Why fighting for racial equity means reimagining justice

[Music]

what happens

when you hear a siren when i hear a

siren

i feel it in my body my chest feels

tight

my heart starts racing i feel on edge

both my understanding and experience of

the way black people in our communities

are policed has made

an imprint on my brain

what happens to me when i hear a siren

is not just

a bodily response it’s a psychological

response

a stress response and i’m not the only

one

the encounters you have had or haven’t

had with the police will shape what

happens to you

when you hear a siren or if you even

hear it at all

not only do we live in a society where

some communities hear

sirens a lot more than others

we live in a society where hearing a

siren can mean relief

protection and safety for some

yet fear danger and pain for others

that’s the tension for me this should

make me feel

safe so why do i feel fear

i’ll ask again what happens when you

hear a siren

and have you ever thought about what

happens to others

once again the detrimental impact of

policing on black people came to the

fore of public consciousness last summer

the police murder of george floyd in

minneapolis reinvigorated

a global movement for accountability and

racial justice

across the world millions of people took

to the streets to stand against violence

and show solidarity to the bereaved

families of george floyd

briana taylor and so many more

too many more all in the midst of a

global health

pandemic and the uk was no different

hundreds of thousands of us protested

across the nation

i was one of them across europe

millions of people got down on one knee

to physically embody

their outrage that the police had choked

yet another

black man to death in a place that they

probably wouldn’t be able to point to on

a map

why because international solidarity is

fundamental

because from america to france to brazil

to canada to the uk

black people are over policed and

underprotected

we experience a police force and not a

police service

which often results in our untimely and

violent deaths

but who were you marching for because my

observation was this

the european parliament could pass its

own resolution

denouncing police brutality in america

for the very

same reason that the national council of

police chiefs in the uk

could issue its very own statement

claiming

to be in solidarity with the family of

george floyd

because it’s far easier to point the

finger abroad than to dismantle

the systems of structural racism and

violence on our very own doorstep

we have a culture of deflection and

unaccountability

but i want to bring it home and amplify

the message of those of us

who were clear in our outrage the uk

is not innocent rashaan charles couldn’t

breathe when he was heavily restrained

by a police officer and then died on the

floor of a corner shop

in hackney in 2017 his death was ruled

accidental

the cctv footage did not secure justice

for that family ezell rodney was shot

six times

by police marksman anthony long in my

very own community in 2005.

his own bosses even joked that he was

the metropolitan police’s very own

serial killer

but he was found not guilty of azeal’s

murder in 2015.

