- 16/07/2020
- Posted by: Hillingdon Labour
- Category: News
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Questions from members of the public and a motion from the Hillingdon Labour Group about reintroducing Black History Month were batted away by the ruling Conservative Group at tonight’s full meeting of Hillingdon Council.
Residents are permitted to submit written questions to Council, and four residents took the opportunity to question the Leader of the Council why there was no Black History Month, and called for it to be reintroduced.
When responding to the Hillingdon Labour Group motion on introducing Black History Month, Conservative Councillor and Cabinet member Richard Lewis said that ‘Hillingdon had decided to celebrate all cultures’ – which ignores the ugly truth that black people disproportionately face violence, hostility and racism from authorities compared to white people.
Proposing the motion to reintroduce Black History Month, Labour Councillor Peter Curling said:
“We should not allow the subject of Black History to become some sort of modern culture war, but we should recognise with honesty the horrific nature of the history around the slave trade and how our colonial past treated Black people. This doesn’t mean trying to remove all traces of such atrocities or trying to re-write history, but simply giving a truthful account of what happened and how we can learn from it today.”
Seconding the motion, Labour Councillor June Nelson said:
“By reintroducing Black History Month, this council will be honouring the hope and aspiration of what started in 1926. Since 1987 this event and celebration of black communities across the UK has been an annual event. I am therefore again imploring Council to be a part of this celebration and fulfil the wishes of the black community in Hillingdon whom we represent.”
The Conservatives voted down the motion, as they have done in previous years, but Hillingdon Labour will keep pushing the issue to prevent black history from being brushed under the carpet
