Statement on anniversary of the murder of George Floyd

Today, communities across the world mark the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, who was murdered by a police officer in the city of Minneapolis last year. His death inspired a movement for justice, not just in the United States but worldwide. As the most ethnically diverse area in the UK, connected to every part of the world, I know that our residents were deeply affected by these tragic events. As Black Lives Matters protestors in London said “we can’t breathe”, these words took on even more meaning, as we also faced the reality that Black, Asian and other ethnic communities were disproportionately affected by COVID 19.

In Newham, in response to this movement, we passed a motion at Full Council that committed the council to being an anti-racist organisation. As part of this we launched our tackling racism, inequality and disproportionality programme, focused on four areas; Newham as an employer, Newham as a social beacon of change, Newham as the best place for children and young people and Newham as a deliverer & commissioner of services. For our work around Newham as an employer we have engaged with staff about their experiences while also reviewing all internal policies for recruiting, developing and performance management of our workforce. As part of the work around Newham being a beacon of social change, we have engaged with partners and the community on issues raised in light of the pandemic and are committed to working through those challenges together. We have focused on young people; consulting with them, their families and key partners (such as schools) about the services we offer and what they need the most from us in the future. We are also working to make sure our services and supply chains respond to the needs of our diverse communities. Pledges for the programme can be found on our website.

As a campaigning council, we have also been making the case to government and standing up for residents from ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly those with no recourse to public funds.

We know that this will be a long journey, and in the next year some of the activities include:

• A reciprocal mentoring scheme for our workforce and providing a better emotional and psychological support offer for anyone who has experienced racism, inequality or disproportionality 
• Continuing work with local communities on a collaborative action plan for tackling racism, inequality and disproportionality in Newham
• Consulting on changes to the names of contentious places and commemorating significant residents from Black, Asian and other ethnic communities
• Building on a new group for young people from Black, Asian and other ethnic backgrounds to shape and influence the council services
• Investigating whether our services and those we fund are meeting aspirations to tackle racism, inequality and disproportionality.

Today, we remember George Floyd and all those who have lost their lives to racism. We also reaffirm our commitment to channelling our sadness and our anger into continuing this work to make change for the people of Newham.