EDITORIAL
Dear Readers,
Welcome back to the Black & Asian News!
Princess Eugenie has announced a new podcast with her charity co-founder Julia de Boinville. Their charity “the Anti-Slavery Collective” works to raise awareness about modern slavery and facilitate ways to combat it, according to its website. The pair have launched a podcast together called “Floodlight“.
Interestingly, a new report by the Financial Reporting Council has found that one in 10 UK firms do not provide a modern slavery statement. As you will see below, it is reported that “There is not currently a provision for financial penalties to be imposed in the event a company fails to comply with its obligations under the MSA [Modern Slavery Act]”.
Keep Well & Stay Safe,
Thushari Perera
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CULTURE, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
The media ignored research showing their part in the class war, The Canary, 10 May 2022
“The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) publishes a yearly report on diversity in journalism. Its 2022 report found that, broadly, the industry is like the rest of the working population in terms of the number of people from protected groups and minorities in it. Not that this is good enough. Because the majority of journalists are still white. And the proportion of editors who are white is above the rest of the working population.”
WB Discovery pitch for Black British filmmakers, Televisual, 10 May 2022
“Warner Bros. Discovery and Media Trust have teamed on a new initiative Black Britain Unspoken ahead of Black History Month UK 2022. Black Britain Unspoken aims to give opportunity and voice to Black filmmakers who are entering the media sector.”
Doctor Who: Ncuti Gatwa to replace Jodie Whittaker, BBC announces, The Guardian, 8 May 2022
“Sex Education star will be first black actor to play role full-time when Russell T Davies returns to run show in 2023.”
‘The pendulum has swung’: Why we female Trinidadian writers are having our moment, The Guardian, 3 May 2022
“Monique Roffey, the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch, on the lit-boom that’s happening on the Caribbean island.”
DJ Tim Westwood accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, The Guardian, 26 April 2022
“Seven women accuse ex-Radio 1 DJ of predatory behaviour in joint investigation by the Guardian and BBC… The women, who are all black, decided to tell their stories in the aftermath of anonymous allegations of inappropriate behaviour about Westwood circulating on social media in June 2020.”
Tan France: Beauty and the Bleach review – a completely devastating evocation of racist trauma, The Guardian, 27 April 2022
“The Queer Eye presenter’s look into skin bleaching and colourism sees him sensitively interview Kelly Rowland, listen to abusive tweets – and reveal his own heart-rending past.” Watch here
‘DI Ray’ Starring Parminder Nagra To Air On ITV In May, Entertainment Focus, April 2022
“Rachita achieves the promotion she’s been waiting for when she’s asked to join a homicide investigation. However, on her first day she’s told the murder to which she’s been assigned is a ‘Culturally Specific Homicide.’ Rachita’s heart sinks – she suspects she’s a ‘token appointment’, chosen for her ethnicity rather than her ability.”
CONSUMER ISSUES, EMPLOYMENT & WORK
Business and Human Rights: the Financial Reporting Council identifies failings in UK companies’ modern slavery reporting, Eye on ESG, 29 April 2022
“There is not currently a provision for financial penalties to be imposed in the event a company fails to comply with its obligations under the MSA. The only remedy available is for the Secretary of State to bring proceedings against the non-compliant company for specific performance. That said, as discussed in our earlier blog post, if adopted as legislation, the Modern Slavery (Amendments) Bill will make it a criminal offence for individuals (including the directors of UK companies) to, amongst other things, knowingly or recklessly include false or materially incomplete information in their modern slavery statements. This offence would carry a penalty of up to two years imprisonment for individuals and a fine of up to 4% (capped at £20 million) of the company’s annual global turnover.” Read the Report here.
Regulator: One in 10 UK firms do not provide modern slavery statement, The Eastern Eye, 26 April 2022
“Many companies are failing to spell out clearly whether they comply with modern slavery laws, Britain’s corporate governance regulator said, partly for fear of triggering a public backlash.”