the last things christopher alder heard

as he was laying

dying face down on the floor of a police

custody suite in hull

in 1998 was monkey chance and laughter

the crown prosecution service claimed it

could not infer

a racist motivation

five officers were cleared of

manslaughter

trevor smith darren cumberbatch edson

decosta

baker adrian mcdonald

leon briggs mark duggan smiley culture

kingsley burrell oliseni lewis sean rigg

mikey powell derek bennett roger

sylvester brian douglas

mahmoud hassan this is not just an

american problem

the deaths are the very tip of the

iceberg the culture

of violence that enables them to happen

at the scale that they do

has many more victims and most of them

survive

every experience of policing leaves a

trace

every you fit the description every stop

and search

every video of police violence from

across the world

every blue light every siren

every single experience leaves a trace

but this is not just about policing i

have spent the last decade working with

children and young people

impacted by the criminal justice system

and i can tell you first hand

it is completely broken i have spent

hours in police stations i have spent

hours in courtrooms

i have spent hours in prisons and i have

spent hours

in probation offices i have witnessed

firsthand the misery

trauma and harm that these places

inflict on individuals

whole families and entire communities

the fundamental issue is this the only

system we have

to deal with conflict and harm is in and

of itself

a source of conflict and harm

but this is not just about the criminal

justice system

this is about the structural racism

which is woven into the very fabric

of british society and the ways in which

every organization institution and

system

intertwine resulting in interlocking

experiences

of oppression the education system

the health care system the welfare

system local authorities

schools colleges and universities

hospitals

mental health services charities and

non-profit organizations

and how they all perpetuate racism

and in some ways further the work of the

criminal justice

system police officers in schools

increasing school exclusions local

councils

using police intelligence to threaten

whole families with eviction

charities complicit in the process of

criminalization in order to access

funding collectively they are all

contributing to an increasing appetite

for punishment

and this all has a detrimental and

disproportionate

impact on black communities

so whilst many organizations claimed to

be in solidarity with black lives matter

how many really interrogated the ways in

which they perpetuate racism

how many are really dismantling the

racism and anti-blackness

which is embedded within their

structures processes

procedures and practice black lives

matter is not a slogan

it’s a rallying cry for equity equity

which won’t be achieved

by posting a black square on instagram

releasing a rushed public statement

which lacks substance

or any of the other performative

gestures we collectively witnessed

we need real action because the

cumulative impact for black people who

experience

all of these systems at once is

psychological harm

as galen kinwani said racism

causes harm harm to the body

and harm to the mind these simultaneous

and layered experiences of racism

result in racial trauma there is no way

to talk about racial justice

or racial equity without talking about

racial trauma

it isn’t just a theory it’s what we’re

experiencing and living with

every single day our mental health

services have not even begun to

understand

its individual or intergenerational

impact

so how can we even begin to heal when

the very services that are supposed to

facilitate healing

often reproduce racism we have had to

create our own infrastructure

at a community level to address racial

trauma

and deal with the harm not just the harm

inflicted by the state

including state violence not just the

harm perpetuated

by other organizations and institutions

within society

but the harm that we cause each other

and experience within

our communities which is a direct result

of these societal pressures

because the only system to deal with

conflict and harm creates

more conflict and harm we have to

reimagine

what justice really looks like what

justice

really feels like and this is why i

believe in transformative justice

it is so powerful because it

fundamentally recognizes that we all

have the capacity for transformation the

ability

to change that we can address violence

in our communities

that we can seek safety and build

accountability

without relying on marginalization

punishment

policing or imprisonment that we can

heal

from generational trauma and violence

and transform the consequences of

oppression

on our hearts our bodies and our minds

that we must build collective power to

respond to all forms of violence

including state and systemic violence

transformative justice is not just a

utopian idea

it’s a practice and like many grassroots

organizations

the forefront project which i set up in

2012 to empower young people

is practicing transformative justice

and centering healing in our approach to

address violence

because working towards our individual

and collective healing is one crucial

way

that we can resist a system which

inflicts so much pain

for forefront practicing transformative

justice is many things

it’s de-escalating violence it’s

conflict resolution

mediation it’s building capacity for

community accountability processes

is safety planning it’s supporting young

people

and their families to rebuild and

strengthen their relationships

it’s being present when they are in

crisis

it’s advocating for young people in the

police station

in courts and throughout legal processes

to ensure

their rights are upheld and their needs

are met

it’s supporting their families through

these processes it’s holding

institutions

and organizations that are in their life

accountable

for the ways that they treat them it’s

building their sense of self

their identity in a world that

repeatedly tells them

that their lives don’t matter it’s

building their skills

and confidence to enable them to

advocate for themselves

their families our communities as a

means of resistance which is both

liberatory and reparatory in and of

itself

it’s the love circle we had for a young

man the day before he was potentially

imprisoned

where our whole team young people from

our community and his friends

told him one by one all the reasons why

they loved him

printed pictures wrote him letters to

take with him so that if he was

incarcerated he would know that he was

cared for

he mattered and that he would still be

supported

it’s the memorial we had for a young man

who was murdered

in our community where everyone had a

chance

to pay their respects share memories pay

tribute hold space

for one another and grieve together it’s

a community support system

which is not just in place when they

have been harmed themselves

but also when they have harmed others

not focused on perpetuating shame

but on providing compassion and

opportunities to repair harm

and move forward it’s building strong

long-term relationships with young

people that center love

service and care is actively

fighting to dismantle racist systems

which we need to do by uplifting the

voices and experiences of those most

affected by them

whilst creating the space to heal from

racial trauma not only individually

but collectively is building hope

and creating space to imagine and build

new systems

systems to deal with the harm and the

violence systems for

accountability and systems for healing

this kind of holistic support is what is

transforming

my community and our society

there is another way if you believe

black lives matter you have to support

this fight

in its entirety yes we’re talking about

policing

but we’re not just talking about

policing police killing people

we’re talking about all of the impacts

of policing we’re talking about the

criminal justice system in its entirety

and all of these other systems you have

to understand all of these systems

you have to understand racial trauma

you have to understand that even if

you’re not directly a part

of these systems that in some way you’re

still enabling them

and so in some way you are still

complicit

so really ask yourself do i want this

done in my name

what more can i do to fight for racial

equity

because i do not want to be protesting

in 50 years

with my grandchildren you can actively

support our resistance

you can actively support the building of

these new systems

coronavirus has not only highlighted the

inescapable

interconnectedness of humanity but

forced us

to rethink the ways in which we live

together

we have seen beautiful acts of mutual

aid

and care reimagining justice requires

the same

urgency compassion and commitment

and realizing how deeply connected we

all are

another world is possible so the next

time you hear

a siren let that be your reminder

of your responsibility to actively build

that world