preceded and has followed the civil disturbances of August 2011.
TREE represents a diverse coalition of organisations from across the racial, social and economic fabric of UK life. Its current membership includes black-led churches, ‘mainstream’ church denominations, faith groups, community leaders, community organisations and individuals from all backgrounds that are committed to making the UK a more peaceful, equal and just country.
Aim
TREE’s aim is to provide clear political direction to disenfranchised and alienated communities as they struggle to tackle the issues they now face as a result of the August 2011 civil disturbances.
In pursuance of our aim, we will:

• Launch and develop ‘Operation Hope and Recovery’. At the cornerstone of this operation will be an electoral registration programme targeting those communities affected by the disturbances. Our aspiration is that this will go down in history as one of the most significant national mass voter registration drives ever seen in British political history

• As part of Operation Hope and Recovery, establish initiatives that connect local communities (and especially young people) with the democratic process by informing them of how it works and what they can do to effect the change they wish to see

• Raise the importance, and where appropriate facilitate assistance to communities on matters relating to enterprise, entrepreneurialism, business start-ups and economic independence. We will also establish meaningful dialogue with government, leading politicians and business leaders on these issues

• Encourage political representation by providing specialist support and encouragement to individuals in terms of standing for public office (without party political bias)

• Positively request the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimation (CERN) and the UK Government initiate an ‘Inquiry into the UK Riots’

• Make appropriate representation and challenge the media and politicians to cease what is being increasingly viewed by communities as a negative and in some quarters racist representation of the ‘riots’ and one that demonises young people in general

• Support and partner (where appropriate) other organisations that provide specialist services in the areas that relate to the core purpose of TREE

• Place a progressive context to the ongoing political debate on issues to the nation’s morals and values.

‘Operation Hope & Recovery‘ begins this Friday 19th August in London with further rallies in other cities to follow

To register,  go to:

http://operationhopeandrecovery.eventbrite.com/

Copyright © 2011 BLACK MEN IN THE COMMUNITY

Reverend Jesse Jackson joins BME leaders in voicing concern

A coalition of BME leaders including Reverend Jesse Jackson have come together to voice their concerns about the recent events which have hit Britain.


Read the full statement below:

We, the undersigned, condemn the wanton violence and looting that has been perpetrated in our communities over the last few days. Above all it is good people in our areas such as Tottenham, Enfield, Walthamstow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Brixton who are most affected by these unacceptable actions.

However, whilst, unreservedly condemning the disgraceful actions of a minority, we must not ignore those elements that make these occurrences more likely. For example, the death of Mark Duggan is sad enough, however, the lack of information to his family and very conflicting reports of how his death occurred leads many to hold a deep distrust towards some authorities including the police.

Sadly this unclear, and at times, conflicting information given by the police and other related bodies has occurred in a number of recent deaths of Black men in police custody.

Equally we strongly feel that to do this debate, we must not ignore other conditions that make these occurrences more probable, including high Black and Minority Ethnic (BME):
- levels of youth unemployment
- levels of police stop and search
- detention rates under the Mental Health Act in the country
- the decimation of voluntary organisations which cater for young men and women in these areas.

In no way are these excuses for lawbreaking, but they are factors that need to be considered.

Our final message is to our communities in which we serve. Together, we must forge an even stronger sense of local community.

We call upon our MPs , Councillors and church leaders to meet and discuss our response. We call upon our young men and women to reject those who see this as an excuse for unlawful behaviour including looting, and show the rest of country our readiness to shoulder the responsibility to rebuild our communities out of the ashes of destruction.

Signed by: Reverend Jesse Jackson; Rainbow-Push Coalition; Simon Woolley, Operation Black Vote; Rob Berkeley, Runnymede Trust; Dr Elizabeth Henry, ROTA; Lee Jasper, BARAC; Sharon Grant, Chair of Haringey CAB; Remi Kapo, Author; Matilda MacAttram, Black Mental Health UK; Claudia Webbe, Operation Trident; Jeremy Crook, BTEG; Bishop David Shoshanya; Bishop Joe Aldred; Remi Kapo, Author; Karen Chouhan, Equanomics UK; Vandna Gohil, Voice 4 Change; Bishop Wayne Malcolm; Dave Weaver, 1990 Trust & Viv Ahmun, Black Men in the Community.


(Originally published at OBV http://www.obv.org.uk)