The Black Farmer to speak at UK Black Business Entrepreneurs Conference 2022, Business Live, 11 May 2022
“Other speakers at the conference, which is being organised by Aspire Consultancy in partnership with the Black Business Association (BBA) and diversity organisation MSDUK, include: Lord Michael Hastings, London Chamber of Commerce Black Business Association chair; Henry Bonsu, British African broadcaster, international presenter and journalist; Dr Carlton Brown, author of the Black Entrepreneur Report, entrepreneur and academic. The event follows the publication of The Black Entrepreneurs Report 2021, which provides an insight into black entrepreneurship within the UK.”
Advancing the growth potential of UK’s ethnic minority businesses, NatWestGroup, 10 May 2022
“A new report from Aston University has set out a blueprint for advancing the growth potential of ethnic minority businesses (EMBs) in the UK.”
Little Improvement In Diversity Despite Increased Focus, Research Live, 10 May 2022
“ More than £6bn is spent on diversity and inclusion initiatives every year, yet there is very little evidence that this leads to increased diversity, according to newly published research from Dynata…The lack of progress is revealed in Belonging: The key to transforming and maintaining diversity, inclusion and equality at work, which will be published by Bloomsbury on 12 May. ”
Report finds ‘worryingly high levels of concern’ about racism in the workplace, The Caterer, 26 April 2022
“The second edition of the Inside Hospitality report has found worryingly high levels of concern about the impact of racism in the workplace, with 28% of Asian, 37% of Black and 39% of mixed ethnicity respondents experiencing or witnessing racism in their current place of work.”
EHRC’s legal fund for tackling race discrimination: what employers need to know, Personnel Today, 21 April 2022
“Following the equalities regulator’s announcement that it would make funding available to legal representatives of victims of racial discrimination, Fieldfisher’s head of immigration Ranjit Dhindsa considers how the EHRC race discrimination fund is bedding in and what employers need to be aware of.”
EDUCATION
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Schoolchildren Are Downgraded And Denied Support, Each Other, 10 May 2022
“The discrimination is often covert, with teachers treating families who are known to be GRT differently. This comes in the form of lower expectations, difficulty accessing support and a punitive approach to behavioural issues.”
Number of male teachers in England at all-time low as pay levels drop, The Guardian, 7 May 2022
“There were also revelations about the lack of minority ethnic teachers in senior posts in both secondary and primary schools. Almost nine in 10 English state-funded schools (87.8%) do not have a minority ethnic teacher in their senior leadership team.”
Is it fair that we spend so much helping middle-class children into adulthood?, The Observer, 1 May 2022
“The most egregious, in-plain-sight example of this is government spending on universities. When young people turn 18, the principle that we should spend more on the education of children from disadvantaged backgrounds gets turned on its head. The state invests an average of £29,000 on the education of each of the 53% of young people who go to university. For the rest, there’s nothing like that available; many launch straight into full-time work, which for those without a degree is dominated by low-paid jobs offering few prospects for progression.”
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FOOD
Cost of living: Rise in Britons saying they skip meals or go hungry, BBC News, 9 May 2022
“More people in the UK are struggling to afford to eat every day as food prices rise, according to research by charity the Food Foundation.”
‘Rise in Muslim families’ seeking Ramadan food help, BBC News, 1st May 2022
“As Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting and prayer, comes to a close this Sunday, charities say many Muslim families have struggled to afford food to break their fasts.”
GOVERNMENT, MIGRATION & COMMUNITIES
‘This month I got £658 but £515 is rent’: the struggles with universal credit system, The Guardian, 10 May 2022
“A mechanism allowing universal credit payments to be cut by up to 25% is driving people into poverty and debt, a report by the Lloyds Bank Foundation has found.” Read the Report here.
Jamaicans with disabilities who came to UK as children facing ‘unjust and inhumane’ deportation, The Independent, 12 May 2022
“Thirteen of them came to the UK under the age of 18, according to a study by campaigners Movement for Justice.”
The west’s battle against the far right will define this century, The Independent, 12 May 2022
“History teaches us that people can be more susceptible to far-right extremism when there is a backdrop of economic hardship and political uncertainty…In the United Kingdom, the security services have disclosed that nearly 30 per cent of terrorist plots being disrupted are linked to far-right extremism.”
