'Young people are saying black lives matter and Boris Johnson stands in their way'
David Lammy spoke passionately this morning about the government's diversity report that states that the UK should be "regarded as a model for other white-majority countries" on race issues.
In a stirring address on his radio slot on LBC, Lammy listed off the examples of institutional racism that the country has seen in only the last year, and rubbished the idea that UK should be seen as a model to the world.
The Labour MP mentioned the deaths of sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry last June, who's bodies police officers took selfies with and then shared on whatsapp. The death of Stephen Lawrence, the teenager who was murdered in April 1993, and who's mother is still seeking justice for the murder. And the death of Belly Mujinga, a black woman who died of Covid-19 in April last year after having been spat in the face whilst working at London's Victoria Station. And there were several more that Lammy referenced.
Lammy said that Boris Johnson has let an "entire generation of young white and black people down" with the report, by suggesting that all their work and efforts to fight inequality and racism in this country are just examples of idealism.
"This report could have been a turning point, a moment to come together. Instead it has chosen to divide us once more and keep us debating the existence of racism rather than do anything about it," Lammy said, before going on to point out the multitude of ways in which the report could have done some good by highlighting the issues and struggles facing ethnic minorities in the UK.
He went on to say how "of course race is not the only story" but that race is an "important part of the story" and that equality is not a competition but an "endeavour that requires us to be honest about the full range of obstacles that exist in this country."
If you need any convincing or swaying about whether this report is either accurate or beneficial in any way whatsoever, simply listen to Lammy here. One of the Houses of Parliament's great speakers lays it out bare, highlighting how this report misses the point entirely and is completely blind to the struggles and issues that many in this country face.
In labelling Britain a model to the world, that is simply saying that Britain is not as bad as other countries, as Lammy discusses.
I'll leave it to him to conclude the sentiments though, as this article cannot really do his feelings justice. Watch the video, hear his words, and try to listen and understand what is being said.
"It is an insult to anybody and everybody across this country who experiences institutional racism, and it is an insult to generations of black and white britons who have come together, determined, walking and sitting together.
"I tell myself that the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice, and I know that thousands of you are right there besides me.
"It would help if this government were not so determined to bend the arc backwards."
https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1377190909683585025
