On June 6, 2020, London experienced it’s biggest protest ever as 10,000 were estimated participating in the Black Lives Matter protest.
The protest was one of the many worldwide following the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer, With many of the protesters calling for action for police reform.
Aerial video view of the London Black Lives Matter rally!
#ldnont pic.twitter.com/hImnoBjF5M
— Mohamed Salih (@MohamedMOSalih) June 6, 2020
An organization which wants to see change happen is The African Canadian Federation of London and Area (ACFOLA). ACFOLA is a local organization that serves and advocates the inclusion, integration and engagement in London and area. Vice-President Dr. Abdul Malik Sulley, says that the protests will open more discussions about racism.
“It shows how diverse racism is, and how racism can manifest itself. Racism is simply not open-discrimination. It compasses more than that,” he said. “The protests are helping to put this issue to the fore and serves as a means that we can kickstart a conversation about racism”.
Sulley also explains that in Canada, racism isn’t well talked about and that we need to stop pretending that Canada is perfect.
“I think, here in London, here in Canada, we tend to think that everything is perfect,” he said. “Therefore issues like racism aren’t really talked about, and I think this is an opportunity for us to open that discussion.”
With the call of action on high demand, Sulley says that all public institutions, including law enforcement, need to look themselves in the mirror and own up any injustice that they might have committed in the past.
“The time is right for our public institutions, including law enforcement, the criminal justice system in general, to look themselves in the mirror and own up to any injustice is that that they may have committed in the past and to make amends,” he said. When asked if individuals should do the same, Sulley said: “The time is also right for each and every one of us, each individual to look within themselves and examine and examine whatever demeaning notions they have regarding people of other races or people of other ethnicities.”
Another big call of action for local politicians this week is the idea to defund the police. London Mayor Ed Holder said earlier this week at a COVID-19 briefing that nothing was off the table, and that he is looking for a “made in London” solution. Sulley says that they should, reminding that they don’t want to defund the police to the point their jobs become riskier and cause more harm.
“We are not calling for the police to be defunded to a level where doing their job would be risky to themselves. They’re helping save others lives,” he says. “However, the intention is that money could be allocated elsewhere to help develop people rather than, to police them, and I think that is better for the long term growth and development of London and Canada as a whole.”
ACFOLA is also currently creating a series of 24-minute shows called African Canadian Voice, to promote the contributions of African Canadians to the economy and culture of London and Area. These are aired on Rogers TV and are viewable on the ACFOLA YouTube channel.
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