Harris Bokhari
The Office for National Statistics recently published figures which showed for the first time that White British people are the minority in London. The usual extremists used this as a way to try to divide our communities however the New Year Honours have highlighted again how ethnic minorities are leading the way to build a better Britain.
Despite the rise of Anti-Semitism since his appointment as Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis has gone beyond any other faith leader to bridge meaningful relations with all our communities. He has in particularly developed a unique and respected role in the Muslim communities attending and hosting iftars and spearheaded ground-breaking faith school interfaith workshops.
He has turned meaningful engagement into impactful relationships and has always been a strong advocate against Islamophobia especially when he spoke out on the plight of China’s Uighur Muslim minority. It is extremely fitting that that the Prince of Wales who was present at his installation ceremony is now the King who will knight him.
The murder of George Floyd led to protests around the world calling for racial justice across all sectors of our society. After two years many of the issues raised have been forgotten and for many black communities facing daily prejudices nothing has really changed. One project which has succeeded and translated the pain into positive action is “10,000 Black Interns.” Founder Dawid Konotey-Ahuluhas has transformed the City of London during this time, working with over 600 companies, he enabled over 2,000 Black interns to gain insight into an industry. Dawid’s CBE is a fitting example of someone who has used his own personally successes to transform the lives of others who are not looking for favours but fairness.
The pain of losing your own child can paralyse you. When Rosamund Kissi-Debrah founded out in a landmark ruling that air pollution “made a material contribution” to the death of her nine-year-old Ella, she turned this tragedy into positive action. Her work has led to changes to law and accelerated action against air pollution and will have a positive impact for generations to come, she was also awarded a CBE.
Ephraim, Dawid and Rosamund are just three examples of ethnic minorities who are bringing our communities together, strengthening our economy and ensuring our environment is protected for our future generation, and we as a country we are better for it.
