A recent report by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, found “black children are six times more likely to be strip searched.” (1) So as horrified as we were about the “Child Q” revelations just over a year ago, the report confirms that it was merely the tip of a heinous iceberg. (2)

But actually it is much worse than that. A perusal of media reports in recent years will reveal headlines like: Study: “Almost all Black British children have experienced racism at school”; “UK schools record more than 60,000 racist incidents in five years”; “Almost 90% of teachers are not trained to prevent racism in schools, report finds”; “Racist behaviour by teachers in schools ‘not being reported’” and “Racism in Welsh schools still ‘widespread’ says charity.” (3)

So in essence we can conclude that the UK school system represents an existential threat to the safety and well-being of Afrikan children. Perhaps now is the time to respectfully suggest that there’s enough reports, now is the time to act. An opportunity to do just that is presenting itself with a national protest at 1pm on April 27 in Parliament Square. The protest is supported by The Black Child Agenda, headed by Sis. Cheryl Phoenix.

With local elections on the horizon it is an opportunity to put these issues on the political agenda. As such, Sis. Cheryl has drafted a series of letters on various themes for community use, including: Force schools to record racist bullying and other forms of discrimination, Tighter legislation around Disability discrimination, Tighter legislation regarding Bullying in schools, Stop the unlawful exclusions of African, African Caribbean & dual heritage students, Bring in tighter legislation to stop allowing schools to weaponise Social Services against parents (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13ALqNy17jOBnpe5AISzjAV1SFKhWX5xX).

Sis. Cheryl adds: “They want our votes, we want our children to be protected in school and wider society.”

(1) Dave Burke (26/03/23) Police carried out 2,800 strip searches on children as young as eight in last four years.. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/police-bullies-carried-out-2800-29545032

(2) Afrika Speaks with Alkebu-Lan on Galaxy Radio (21/03/22) Child Q: Is the system beyond reform? https://www.mixcloud.com/AfrikaSpeaks/child-q-is-the-system-beyond-reform-210322/

(3) Natalie Marchant (18/11/20) ‘Study: Almost all Black British children have experienced racism at school. hhttps://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/racism-united-kingdom-schools-black-children-inequality/; David Batty and Nazia Parveen (28/03/21) UK schools record more than 60,000 racist incidents in five years. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/28/uk-schools-record-more-than-60000-racist-incidents-five-years; Nadine White (16/03/22) Almost 90% of teachers are not trained to prevent racism in schools, report finds. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/teacher-training-racism-schools-b2036681.html; Andrew Denholm (05/01/19) Racist behaviour by teachers in schools ‘not being reported.’ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17337090.racist-behaviour-teachers-schools-not-reported/; Nicholas Thomas (03/07/22) Racism in Welsh schools still ‘widespread’ says charity. https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/20247915.racism-welsh-schools-still-widespread-says-charity/

we ask the question:

What will make our children safe in school?

1) Will you be attending the protest on the 27th?

2) Do we need more reports on our children’s experiences in school?

3) Can we really make this an election issue?

4) What will happen after the protest?

Our Special Guests:

Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka: Resident guest who is Spiritual Leader of the Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement and an Afrikan-Centred Education Consultant. Bro. Ldr is a veteran activist of almost 40 years standing, a featured columnist in The Whirlwind newspaper and author of Mosiah Daily Affirmations and Education: An African-Centred Approach To Excellence.

Sis. Cheryl Phoenix: is an award-winning Business woman, Mother, Philanthropist and Speaker. She is also founder and CEO of the Black Child Agenda a national organisation that campaigns for parents to galvanize support against illegal exclusions & racism in UK Schools tackling the Schools to prison Pipeline. It supports parents and young people up and down the UK with issues surrounding institutionally racist, unfair and bias treatment of Black Children. Sis. Cheryl’s career began in the corporate world of the city in the media, Business development and sustainability markets, which lead her to global events organising. She sat on the board of the London Development Agencies BME grant awarding body, and was part of the panel which secured funds to BME Businesses within the M25 area. Sis Cheryl maintains her extensive media connection and appears regularly on the BBC and is often featured in the Guardian & Telegraph. Sis. Cheryl is a board member of the Bridge Park Community Council Steering Group (BPCC).

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SIGN: Justice for children wrongly classified as ESN: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/631043

SIGN: Stop Anti African racism in Tunisia – https://chng.it/5MVRbCD2sn