In the week that Colston fell we continue to navigate these unprecedented times, there are lots of thoughts and feelings to comprehend. At Classic Morrow we are working on ideas and initiatives to help impact and support our BLACK community here in Bristol. The bigger picture is important and small steps build that picture. Today we leave you with notes from CM Family friend Roy Owen who attended both protests this past week in Bristol. Roy gives us his his view on the current world climate and the raw topic of systemic racism.
This week, I took part in two protests in Bristol. A small one, organised independently without the support of the police and another one with a huge amount of people, arranged with police and council support. To me, there was a big difference between the two. The smaller one caught the essence of the message our voices are trying to deliver and was extremely powerful. The second one was incredible in term of solidarity and attendance, it showed that real frustration built up in the UK. It did help as well to make our voices louder. However, the dramatic falling of the Statue might have put shade on our message. Bristol is a city determined to be on the right side of history and that was demonstrated with that symbolic moment. Even though the Statue falling was a key moment... I have learned to not be easily pleased when it comes to race topics. As symbolic and important those moments are, the work in Bristol needs to be done on ground level. If you were part of that protest I am asking you to do what you can to support your local black communities in whatever way you can to be able to move forward. Last week, the majority of people's posts online have been about breaking down racism and explaining what privilege is. If someone does not want to understand what both of those things are after this week, they never will. We can not only look outside for support. It has to start within. The system we are working in, is broken. Asking for a few adjustments will not work. This, has been happening my entire life. The real change can only happen when we come together with unified and structured plans. This week has shown the true power in our voices when we stick together. The fact that companies are throwing money towards our charities to keep the black consumers makes it clear how high our value is. The protests are good and are needed. However, this should be only the start, if we want real change. In my opinion the next steps have to be us coming together to decide how we are going to attack the next 5/10 years. The things we do now will not stop racism. But leaders before us have made it easier for us and it is for us to make it easier for the next generation. Unfortunately, we are going to see another policeman kill another innocent black man. I just don't want us to wait for it to happen for us to gain this momentum for change again. The books and the knowledge are there for us to understand our past. Now we need to have enough knowledge to change our future. The pictures shown were taken over two protests. The media would only focus on the statue falling and the lack of social distancing. What I have seen was a focused community, ready to take the lead of Black Britains future.
