True Crimes and prevention. Understanding the roots of racism in a bid to cure the discriminatory plague: it took the loss of the Euro 2020 final of England vs Italy as Gareth Southgate’s three young black stars failed to score in penalty shootouts to bring back the ugly shadow of racism. The Bridge Magazine gives a voice to its young contributor. Orchidée Wafo shares her views about the “Jim Crow Laws” in (USA), and “section 60” in (UK) or the ugly face of the roots of racism.
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It took the loss of the Euro 2020 final of England vs Italy as Gareth Southgate’s three young black stars (Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho ) failed to score in penalty shootouts to bring back the ugly shadow of racism.
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From being the most multicultural city in the world to becoming a ghost city overnight because of the loss of a football match, one could say there is still a lot to achieve in terms of the acceptance of people of Colour in London and the rest of the world as London is and remains the barometer of acceptance of ethnic minorities across the world.
London is and remains the barometer of acceptance of ethnic minorities across the world.
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On Sunday 11th July 2021 After The UEFA Euro 2020 football match final at Wembley Stadium, in London (United Kingdom) Londoners took social media by storm to advise black citizens in the English community to make sure they avoid public transport and even avoid heading to work the day after England’s Euro 2020 final defeat, as they may face racism abuse.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was prompt to urge fans not to racially abuse the England football team after a storm of hatred was unleashed against its black players. The prime minister said those responsible for the “appalling” abuse, which has been under police investigation, “should be ashamed of themselves”.
According to Orchidée Wafo, “There is an alarming amount of
Orchidée Wafo shares her views about the “Jim Crow Laws” in (USA), and “section 60 ” in (UK) or the ugly face of the roots of racism.
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evidence which suggests that Politicians are not cognisant of the extreme racial disparity of how policing powers are disproportionately used depending on an individual’s race and ethnic background[ …] evidence from the Home Office along with surveys and statistics show that stop and search has been used as a power to racially discriminate particular minorities.”
Racism in opinion pieces will continue while the French media in particular and mainstream media in general lacks diversity, report finds. The ATN report, strongly recommended the building of cultural competency and racial literacy within newsrooms and diversifying hires, analysed opinion pieces published by a range of mainstream Australian media outlets between April 2019 and April 2020.
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England lost out on their first major trophy in over half a century after Italy defeated them on penalties.
Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Jadon Sancho, who failed to score their penalties, have been subjected to the worst of the abuse – posted on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Players have been “taking the knee” in protest against racism at the start of every England game during this tournament.
Not to mention the young Gambian father Youssoupha York fatally attacked at rue Colette, in Saint-Etienne France, in May 2021. According to the Agence France Presse, citing police and judicial sources, the victim was assaulted by a group of Armenians and stabbed in broad daylight in front of witnesses who filmed the attack.
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In a similar vein, French prosecutors have also opened an investigation into a wave of racist comments posted on Twitter, targeting black Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, which were posted after France was eliminated from the Euro 2020 tournament. It is believed Mbappe was the only French player to miss in the penalty shoot-out against Switzerland.
Not to mention the young Gambian father Youssoupha York fatally attacked at rue Colette, in Saint-Etienne France, in May 2021.
Citizen journalists recently shared a video on social media where in Cameroon a Chinese manager on a construction site abused by hitting violently, in front of other workers, a native Cameroonian at work, on Cameroon soil .
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According to the Agence France Presse, citing police and judicial sources, the victim was assaulted by a group of Armenians and stabbed in broad daylight in front of witnesses who filmed the attack.
Citizen journalists recently shared a video on social media where in Cameroon a Chinese manager on a construction site abused by hitting violently, in front of other workers, a native Cameroonian at work, on Cameroon soil .
Gone too soon . A charming kind little boy who wouldn’t hurt a fly was killed just because he was white.
