Show Racism the Red Card Day to help mark Hate Crime Awareness Week and Black History Month in Shropshire
Shropshire Council Cabinet members and executive directors ‘Show Racism the Red Card’
As part of local efforts to mark national Black History Month as well as Hate Crime Awareness Week, Shropshire Council is supporting Wear Red Day on Friday 18th October.
The overall aim is to show racism the red card in Shropshire, through visible support for this initiative. This is being achieved through members of staff sending in photos during the week of themselves in red or with red items in the background, to form a visual gallery of support on staff computer screens, with a special design for the day on the screen.
The Council works with the national charity Show Racism the Red Card every year, along with partner organisations including local unions and the NHS, and has done so since 2019.
The week leading up to 18 October is also Hate Crime Awareness Week: a national week of action to encourage communities affected by hate crime, local authorities, police forces and other key partners to work together to tackle local hate crime issues.
Councillor Lezley Picton said:
As Leader of this Council, I am proud that Shropshire Council councillors and staff across our rural county are Showing Racism the Red Card from wherever they live or work. To do so, through sharing photographs of themselves with red props such as flowers, dogs wearing red ribbons, and so on, costs nothing beyond our time, and is helping us to build up a visible collage of commitment over this week. I am delighted to join with Cabinet members and Executive team in our own show of support for the efforts we must continue to make to tackle racism and other forms of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
Racism is a form of hate crime, and we also take this opportunity to re emphasise that here in Shropshire, we will not condone any hate crime in any form. We encourage members of the workforce and members of the community to ensure that they report any incidents of hate crime direct to the police. There is a reporting form on our website and I would like to urge people to make use of this, either for themselves or on behalf of others. We will continue to work with the police and other agencies on tackling hate crime. “
National Black History Month has given us a very timely opportunity to find out more about our local history and in the words of this year’s theme, to reclaim the narrative. In so doing, we can reach a fuller collective understanding of the contributions that people of colour have made to life in Shropshire, as well as moving forward together to help Shropshire to be a welcoming county, to and for everyone.
This year, the Council is highlighting the story of Mary McGhie of Ludlow. She was a botanist and natural historian, who was born in Jamaica and lived at Castle Lodge Ludlow between 1817- 1844.
The Museum curators featured her in their Women in Science leaflet for Darwin History Month:
There is a short film about her, which was produced for the Darwin Festival.
This is on the Museums website here: https://youtu.be/gDW-b6o6Ey0?feature=shared
In sharing her story, the Council is setting out to not only reclaim her narrative but also show how she inspired further narratives too, as the story of Mary McGhie also inspired the character of Etta in the fiction book ‘The Gifts’ by Liz Hyder.
