A year to the day of George Floyd’s murder

Tuesday 25 May 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.

The date is being proclaimed as a ‘Day of Enlightenment’ by The George Floyd Memorial Centre, a foundation set up by his family, to commemorate as a day the world came together for a common purpose.

Anti-racist council

Councillor Steph Powell, the co-chair of the Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture committee, said: 

“George Floyd’s murder, together with concerns about the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on some Black, Asian & minority ethnic communities, sparked Black Lives Matter protests highlighting racial inequality and injustice across the world.

“It’s important to mark the anniversary of George Floyd’s death to make sure there’s a real and lasting legacy of positive change. 

“We pledged to become an anti-racist council to do everything in our power to tackle racism and racial inequality in the city. 

“It means we are committed to using our resources and changing what we do to actively dismantle racist structures and eliminate racial inequality.   

“We recognise the importance of shining the spotlight on our own organisation and changing our own systems.

“We are proud of our status as a City of Sanctuary and a culture of hospitality and welcome. We do not tolerate hate in any form in Brighton & Hove.

“There is a long way to go but we are fully committed to working with others to do everything in our power to become truly anti-racist and tackle racial discrimination wherever it exists.”

Councillor Amanda Grimshaw, the opposition joint lead for Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture, said: 

“The events of the last year has seen has shown us there is still a long way to go to tackle racism and racial injustice, in the UK and across the world.

"We join the commemoration to George Floyd on the anniversary of his murder to highlight the continuing need to work for equality and justice for all.

"In our city, we’re committed to continue working with our residents, communities and organisations to make Brighton & Hove an anti-racist city.” 

Working with the community

One of the key parts of our anti-racist council pledge was to work with others to become an anti-racist organisation and towards an anti-racist city. 

We set up a Community Advisory Group last autumn to help us build on our existing work to challenge and tackle racism and racial inequality. 

The Community Advisory Group has met regularly, with the valuable insight of its members helping to ensure our anti-racism strategies are shaped and jointly led by the lived experiences and diverse perspectives of people who experience racism.

We’re now looking for someone to support that group and enable communities and the council to work together to tackle racism in our city. 

If you have the skills, experience, and supportive temperament to help us achieve our goals of becoming an anti-racist council and anti-racist city, we’d love to hear from you. 

If you’d like an informal discussion or to express your interest in the role, please email us on equalities@brighton-hove.gov.uk.  

Reporting hate crime and anti-social behaviour

Everyone in Brighton & Hove has a right to feel safe.

We encourage anyone who has experienced anti-social behaviour or hate incidents, including harassment or distress due to their identity, to report it

Our community safety team works closely with the police and our communities to prevent anti-social behaviour and hate incidents and support anyone affected.

If you have experienced or witnessed hate crime, our community safety team are here to support you and provide advice. You can contact our team by:

You can also report hate incidents to Sussex Police or call them on 101 if it’s not an emergency.

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