By James Aldridge
Local Democracy Reporter
ALMOST all Reading borough councillors kneeled following a speech highlighting racial inequality.
The symbolic gesture came at a meeting of the council last Tuesday evening.
Cllr Sophia James (Lab, Katesgrove) gave a wide-ranging speech, using Black History Month as a starting point.
“The theme this year is Proud to Be,” she told the chamber. “I’m proud every day to be a Black British Caribbean child of Jamaican immigrants and public sector workers.
“But in the UK, over 3,000 black people have died in police custody, detention centres, prisons or from racist attacks and the institutions which failed to protect them. Over 1,500 deaths in police custody, with no convictions.
“Black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched and in the Thames Valley, only one in five racist hate crimes result in an outcome for the victim.”
She continued: “(During the Euro 2020 final) When Rashford, Saka, and Sancho were called up to take those penalties, I felt a sickness in the pit of my stomach because I knew the painful cost of failure. You see, while many White people will not have considered the impact of racism, Black and Asian people were only too aware and when it finally happened and violence ensued in the stadium and online… I cried.
“It is sad it takes such drastic events to rock white, privileged people out of the comfortable zone that racism is a thing of the past.”
And Cllr James congratulated the council for publishing ethnicity pay gaps, but called for more action to tackle racism, calling for more BAME-led events and activities to be supported by the council’s licencing policies and police.
At the end of her speech, Cllr James asked all present to kneel as a sign of respect. However, the Conservative group chose to stand instead, and councillors who were not able to kneel clapped to show their support. The borough mayor, Cllr David Stevens (Thames), remained seated as a sign of neutrality.
Cllr Jeanette Skeats, the Conservative group leader (Thames ward) said: “We decided to stand against racism, prejudice, injustice, and discrimination.
“We decided not to take the knee in a group meeting, it was a group decision. We thought it was very important to stand up against racism and prejudice.”
And Cllr Stevens said: “The Conservative group’s decision was one of respect for the position without agreeing with everything that Black Lives Matter stands for.”
Black History Month continues until this weekend.
Highlights include a new mural on Battle Street, which is being painted by Gemma Anusa to represent the idea of love, unity and the older generation.
This evening, The Hexagon is screening Respect (12a), a look at the career of Aretha Franklin.
On Saturday, there are some special events taking place. Reading Museum will look at memories of the Windrush Generation, a video created by the Reading Windrush Project Steering Group. This will be shown at noon and 2pm.
And an author reading of Tawyny and Maya Unique Me, by Kaya and Tuesday Holder, will take place at Reading Central Library at 10.30am. Places are free, but need to be booked.
For more details, log on to www.reading.gov.uk/whatson
Additional reporting: Phil Creighton
