Wear Red Day - Friday 6 October 2017
On Friday 6 October Show Racism the Red Card will hold its third annual Wear it Red Day. The money raised will help Show Racism the Red Card continue its work in schools and other educational settings throughout the UK to offer a whole range of educational training, workshops, resources and activities, all designed to educate young people and adults about the causes and consequences of racism.
There has been a decrease in the number of racially motivated crimes in Scotland. In 2016/17 there were 3,349 recorded charges of racially motivated crimes, the lowest since 2003/04. While it is encouraging to see that the numbers are dropping, it is still vital that we continue to send out the message that racism is unacceptable.
When Moray Council conducted a survey among school pupils in 2015, 77 pupils reported that they had been called names about their race or colour. Our monitoring forms show that to some pupils this happens repeatedly. The effects that this can have on a child are devastating. Recording an incident as racist is not the same as labelling as racist a school child who has made derogatory comments about another pupil’s race or colour. They may have picked up the terms from adults in their environment, or from PewDiePie on Youtube and use it without giving it too much thought. However, if we don’t correct them as soon as the incidents happen, then we let our children grow up thinking that racism is acceptable in our society.
We can all take part to support this worthwhile cause by wearing red on 6 October. So rally round some colleagues, dust down that red garment and take part in showing Racism the Red Card to send a clear message that racism does not belong in Moray, Scotland or anywhere.
Don Toonen, Equal Opportunities Officer
01343 563321