EDITORIAL
Dear Readers,
This week I would recommend reading the report by the Racial Justice Network and Yorkshire Resists, in conjunction with Queen Mary University of London which seeks to draw attention to the national use of the Biometric Services Gateway (mobile fingerprinting) by police forces for immigration enforcement.
In the European section, you may also find alarming the news story about women in the Czech Republic who say they were sterilised because they are Roma or that a ‘Islam map’ was created in Austria showing the names and location of over 600 mosques and associations in the country.
Keep Well & Stay Safe,
Thushari Perera
A digital resource on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Issues
Previous issues: Black & Asian News
Other Newsletters: Black & Asian Heritage Mix’
Please scroll down and just click on the title to access the full version of the news stories you wish to read, thank you.
* * *
THE UNITED KINGDOM
CULTURE, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
The Death of a Black Man review – an inflammatory study of social mobility, The Guardian, 4 June 2021
“Depravity takes hold of a pair of young black entrepreneurs in 1970s London in this revival of Alfred Fagon’s idea-filled play. At Hampstead theatre, London, until 10 July.”
Great girl power of publishing, Eastern Eye, 2 June 2021
“Successful Women Speak About Their Literary Career Paths And How Others Can Follow Them”
Black and ethnically diverse employees make up just 1 in 5 of top music jobs, reveals UK Music survey, Audio Media International, 1 June 2021
“Black, Asian and other ethnically diverse employees account for just 19.9% – or 1 in 5 – of top music jobs according to a new survey from UK Music, an organisation which represents the collective interests of the UK’s music industry.”
Aim publishes its first equity, diversity and inclusion audit, Music Ally, 2 June 2021
“British indie body Aim has published its first equity, diversity and inclusion audit, in what is planned to become an annual report…In related news, Impala has used the one-year anniversary of ‘#BlackoutTuesday’ to call for independent music firms across Europe to respond to its diversity and inclusion survey, which it hopes will provide an accurate picture of the independent industry’s diversity across 30 countries.”
CONSUMER ISSUES
Hear what this skin specialist has to say about how to use SPF & suncream, Melan Mag, 2 June 2021
“All skin types, including Black skin, should wear the recommended factor 30 or above daily for a number of reasons. Whilst it’s true that melanin does give some degree of protection, the maximal protection it gives is well below the recommended factor 30. “Skin cancer is still seen in Black skin, though at a lower rate than in Caucasian and when it does present, it tends to be diagnosed later.”
Since The BLM Protests, Have Beauty Brands Made Any Real Strides Towards Diversity?, Refinery29, 1 June 2021
“Far beyond optics and profit margins, how can any global beauty behemoth aim to represent global markets if Black people are continually left out of the conversation?”
GOVERNMENT & COMMUNITIES
Black lives matter: ‘You can’t separate poverty from race’, The Big Issue, 31 May 2021
“A year on from historic Black Lives Matter protests, Black families are still trapped in poverty”
Napier Barracks: ‘Detention-like’ site housing asylum seekers must be permanently closed after legal victory, campaigners say, The Independent, 3 June 2021
“The judge cited the spread of Covid-19, overcrowding, a lack of ventilation, as well as the “detention-like” setting for the men, who were not meant to be detained.”
POLICING & JUSTICE SYSTEM
Police use of mobile fingerprinting technology for immigration enforcement, Stop the Scan, 3 June 2021
“The Racial Justice Network and Yorkshire Resists, in conjunction with Queen Mary University of London, released a new report written to draw attention to the national use of the Biometric Services Gateway (mobile fingerprinting) by police forces.”
Stop and search: Young people fear being ‘targeted’ in the future if they complain about police conduct, inews, 2 June 2021
“Data obtained from 38 of 45 UK police forces raised questions about officers’ behaviour during stop and searches of ethnic minorities”
Man charged with murder of Dea-John Reid, 14, in Birmingham, The Guardian, 3 June 2021
“Michael Shields, 35, from Castle Bromwich, is due to appear at Birmingham magistrates court”
INVESTIGATION: “Pandemic of child abuse”…in south Asian communities, Eastern Eye, 2 June 2021
“The government, police and councils are failing thousands of south Asian children, some just a few months old, who have been sexually abused, an eleven month Eastern Eye investigation has uncovered.”
OTHER NEWSLETTERS – Also FREE!
EDUCATION
More black students sought by top science college, BBC News, 2 June 2021
“A drive to tackle the under-representation of black students is being launched at Imperial College London, in a £5m scholarship and mentoring scheme. Out of more than 10,000 undergraduates at Imperial, only 235 are black.”
Black students have to ‘work harder’ to connect with assessments and curriculum, Glasgow Times, 3 June 2021
“Some black students were concerned that in presentations “grade awards were influenced by their capacity to mask their blackness”, according to an analysis of the experiences of BAME students. The study found that South Asian students of Islamic faith often felt that they were subject to ethnic and religious-based anti-education stereotypes and biases, which negatively affected their grades.”
Former students complain of racism and sexism at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture, Archinect, 2 June 2021
“21 former students of UCL (University College London) have voiced complaints over alleged sexism and racism at the Bartlett School of Architecture. The complaints, first reported by The Guardian, stretch back over a decade.”
