Milton Keynes Labour party diversity officer speaks out about Black Lives Matter and high coronavirus death rate from BAME community

Ola Oladepo is the Diversity Officer for Milton Keynes Labour Party and also a town and parish Councillor for Wolverton.

In the light of the ongoing national Black Lives Matter protest, he is now calling for the government and local authorities to introduce policies that ensure equality, fairness and inclusivity at all times.

He said: "The disadvantage socioeconomic predicament of people from BAME background,may have led to the disproportionate high Covid-19 death rate among BAME people. Therefore, we task the government to do more to address the root cause of this."

Ola added: "There is an ongoing nationwide protest about Black Lives Matter, following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. This might appear as something that happened at a distance but, make no mistakes, there are a number of police brutalities in Great Britain which did not lead to any convictions.

"The lack of positive action by lawmakers and law enforcers has left a deep hole in the heart of BAME communities, and there is the perception that political parties only engage with BAME communities for votes during election periods, without addressing their issues in the long-term."

Over time, this has accumulated to social unrest and the "craving for justice", said Ola.

.Protests are a means of expression and a way to increase visibility of an issue, especially at this time for people from BAME communities who felt they have been marginalised and treated unfairly by law enforcement officers, the government, and the public. But, does it stop at protests?

Black Lives Matter protesters want, in the short term, justice for mistreatment, and in the long term policy reforms, brought about through active engagement in legislative changes and active participation with people from BAME backgrounds in local politics."

Ola is urging the government to initiate policy reforms in both public and private recruitment to ensure there is a diverse workforce which reflects the new demography of Great Britain.

He is also calling for an Increase in the capacity of discrimination tribunals to ensure speedy investigation of discrimination cases in both public and private institutions to ensure justice is done.

He said: Everyone deserves to be treated fairly, with respect and dignity irrespective of their race. I join the thousands of people all around the World saying Black Lives Matter and it really matters. Let’s make a world free of racism happen together."