In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and now the mass protests here and in the US, structural oppression, and specifically racism, has rightly become a much-needed focal point of anger and frustration.

The murder of George Floyd has shone a light on police racism against black and minority ethnic people abroad and at home, and comes at a time when conversations are already taking place about protecting the health and well-being of BAME communities who have suffered a disproportionately high number of deaths during the Covid-19 crisis.

It becomes an increasingly urgent debate about how systemic inequality has in fact torn away at the fabric of our society, causing the gap between ethnic groups to deepen. The racial disparity which seeks to further harm communities must be addressed.

This requires both the government and communities to have some hard but necessary conversations around how anti-black racism functions and has gone unchecked for so very long.

It is fundamental that we examine our own responses to such matters and whether or not we are making our own communities in Ilford and across Redbridge come together with mutual understanding and service and to heal such frustration.

I hope that we can at this time all be proponents and allies for those who may not have a voice against injustice, reject and call out racism wherever it happens and continue to be actively anti-racist in our community.