The issue of racism has been dominating much of the national and international debate and news coverage in recent times, following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in America. Much of the response has been led by the Black Lives Matter movement, including organising protests and marches.
One particular incident was the pulling down of a statue of Edward Colston. Colston was a merchant who used his wealth to provide financial support to local charitable causes and services. However, much of this wealth was the result of his role in the slave trade, which saw 84,000 slaves transported to America with approximately 18,000 of them dying en route.
Understandably, both the current concerns and historic legacy of racism have come under intense scrutiny. Therefore, in order to help any Group that may want to review this important topic, the YCW has produced a new SEE-JUDGE-ACT resource. This is now available for free to download and can be accessed here.
The Church says that all human life is special and that the dignity of each person is the basis for a just society. This belief is at the heart of all the Church’s teaching about how to live.
The YCW believes that every person is precious, that people are more important than material things, and that all our rules, laws, organisations and practices in society, should exist only to improve the life and dignity of people, and should never threaten it.
Therefore, when racism and discrimination rears it's ugly head, we believe it must be condemned and we commit ourselves to ridding our world of it. At this time of great difficulty and hurt for many of our black brothers and sisters, we renew our commitment to this worthy cause and express our solidarity with those who peacefully protest against injustice.
Black Lives Matter.