Bartlett launches investigation after racism and sexism allegations, Dezeen, 1 June 2021
“We are deeply concerned to learn about these incidents, and we will investigate these, and any others that are brought to our attention…Allegations include female students being sexually harassed by staff, driven to tears and subjected to derogatory comments about their race.”
EMPLOYMENT & WORK
Black and minority ethnic unemployment rising six times faster than rate for white workers in West Midlands – TUC analysis, Rugby Observer, 28 May 2021
“The TUC is calling on government to create good new jobs, introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, make employers ensure fair wages for BME workers, ban zero-hours contracts, strengthen the rights of insecure workers, publish equality impact assessments related to its response to Covid-19, be transparent about how it considers BME communities in policy decisions, and give more financial support for people who have lost their jobs.”
UK’s G7 targets ‘must be more ambitious’, The Guardian, 1 June 2021
“Civil society groups say UK agreements should tackle long-term unemployment and gender and racial equality”
HEALTH & WELL-BEING
New Report Calls for Action on Discrimination in General Practice, Humberside LMCs,
May 2021
“A new report from a working group led by the LMC has highlighted discrimination faced by staff and patients from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds in general practice and calls for a zero tolerance approach to tackle racism in all its forms. The report, Racism and Discrimination – the experience of primary care professionals in the Humberside region, is based on a survey of clinical staff, managers and administrators working in general practice in the Humber region.”
The People’s Vaccine Alliance, 2021
“Countries in the global South are currently unlikely to receive a #COVID19 vaccine until 2023. This is a scandal and threatens everyone. Put pressure on companies and governments to end vaccine monopolies.”
Coronavirus variants have new names: we can finally stop stigmatising countries, The Conversation, 1 June 2021
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new naming system for the coronavirus that uses Greek letters to refer to the different variants. For the variants of concern, B117 (the UK or Kent variant) will now be known as alpha, B1351 (South Africa) will be beta, P1 (Brazil) is gamma and B16172 (India) delta. For the variants of interest, B1427/B1429 (US) is epsilon, P2 (Brazil) is zeta, B1525 is eta, P3 (Philippines) is theta, B1526 (US) is iota and B16171 (India) is kappa.”
Covid-19 Variants To Be Renamed To Avoid Discriminatory Stigma, Each Other, 2 June 2021
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, Britain’s East and Southeast Asian communities have seen a 300% increase in hate crime, according to the End the Virus of Racism, a UK-based advocacy group.”
Use of ethnically diverse cohorts in diabetes studies ‘generates better results’, Irish Times, 31 May 2021
“Failing to account for genetic variation according to ancestry will impact the ability to accurately diagnose diabetes, researchers have said. Ethnic diversity in one large-scale study meant more regions of the genome linked to type 2 diabetes-related traits were identified than if the research had been conducted in Europeans alone, scientists suggested. Experts said the findings demonstrated that expanding research into different ancestries yielded more and better results, as well as ultimately benefiting global patient care.”
HOUSING
Eviction ban lift: ‘Low-income BAME renters more likely to be affected than white people’, Eastern Eye, 31 May 2021
“BAME households with lower incomes, such as those in the catering industry or who drive cabs, are particularly at the deep end since most of them lost their jobs in the pandemic, the study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found. Its survey also showed that renters from BAME backgrounds are almost twice as likely to be worried about being evicted from their properties, as compared to white tenants.”
ENVIRONMENT
Sri Lankans face up to ‘unmeasurable cost’ of cargo ship disaster, The Guardian, 4 June 2021
“Fishing communities fear for future as oil, plastic and toxic chemicals devastate ecosystem”
Climate crisis: rich countries falling short on vow to help poorer ones, The Guardian, 3 June 2021
“US and UK are only G7 nations proposing to increase climate finance despite failure to meet $100bn-a-year aid pledge”
Pasha 109: Ecology research has a huge gap: the work of women and the global South, The Conversation, 1 June 2021
“This is important because the world cannot afford to neglect the perspectives and experiences of women and global South researchers in addressing the global climate and environmental crisis. A more balanced view is needed to inform practical interventions.”
ROYALS & THE MONARCHY
Buckingham Palace banned ethnic minorities from office roles, papers reveal, The Guardian, 2 June 2021
“Exclusive: Documents also shed light on Queen’s ongoing exemption from race and sex discrimination laws”
Buckingham Palace’s lack of ethnic minorities has long been obvious – even to devotees, The Guardian, 3 June 2021
“Recent revelations cast a light on a long and unedifying history of employment practices in the royal household”
Every Law From Which The Queen Is Exempt, From Paying Taxes To Equality Legislation, Elle, 2 June 2021
“Newly surfaced documents remind everyone how the Queen and her household are still exempt from race and sex discrimination laws”
TECH & DIGITAL
Skin in the frame: black photographers welcome Google initiative, The Guardian, 28 May 2021
“Attempt to tackle racial bias long overdue say practitioners…It is this bias that Google’s new equitable camera initiative hopes to tackle. The company has partnered with 17 professional image-makers to make changes to their computational photo algorithms to address long-standing problems, a spokesperson said.”
