Shropshire Council shows racism the red card to mark Hate Crime Awareness Week
Shropshire Council staff and councillors across the county are Showing Racism the Red Card
Shropshire Council is supporting local and national efforts to Show Racism the Red Card through Wear Red Day today (Friday 16 October 2026), which comes at the end of Hate Crime Awareness Week.
The council has been an active participant in this national event ever since 2019, along with trade unions, councils, schools and colleges, and football clubs across the country. The overall aim is to show racism the red card in Shropshire, through visible support for this initiative.
The council also shares the message “Change hearts, change minds, change lives” in payslips to reach all staff wherever they may work across the county.
Council Leader Heather Kidd said:
“Hate Crime Awareness Week presents a visible and public opportunity for us as a Council to redouble our efforts to Show Racism the Red Card in Shropshire.
“It is also Anti Slavery Week, when we are thinking in particular about collective and individual ways to tackle modern slavery, through what we can learn and share about the transatlantic slave trade. We recognise the efforts made here and still being made here to abolish slavery, and we celebrate the contributions made in the past and still being made here by people of different ethnicities and cultures in Shropshire.
“In so doing, the Show Racism the Red Card activities, together with our ongoing endeavours to learn from and utilise research from across the country, take on extra dimensions when they draw upon our local history and lived experiences. I would like to encourage people to look into the Shropshire Archives records, and to have a read through of our Anti Slavery Action in Shropshire resource pack on our website.
“We will take every opportunity to act in ways that will respect and honour those who have suffered in the past and those who stood up for them, including through the transatlantic slave trade. People also need our support and for us to stand up for them now, including victims of modern slavery and victims of racism and other forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.”
As in previous years, Shropshire Council staff and councillors across the county are Showing Racism the Red Card from where they live or work. To do so, through sharing photographs of themselves with red props, dogs wearing red ribbons, or wearing red, costs nothing beyond time, and shows commitment to support those who have experienced racism, and to act whenever and wherever we witness or experience it ourselves.
Vanessa Whatley, Executive Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Chief Nursing Officer at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, said:
“Across our local health and care system, we are united in our commitment to stand up against racism, discrimination and hate in all its forms. Everyone should feel safe, respected and valued, whether they are a patient, service user, member of the public, volunteer, or colleague. This commitment extends beyond Hate Crime Awareness Week and guides us every day of the year.
“We are proud of our diverse workforce across the NHS, local authorities, and partner organisations – in fact it is one of our greatest strengths. This awareness week allows us the opportunity to reflect on the past and recognise the wonderful contributions still being made by our ethnic communities in the county.”
Racism is a hate crime, and it takes many forms, from overt violence targeted at people of colour, to resistance to discussion, denial that racism exists in Shropshire, and microaggressions such as insults and staring. These may be targeted at anyone from one of the many ethnic minorities in Shropshire, or at anyone who stands up for someone who is seen to be different.
Over the last year, Shropshire Council and Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin ICS have also worked together on shared objectives to foster good relations and tackle racism, with the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester and with other partners at national level including Cornwall Council and Natural England, as well as with regional and neighbouring local authorities.
Partner organisations are looking at what can be achieved in the region, as individual organisations and in collaboration, to turn research and intent into practical actions for tackling racism and other forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation across the workforce and across communities.
Further information
The anti-racism educational charity Show Racism the Red Card was established in January 1996, thanks in part to a donation by then Newcastle United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.
In 1990s Newcastle, Shaka was at a petrol station near St James’ Park when he was confronted with a group of young people shouting racist abuse at him. After one of the group realised that they had been shouting at Shaka Hislop, the Newcastle United football player, they came over to ask for an autograph.
It was from this experience that Shaka realised he could harness his status as a professional player to make a difference. Coupled with the power of football and his status as a role model, Shaka thought education could be an effective strategy in challenging racism in society. To this day SRtRC continues to utilise the high-profile status of football and football players to help tackle racism in society and has also expanded into other sports. The majority of the campaign’s work involves the delivery of educational workshops to young people and adults in schools, workplaces and at events held in football stadiums. Across the UK, SRtRC provides educational sessions to more than 50,000 individuals per year.
In UNISON, Black is used to indicate people with a shared history. Black with a capital ‘B’ is used in its broad political and inclusive sense to describe people in Britain that have suffered colonialism and enslavement in the past and continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in today’s society.
Black History Month was originally founded around thirty years ago to recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the UK over many generations. Now, Black History Month has expanded to include the history of not just African and Caribbean people but black people in general.
It is held to highlight and celebrate the achievements and contributions of the black community in the UK. Throughout history, black people have made huge contributions to society in the fields of art, music, science, literature and many more areas.
The focus in Shropshire for Black History Month this year is on Anti Slavery Week, because Hate Crime Awareness Week 2026 is also Anti-Slavery Week. The Anti-Slavery Week 2026 runs from 12th to 18th October, culminating in Anti-Slavery Day on 18th October. The week provides an opportunity for organisations, professionals, and communities to reflect on their understanding of modern slavery, strengthen safeguarding practice, and demonstrate a collective commitment to ending exploitation.
An Anti-Slavery Week resource pack has been produced, for which we are privileged to share a narrative from a Shropshire family about their visit to one of Ghana’s slave castles this year. This is on the website to also support Black History Month and activity in Telford and Wrekin, as a public and partner resource as well as for our staff and councillors to access.
