Hammersmith & Fulham Council is hosting a week of online events to honour Race Equality Week.
Race Equality Week runs from 7 to 13 February and we're inviting local residents and businesses to join us in addressing issues such as ethnic minority employees and discrimination in the workplace, imperialism and sexuality.
Our events feature a range of guest speakers, focusing on areas including the Metropolitan Police, the NHS, and the LGBTQ+ community, and why race equality matters.
All events will take place online on Microsoft Teams and are open to all residents. The virtual events include:
Why race equality matters
Guest speaker: Professor Kehinde Andrews
Monday 7 February
Noon -1.30pm
Colonialism and imperialism are often thought to be distant memories, whether they're glorified in Britain's collective nostalgia or taught as a sin of the past in history classes. But imperialism, Black Studies professor Kehinde Andrews argues, is alive and well – it's just taken a new form.
Kehinde Nkosi Andrews is a British academic and author specialising in Black Studies. He is the director of the Centre for Critical Social Research, founder of the Harambee Organisation of Black Unity, and co-chair of the UK Black Studies Association. Andrews is the first Black Studies professor in the UK and led the establishment of the first Black Studies programme in Europe at Birmingham City University.
Race equality within the Metropolitan Police
Guest speaker: Superintendent Paul Wilson
Tuesday 8 February
6pm-7.30pm
Paul Wilson will be discussing the challenges he faced when rising to the top of his profession and how he overcame those barriers and his experience of race equality in the Metropolitan Police over the last few decades.
Paul Wilson retired from London's Metropolitan Police as a superintendent after 31 years of public service. He played a pivotal role in the creation of the UK's first Black Police Association and was responsible for a significant number of reports centred around the issue of institutional racism and police service delivery to Black and minority ethnic communities, as well as a plethora of media appearances and contributions on the topic.
As the first Black British recipient of the Fulbright Police Fellowship Award and the author of a report and subsequent oral testimony on institutional racism at the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Paul's authority on the subject is beyond question. Now, he uses his knowledge of and experiences with this subject to give a personal recount of the proliferation of and slow progress in the fight against institutional racism in British policing.
Paul will also be talking about his recent book 'Rocking the Boat' which is fast becoming a must-read for those concerned with the police and race relations.
Hearing from an LGBTQ+ perspective
Guest speaker: Yemisi Ilesanmi
Wednesday 9 February
6pm-7.15pm
Yemisi IIesanmi will be sharing her lived experience as a Black African Bisexual Woman.
Yemisi IIesanmi is a Nigerian woman resident in UK. She identifies as Feminist, Bisexual and Atheist. She is a Barrister and holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M) in Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights. She is a trade unionist, human rights activist, poet and author of the book 'Freedom To Love For ALL: Homosexuality is Not Un-African'.
My life experience in the NHS
Guest speaker: Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu (OBE)
Friday 11 February
6pm-7.30pm
Royal College of Nursing Fellow Dame Elizabeth Anionwu OBE was the first sickle cell and thalassaemia specialist nurse in Britain. She will be talking about her inspiring career, the obstacles she overcame, and the discrimination that Black nurses still face today.
She will be discussing her experiences in the NHS and covering parts of her recent book 'Dreams from my Mother'.
If you have any questions about Race Equality Week, please email blackhistoryexperience@lbhf.gov.uk
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