Beyond statues: How can we make Bristol more equal? An invitation from Thangam Debbonaire MP

I am organising a series of events designed to look at racism and other structural inequalities in Bristol, and action we can take to make the city a more equal place. I hope our city can seize the passion created by the Black Lives Matter movement and make real and lasting change. We all want Bristol to be fair and to give everyone a chance to thrive. These events are to help us work together on this.

I will host the first event –online. This will be looking at how Bristol can draw on the campaigning energy of the Black Lives Matter movement, starting with discussing statues, place names and cultural institutions, and going on to consider how Bristol’s individuals and organisations can end discrimination and unfairness. We may have different ideas and views and this will be a chance to discuss some of these and work out how to turn them into practical and meaningful change. There will be other events to focus on education and employment in more detail.

The discussion will bring in leading campaigners, community activists and thinkers from Bristol’s BAME community:

• Marie-Annick Gournet - Marie-Annick is an academic and social entrepreneur with an academic background in Caribbean literature and interests in identity, culture, and liminal space. In 2017 she set up MAG Consulting, an organisation with social interest offering training, research and coaching in pedagogy, diversity, inclusion and intercultural communication. In 2018 she set up Teach Diverse, a social enterprise aimed at addressing underrepresentation in the teaching profession, through which she founded the Bristol Global Majority Teachers Network. She also works part-time at the University of Bristol as Senior Lecturer and Director of Part-Time Programmes.

• Desmond Brown - Desmond is the Independent Chair for the Lammy Review Group, providing strategic direction and coordination across partner agencies to reform racial disparity in Avon and Somerset's criminal justice service. He was previously the chair of the Commission for Race Equality and sits on scrutiny panels for the police, Crown Prosecution Service and Bristol City Council. Desmond helped to set up Bristols VRU (Violence Reduction Unit) last year. In 2014, he created Growing Futures, a community interest company that provides mentoring and educational programmes for young people at risk of being victims and/or perpetrators of serious violence and Criminal Exploitation.

• Sakiya Ghalib - Sakiya is a Project Worker at Integrate UK, a youth-led organisation empowering young people to get their voices heard and to tackle gender and racial inequality in our society, which includes regularly teaching school students and providing training to professionals about these issues. Sakiya has also spoken at many high profile events on violence against women and girls, radicalisation, and extremism and recently won The Diana Award for the work that she has done to campaign against FGM.

• Patrick Hart - Patrick is a broadcaster, media trainer and consultant, currently director and station manager of BCfm and co-director of ethical broadcast organisation E-com Media. Whilst starting his professional career as managing director at Freshblood Records, he joined BCfm in 2009 and saw the conception of a joint breakfast programme with Ujima Radio alongside developing many other projects. Whilst also regularly broadcasting on BBC Radio, he also hosts the Carib-Asian Cookery Show with wife Sherrie Eugene on Made in Bristol.

As the MP for Bristol West this is primarily for the people I represent, who live in the constituency of Bristol West but everyone in Bristol and beyond are welcome. The event is online and I would like to involve as many people as possible – real change will need many of us to take part. The discussion will be broadcast live on Facebook. You will be able to question speakers through Facebook or submit thoughts in advance through this online consultation to help shape the discussion.