Citizenship and naturalisation for migrants in the UK, The Migration Observatory, 4 May 2022
“This briefing looks at citizenship and naturalisation among migrants in the UK. It provides data on how many migrants become UK citizens and how this varies for different migrant groups, as well as the factors that affect naturalisation.”
Damning report finds “systemic failures” of detention centres to identify harm, Free Movement, 4 May 2022
“The Medical Justice report Harmed not Heard focuses on the inadequacy of the Rule 35 safeguarding process, designed to identify vulnerable detainees for release. The research comes only a few weeks after the conclusion of the Brook House inquiry, which uncovered appalling abuse of detainees and exposed how ineffective the safeguarding processes designed to protect vulnerable individuals truly were.”
British Virgin Islands: Why is the territory facing direct rule from London?, The National, 5 May 2022
“In a statement ahead of the protests, the acting premier also expressed concern over the proposal, saying: “What this would mean in real terms is that there would be no more elected representatives who represent the people of the districts and the territory in the House of Assembly where laws are made for our society.”
Woman who rides bus to stay warm is tip of pensioner poverty iceberg, The Guardian, 3 May 2022
“Britain’s cost of living crisis has another potent symbol: Elsie, a 77-year-old woman who found the cheapest way to keep warm was to switch the heating off, leave home and ride the buses all day using her pensioner’s freedom pass. Her story left Boris Johnson once again flailing in the face of everyday hardship.”
Vulnerable, British and black? Now that’s enough to have you face deportation, The Guardian, 3 May 2022
“The Rwanda story has also distracted the public from the reality that the new act will also affect British people. Especially those who either have, or are entitled to, dual nationality, affecting about 6 million black, Asian and Jewish Britons.”
How-Brexit-transformed-mobile-families-into-migrant-families, UK in a Changing Europe, 5 May 2022
“Brexit extended the reach of the UK’s borders into the lives of EU citizens, the majority of whom had previously enjoyed a lack of scrutiny of their rights to live and work in the UK. For British citizens, the loss of EU citizenship through Brexit means losing the rights to freedom of movement. But how has this been experienced by those directly impacted, such as members of migrant families in the UK and EU? We focus here on one aspect of this question. The experiences of Brexit re-bordering within the space of intimate relationships. This includes those in mixed-status families, where migration and/or citizenship statuses vary between, for example, partners, parents and children.”
‘Embarrassed to be British’: Brexit study reveals impact on UK citizens in EU, The Guardian, 4 May 2022
“Survey of Britons on continent shows ‘deep transformations’, shame and disappointment. The survey, of 1,328 British nationals across the continent, showed that if “the public narrative suggests Brexit is done and dusted, it has brought deep transformations to the lives of British citizens in the EU and EEA”, the study’s co-lead, Michaela Benson, said.”
Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour Are Basically Tories, Novara Media, 28 April 2022
“We’re living in the anti-migrant hellscape of French fascists’ dreams.”
Scotland’s only MP of colour left in tears after being stopped by Met Police, Yahoo Sport, 25 April 2022
“AN SNP MP was left in tears after being stopped by police twice in one day for wearing traditional Pakistani dress while in the House of Commons…A landmark report by ITV two years ago found that two-thirds of black and minority ethnic MPs had experienced some form of racism while working in parliament.”
Fourth report to the IMA, The 3 Million, March 2022
“This report focuses on the challenges of maintaining a digital status, whether by the status holder when initiating changes to identity document or contact details, or by the Home Office when handling multiple applications by one citizen. This presents obstacles for people to access work, travel and other key requirements to live in the UK.” Read the report here.
