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Anglican priest: Fight against racism is facing Noah moment.. the flood is coming

by Heather Preston

An Anglican priest has compared the recent cries against racial injustice to the story of Noah and the Great Flood.

The death of George Floyd - a black man who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis has awakened what Boris Johnson has called "incontrovertible, undeniable feelings of injustice" worldwide with anti-racism demonstrations and campaigns taking place across the globe.

At the weekend, protesters in Bristol tore down a statue of a slave trader Edward Colston, while other historical monuments across the UK have also been vandalised. 

Edward Colston statue - PA

In response, the mayor of London has announced plans to review the city's landmarks, to ensure they reflect its diversity. Sadiq Khan said the capital had "an uncomfortable truth" with historical links to slavery.

 statue of Robert Milligan, a noted slaveholder and founder of London's global trade hub, West India Docks, covered in a cloth and Black Lives Matter sign outside the Museum of London Docklands - PA


Anglican priest and author of Ghost Ship Institutional Racism and the Church of England, Azariah France-Williams supports the move but is frustrated it has taken this long.

He tells Premier: "There's been petitions after petitions about these things, but only now, post the death of George Floyd is there this kind of a rising tide where people are beginning to explore these things which have already been set up."

France-Williams says the UK has been blinded to its racist backdrop and is now starting to recognise the implications.

"It feels a little bit like Noah has been, building the ark for a long time, and everyone's been laughing and saying, what are you building an ark for? [And he says] well, there's going to come a flood.

"It feels that George Floyd is that flood. And now, everyone's reassessing how they felt the moment before the rain started to fall."

North London street sign - PA

Plaques, street names, monuments and other memorials will be reviewed by the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm - to consider which legacies should be celebrated and which should be taken down.
 

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