IN THE wake of the protests against racial injustice, a Nottingham-based church minister and activist has called for a departure from “tearing down statues and towards installing statutes that strengthen equality and justice in our society.”

The call was made by Rev Clive Foster of the East Midlands city’s Pilgrim Church and follows a host of civic leaders officially acknowledging the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The plethora of institutions pledging allegiance to the BLM hashtag is one thing but meaningful concrete action and investment in Black lives is another. 

Rev Clive Foster of the East Midlands Pilgrim Church

Speaking exclusively to The Voice, Rev Foster said: “There is no doubt that after the tragic killing of George Floyd and the subsequent response driven by the Black Lives Matter movement has led to a renewed review of racial inequality in the UK.

Allegiance

“The plethora of institutions pledging allegiance to the BLM hashtag is one thing but meaningful concrete action and investment in Black lives is another. 

“There is cry which no longer just wants warm words but to actually do the right thing when it comes to racial inequality in our own backyard. 

“The value and response to Black Lives Matters has been so strongly felt that even in the midst of a global pandemic and restrictive government guidelines people still felt the need to protest on this issue. 

“The Black Lives Matter movement has seen a new generation of black and white marching for racial justice which does inspire hope.

Naive

“But we must not be naive to think that this will all change for better by next year. Social justice never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability – there is a lot of hard work ahead of us – it must start with some honest difficult conversations amongst us.

“We need also to move from tearing down statues to installing statutes that strengthen equality and justice in our society.”

Rev Foster has played a key role in Nottingham and beyond, supporting people seek redress following the Windrush Scandal, working alongside fellow campaigning minister Bishop Dr Desmond Jaddoo.   

Increasing goodwill in the city saw unprecedented levels of civic support for the recent Windrush Day celebration: Rev Foster was joined in giving voice by a series of leading figures outside the Council House, including outgoing leader Cllr David Mellen; Craig Guildford, Chief Constable at Police Nottinghamshire; Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire Police Crime Commissioner; Veronica Pickering, Deputy Lieutenant Nottinghamshire and former city mayor, Cllr Merlita Bryan.   

Moment

Rev Foster added: “It does feel like we have a moment to sustain this shaking and to loosen insidious shackles racial injustice.

“To what extent these shackles become fully loose will be dependent on a number of factors such as collective will to speak out, our ability to truly listen and to courageously take action to do the right thing.

“Structural racism has been built over centuries and will require sustained effort to bring it down – bring it down we must to ensure that Black Lives matter.”