Unlike what some can believe, white victims of racist attacks also exist in UK even if it is not as frequent abuses as against the black community. The ugly Murder of 15-year-old white Scottish boy Kriss Donald, from Pollokshields in Glasgow / March 2004. Singled out because he was white. Despite having no involvement in a nightclub attack or in any other gang activity, he was stabbed repeatedly and then soaked in petrol and burned to death in March 2004 in Glasgow.
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Unlike what some can believe, white victims of racist attacks also exist in UK even if it is not as frequent abuses as against the black community.
The ugly Murder of 15-year-old white Scottish boy Kriss Donald, from Pollokshields in Glasgow / March 2004.
If we go back in time, as an example of a white person being killed because his skin was the wrong colour, Kriss Donald is the perfect example.
He was the “white boy from the McCulloch Street area” despite having no involvement in a nightclub attack or in any other gang activity, he was abducted from Kenmure Street by five men linked with a local British of Pakistani descent gang led by Imran Shahid. Kriss Donald was stabbed repeatedly and then soaked in petrol and burned to death in March 2004.
In George Floyd’s Memory: Observational drawing of George Floyd by Orchidée Wafo. Since the conviction of George Floyd’s killer, very little has changed, whether it be in UK, France, Belgium, Cameroon…
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It is believed the murder was a revenge for an attack on Shahid at a nightclub in Glasgow city centre the night before by a local white gang, All five men were later found guilty of racially motivated murder in March 2004, and Three Asian gang members were sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of a schoolboy in Glasgow who had been singled out because he was white.
Martin Luther King Jr, was an American and activist who became the most visible spokesman and leader in the American civil rights movement .
“It is extremely disheartening that racism is ongoing despite leaders, namely Martin Luther King and Malcom X, eagerly fighting against the disease of which the cure is not being ignorant” Orchidée Wafo.
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At The Bridge Magazine, our views on the topic are meant to educate a world were some people think they should be ashamed or apologise for their identity to please those who have lost their moral compass.
Malcom X: he was an African American leader in the civil rights movement, minister and supporter of Black nationalism.
“It is extremely disheartening that racism is ongoing despite leaders, namely Martin Luther King and Malcom X, eagerly fighting against the disease of which the cure is not being ignorant” Orchidée Wafo.
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As human, we all come from different countries with different social background and social classes, we all have unconscious bias. If it is difficult to ditch all our unconscious bias, we can at least train our unconscious bias in order to make it kinder and more open minded to others. We MUST :
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Balance out our thoughts
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Educate others to see beauty in difference
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Mingle with people who are different
Since the conviction of George Floyd’s killer, very little has changed, whether it be in France, Belgium, Cameroon…
“Human beings come in varying forms of skin pigments and shades/tones.” Orchidée Wafo.
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This has prompted our editorial to dig a bit more to understand how to prevent and solve the persist issue of racism.
The “Jim Crow Laws”, or “black codes” prohibited interracial marriages and imposed a separation between blacks and whites in transport, public places, public toilets, housing, employment, schools, hair salons, beauty lounges, barbers …
“It is disappointing that certain individuals deem race as a catalyst of which you serve a certain level of respect. For instance how Jim Crow Laws served as a catalyst to disadvantage and discriminate individuals within society. Jim Crow Laws arguably birthed this perpetual all-pervasive seed which nurtures racism. “
Orchidée Wafo.
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The Jim Crow Laws (1876 – 1964) and the Ku Klux Klan: or America’s Ugly Face.
History and context in brief :
A pivotal date in the history of the United States, the abolition of slavery in 1865, paradoxically marking for the black community the real genesis of the fight for equality. Implemented by a vengeful South, the codes of life for blacks were materialized by the Jim Crow laws opening the breach to outright segregation, to the climate of terror maintained by the Ku Klux Klan. (KKK)
If it was the occasion to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the march to Washington and the famous speech of Martin Luther King delivered on August 28, 1963, the United States institutionalized racial segregation for a hundred years black people were treated as subclass citizens.
Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994_1 is a statutory policing power used on individuals when the police suspect illegal activity: drugs or in possession of a weapon. This is called stop and search (a practice) which has been in place since the late 1980s. The power allows police officers to search suspects without reasonable suspicion which has been deemed as highly controversial as confirmed in the UK Justice Policy Review that: Stop and search is “one of the most controversial police powers in England and Wales”.
Instead, evidence from the Home Office along with surveys and statistics show that stop and search has been used as a power to racially discriminate particular minorities.
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The “Jim Crow Laws”, or “black codes” legalized racial segregation in the South of the United States, and more particularly in what is called the Deep South, a geographic area representing the cotton belt, stretching from Georgia and Alabama to Missouri and Carolina South.
The “Jim Crow Laws”, or “black codes” prohibited interracial marriages and imposed a separation between blacks and whites in transport, public places, public toilets, housing, employment, schools, hair salons, beauty lounges, barbers and during baseball games, circuses, hospital entrances, libraries, telephone booths etc.
James Patrick Bulger (16 March 1990 – 12 February 1993) was a 2-year-old boy from Kirkby, Merseyside, England, who was abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, on Friday, 12 February 1993.
The Lammy Review illustrated that the consistent pattern of institutionalised racism is broader in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as seen in the case studies of
of James Bulger: a Caucasian 2-year-old boy who was raped and killed by 10- and 9-year-old Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. The stark contrast of treatment from the police in each case and by extension the justice system illustrates racial discrimination. Bulger’s murderers were given new names and anonymity.
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The “Jim Crow Laws” were also distinguished by a precision in the definition of belonging to the black race, according to the rule (the one-drop rule). “One drop is enough”. To go to the end of the metaphor, mestizos were black, no excuse or confusion.
The Jim Crow laws were created by racist white supremacists namely the KKK and other racist Caucasians who created such draconian laws to separate America between whites and blacks. Segregation included toilets, transportation, stores, and any other place. The Jim Crow laws accentuated extreme racial disparities and brutal racism against black Americans.
Below is Orchidée Wafo’s view on the topic. As a reminder, Orchidée Wafo is The Bridge Magazine’sYoung Contributor who was awarded at Age 17 Young Reporter of the Year 2018 by The Sutton Guardian and The Richmond Times for publishing articles regularly for eight months, and also has a keen talent at writing poetry from the age of 9.
Orchidée Wafo has been a contributor to The Bridge Magazine for over a decade and is currently a Corporate Law university student in a high ranking University in London/ UK.
As a bright law student who has achieved a great mark in a subject entitled Law Rights and Context, inspired by her own essay, she states:
It is extremely disheartening that racism is ongoing despite leaders, namely Martin Luther King and Malcom X, eagerly fighting against the disease of which the cure is not being ignorant, as human beings come in varying forms of skin pigments and shades/tones.
10- and 9-year-old Jon Venables and Robert Thompson are the two who abducted, tortured, raped and murdered James Bulger on Friday, 12 February 1993. It is believed Thompson and Venables placed James’ body on the tracks, weighing his head down with rubble, in the hope a train would hit him and make his death look like an accident. But when they left the scene his body was cut in half by a train, and found two days later.
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It is absurd that since the dawn of time society and individuals have been implicitly and explicitly discriminating people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age and several other components deemed by society as constructing human beings in the world.
Moreover, it is highly hypocritical that certain fans pick and choose when Black Lives Matter and it is disappointing that certain individuals deem race as a catalyst of which you serve a certain level of respect. For instance how Jim Crow Laws served as a catalyst to disadvantage and discriminate individuals within society. Jim Crow Laws arguably birthed this perpetual all-pervasive seed which nurtures racism.
Such horrific laws were a form of systematic oppression of Black Americans which nurtured the notion of Blacks being a sub class, which is wrong. All races should give and receive the same level of respect as no one should be treated differently because of their skin pigment.
Plus it is extremely hypocritical that certain fans and certain members of society promote the phrase ‘be kind’ yet as soon as a situation occurs they are the same ones throwing out racial slurs. It is a shame that certain people seek to equate a level of respect based on the race of an individual.