JUSTICE & POLICE
‘It strips your humanity’: Civil servant wins six-figure sum over ‘insidious’ Ministry of Justice racism, The Independent, 8 May 2022
“Former civil servant Olivea Ebanks awarded compensation after bringing legal proceedings over racism three times in 20 years…”
Number of children in custody in England and Wales set to double by 2024, The Guardian, 28 April 2022
“The number of children in custody in England and Wales is expected to double by 2024, according to a report by Whitehall’s public spending watchdog, which also highlights that black and minority ethnic children are increasingly over-represented in the youth justice system.” Read the Report here
Stop and search can’t be reformed. It needs to be scrapped entirely, The Canary, 24 April 2022
“The London Campaign Against Police and State Violence (LCAPSV) has set out guidance for intervening in police stops. And police monitoring organisation StopWatch has created guidance for parents and children, as well as a guide on how to make complaints against the police. Meanwhile, the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) has published a practical guide on how to monitor the police. Elsewhere, local police monitoring groups such as Hackney Copwatch and Bristol Copwatch, routinely hold bystander intervention workshops. It’s vital that we support those working to hold the police to account, as well as groups like Sisters Uncut, Abolitionist Futures, and Community Action on Prison Expansion which are working to build radical alternatives to police and prisons.”
SCIENCE, HEALTH & WELL-BEING
NHS boosts care for mums and babies as hundreds of international midwives recruited, NHS England, 7 May 2022
“Up to 500 new midwives from around the world are set to join maternity teams across the country under a new NHS England initiative. As part of the NHS’s Maternity Workforce programme and its new Maternity International Recruitment Programme, midwives have been recruited from various countries, including Jamaica, Zimbabwe, Italy, India and the Philippines and will support mums, babies and families at 80 NHS trusts.”
Unequal impact of Covid should be part of UK inquiry, says chair, The Guardian, 12 May 2022
“Heather Hallett calls for greater focus on minority ethnic people, children and mental health…Hallett has already told government departments to protect evidence from destruction.”
UK government accused of ‘explaining away’ Covid race issues, The Guardian, 5 May 2022
“In the letter to Lady Hallett, seen by the Guardian, the leaders say they are worried because the draft terms of reference do not contain any direct focus on the “significant inequalities” experienced by ethnic minorities “as a result of systematic racism throughout the pandemic”. This is especially alarming, they say, because “the effects of Covid-19 on race equality are likely to be long-term”.”
Covid is still killing disproportionately higher numbers of men and ethnic minority people – Dr Gwenetta Curry, The Scotsman, 5 May 2022
“Not only have men been disproportionately impacted by Covid but ethnic-minority men have experienced some of the highest death rates. Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and Black Caribbean males have had the highest rates of mortality compared to white males; at 2.7, 2.2 and 1.6 times respectively.”
THE MONARCHY & ROYALS
Princess Eugenie announces new podcast with her charity co-founder, Good Housekeeping UK, 27 April 2022
“Princess Eugenie and Julia de Boinville founded the charity The Anti-Slavery Collective which works to raise awareness about modern slavery and facilitate ways to combat it, according to its website. Now, the pair have launched a podcast together called “Floodlight“…”
TECH
Racist abuse of Sadiq Khan shot up 2,000% after Trump election as Musk vows to unban him, LBC, 11 May 2022
“Sadiq Khan has revealed he endured more than 200,000 explicitly racist or racialised social media messages since his election as London mayor – as “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk takes over Twitter.”
Where anonymity on Twitter is a matter of life or death, Rest of World, 6 May 2022
“Elon Musk’s desire to ‘authenticate all humans’ has users in countries like Myanmar and Saudi Arabia worried for their lives.”
SPORT
Essex fined £50,000 over historic racist comment, Peeblesshires News, 5 May 2022
“The club has admitted former chair John Faragher used the term ‘n***** in the woodpile’ during a board meeting in 2017, as well as its own failure to conduct a timely investigation into the matter. Faragher, who resigned last November, personally denies the allegation.”
Survey finds 68 per cent of football fans believe the sport has a racism problem, East Lothian Courier, 28 April 2022
“Football fans are more likely to believe their sport has a significant problem with racism compared to followers of cricket and rugby union, according to a new Ipsos survey.”
Police Scotland now involved with investigation into cricket racism allegations, The Scotsman, 28 April 2022
“An independent review into allegations of racism within Scottish cricket has resulted in police involvement.”
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