WIDER EUROPE
G7 vaccine greed ‘will prolong Covid pandemic’, Morning Star Online, 3 June 2021
“Aid groups challenge Western leaders to use summit to turn tide on ‘morally repugnant’ vaccine apartheid…G7 leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson will then meet for a summit in Cornwall next week, where pandemic recovery will be high on the agenda.”
A sacrificed generation’: psychological scars of Covid on young may have lasting impact, The Guardian, 2 June 2021
“Covid-19 policies risk leaving psychological and socioeconomic scars on millions of young people across Europe, with far-reaching consequences for them and society, a wide-ranging Guardian project has revealed. Teenagers and young adults expressed profound anxiety about their future and accused governments of failing them as 15 months of lockdowns destabilised their mental wellbeing, education and job prospects.”
AUSTRIA
Austria’s Muslim youth file lawsuit against ‘Islam map’, Deutsche Welle, 29 May 2021
“The map, showing the names and location of over 600 mosques and associations in the country, has sparked outcry… The project mixes Muslims with Islamists and is the contrary to what integration policy should look like.”
Anger as racist signboards erected close to Vienna mosques, TRT World, 2 June 2021
“European Muslim communities say the “Islam map”, which shares detailed information of the country’s Muslims and their institutions, should be removed before it causes more provocation and danger.”
CYPRUS
Nationalism meets racism in a divided Cyprus, Open Democracy, 2 June 2021
“How fences and walls cement authoritarianism on the island”
CZECH REPUBLIC
OPINION: Doctors sterilised us because we’re Roma, Thomas Reuters Foundation News, 3 June 2021
“Czech lawmakers are considering a bill to compensate women who were forcibly sterilised between 1970s and 2000s”
DENMARK
Fortress Denmark wants to send its asylum seekers outside Europe, AFP/Yahoo News, 3 June 2021
Asylum seekers would now have to submit an application in person at the Danish border and then be flown to an asylum centre outside Europe while their application is being processed.
FRANCE
Rokhaya Diallo and Rachel Khan: Opposing concepts of anti-racism, The Africa Report, 3 June 2021
“For several weeks now, French personalities Rokhaya Diallo and Rachel Khan have been battling it out on social media and television platforms. One constantly questions the concepts of domination, inequality and belonging, while the other has become the new media figure of republican universalism. Can the two opposing stances converge?”
Opinion: How France’s far right is now dictating the terms of public debate, The Washington Post, 2 June 2021
“Until last month, Sara Zemmahi was a relatively unknown figure. A candidate based in Montpellier from President Emmanuel Macron’s République En Marche party…Though nothing in electoral law prohibits wearing “religious symbols,” one of the leaders of the ruling party still decided to play into the tactics of the far right. This concerning move shows how racist rhetoric has been disseminated across the political spectrum.”
France’s New Caledonia set for final independence referendum in December, Reuters/Yahoo News, 2 June 2021
“The archipelago became a French colony in 1853. Tensions have long run deep between pro-independence indigenous Kanaks and descendants of colonial settlers who remain loyal to Paris.”
GERMANY
10 Terms Related To Race That Require Sensitivity In Translation, Goethe Institut, February 2021
“In this article, we look specifically at English and German, and discuss 10 terms related to race that are difficult to translate. Since language is constantly evolving and changing, this list might look very different in a year, in five or in ten years. It is in no way exhaustive.”
ITALY
Migrants Are Forgotten in Italy’s Vaccine Drive, Doctors Say, The New York Times, 4 June 2021
“A temporary ID number is supposed to give the undocumented some access to health care, but that’s not how it’s working for coronavirus vaccines.”
IRELAND
At least 1-in-5 ethnic minority workers in Ireland report workplace discrimination, Hot Press, 2 June 2021
“A report published by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, describes how ethnic minorities, disabled people, young people and lone parents experience consistent job inequalities…The report, titled ‘Monitoring Decent Work in Ireland’…”
SWITZERLAND
Few regrets for immigrants in Switzerland, SwissInfo, 3 June 2021
“Most immigrants living in Switzerland, with a few caveats, say they feel at home in their adopted country and would not have wanted to be anywhere else during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study by the National Centres for Competence in Research.”
Image Credits: Pixabay, Stop the Scan, Humberside LMC, People’s Vaccines Alliance, Rokhaya Diallo/Textual.
Previous issues: Black & Asian News – Black Europe Resources
* * *
The links and listings included he re are provided only for information, not necessarily endorsement. If you have received this information by email, it is for the exclusive use of the intended recipient(s). If you wish to recommend this blogpost, please use the relevant web address (URL) that you will find at the bottom of each post. Further details can be found in the T&C and Privacy Policy.
* * *
Blackeuroperesources.com is a Digital Resource on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic issues edited by Thushari Perera / Contact me / Twitter@Blackeresources / Become a Donor or Sponsor to support the continuation of the Digital Resource / T&C & Privacy Policy
* * *
Black Europe Resources 