Highlighting the similarities and connection between institutional bias (Jim Crow Laws (USA) and section 60 (UK)) inflicted upon individuals which unwittingly discriminates them
Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 19941 is a statutory policing power used on individuals when the police suspect illegal activity: drugs or in possession of a weapon. This is called stop and search (a practice) which has been in place since the late 1980s. The power allows police officers to search suspects without reasonable suspicion which has been deemed as highly controversial as confirmed in the UK Justice Policy Review that: Stop and search is “one of the most controversial police powers in England and Wales”[1].
According to Home Secretary Priti Patel, in 2019 she stated: ‘stop and search works’. Moreover, according to Conservative party Politician Sajid Javid, in 2019 he stated: ‘stop and search is a hugely effective power’. Despite politicians’ thoughts, the efficacy and utility of the power has never been confirmed.
There is also very little evidence as to whether it is an “effective investigatory or preventative power”5. Instead, evidence from the Home Office along with surveys and statistics show that stop and search has been used as a power to racially discriminate particular minorities.
Stephen Lawrence.
The Lammy Review illustrated that the consistent pattern of institutionalised racism is broader in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as seen in the case studies of Stephen Lawrence: A Black teenager who was racially murdered
The stark contrast of treatment from the police in each case and by extension the justice system illustrates racial discrimination… Whilst in Stephen Lawrence case the white youths who killed him were acquitted as the police had failed to bring any prosecutions. Both cases illustrate a “miscarriage of justice”7 as there is a lack of procedural objectivity because race has been used as characteristic to exert the level of police efficacy.
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A Home Office study revealed that Black people were 9 times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white peers. Moreover, data shows that Black people are 8 times more likely to be handcuffed than White people.
Surveys show that Black people are more likely to have been spat on with bite marks inflicted upon them. Force used on Black people with far less justification is used far more frequently than Caucasians studies show. It is also statistically significant that 8 out of 10 individuals from a poll stated that Black Britons feared that police are bias against people from their ethnic group and 65% of ethnic minorities overall agree with that statement.
There is an alarming amount of evidence which suggests that Politicians are not cognisant of the extreme racial disparity of how policing powers are disproportionately used depending on an individual’s race and ethnic background. The aforementioned figures show that the power is ineffective and open to abuse (lack of suspicion) which deters from the premise of stop and search combatting, identifying and preventing crime.
Police use race as a characteristic to unlawfully execute their powers as seen through data.
The Lammy Review illustrated that the consistent pattern of institutionalised racism is broader in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as seen in the case studies of Stephen Lawrence: A Black teenager who was racially murdered and the case of James Bulger: a Caucasian 2-year-old boy who was raped and killed by 10- and 9-year-old Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. The stark contrast of treatment from the police in each case and by extension the justice system illustrates racial discrimination.
“Human beings come in varying forms of skin pigments and shades/tones.” Orchidée Wafo.
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Bulger’s murderers were given new names and anonymity. Whilst in Stephen Lawrence case the white youths who killed him were acquitted as the police had failed to bring any prosecutions. Both cases illustrate a “miscarriage of justice”7 as there is a lack of procedural objectivity because race has been used as characteristic to exert the level of police efficacy.
No one in the world should be treated as other. Hopefully one day the continual existence of racial bias which discriminates individuals in society will cease to exist as hatred is an ugly trait.
As a matter of routine, at The Bridge Magazine, we do not mention a project unless it is completed. As a follow up of The Bridge Magazine 10th Anniversary celebration announcement, The Bridge Magazine editor, author and writer announces the completion of a series of books. The author has published 21 educational books in both English and French which are now ready for global distribution.
Follow the links below to purchase one or various of The Bridge Books.
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5) True Crimes and Prevention Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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8) Urban Legend Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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11) Travel & Tourism Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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12) Politics Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives.
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Rachel Tcheungna, Author, Writer of
The Bridge Books and
The Bridge Magazine Editor.
In collaboration with Orchidée Wafo:
The Bridge Magazine young contributor.