The Fight for Equality

UPDATE: TREC posted this article “We Stood Our Ground” which includes powerful videos of some of the speakers at the protest.

Around 100 people protested outside the Labour Group meeting in Leicester today against the threatened withdrawal of funding for the Leicester Race Equality Centre (TREC). Speakers at the rally made the point that TREC had played a historic role in assisting people who had been victims of racial attacks, and had fulfilled a vital in uniting different communities across Leicester.

Our Council must take a stand and oppose the Government’s slashing of funding for public services. Here in Leicester, the Council has at its fingers-tips, reserves of over £150 million: even if just some of it was used alongside the receipts from the sales of Council buildings and properties (which is £23 million) the city would be able to  keep services running for a while, giving them time to build a mass campaign to oppose the cuts.

It is not just TREC whose future is at stake. The unnecessary cuts are hitting hard everywhere. For example, yet another protest is being held this coming Wednesday morning to fight for justice. This time Unison is holding a demonstration in Leicester which is going to include a mass buggy push of parents and children in a show of resistance to ongoing cuts to children’s centres.

For further reading, see “Save Leicester Race Equality Centre.”