Agenda item

Arya Babollah had asked the Leader of the Council the following question and in his absence the following answer was provided:

 

Question

Knowing what you have said about Black Lives Matter, what were you thinking when you tried to commandeer a Black Lives Matter banner for your photo ops at the BLM protest against for what you said and stand for in Elms Field in August?

 

Minutes:

 

Question

Knowing what you have said about Black Lives Matter, what were you thinking when you tried to commandeer a Black Lives Matter banner for your photo ops at the BLM protest against for what you said and stand for in Elms Field in August?

 

Answer

Thank you very much for your question.  I am really pleased as it allows me to articulate the Council’s and therefore my approach to these issues.

 

As the Leader of the Council, I have a duty to all residents, to understand their views, and do everything in my power to ensure the Council upholds its equalities duties.

 

My previous comments about Black Lives Matter have been misconstrued, although I accept, they may have been open to an interpretation that I did not intend.  I also wish to acknowledge that there is always space for all of us, including myself, to educate ourselves and grow in our understanding of each other.

 

Firstly, and most importantly, we are an organisation committed to antiracism, promoting equality and celebrating diversity.  The staff and all the Members of the Council wish to be at the forefront of best practise.  If there is an area, in which we are deficient in these aims, we wish to know it, to address it if we can and create a better quality of life for all our residents.  I believe I speak for all Councillors.

 

I came to England as a boy speaking little English and suffered prejudice and abuse because of my origins and speech.  In the fifties, those prejudices were very real.

 

Black Lives Matter is an idea, a philosophy, a moral code and a movement. The idea, philosophy and moral code are central to what we believe we are and I am.

 

The Black Lives Matter rally in Elms Field was a public meeting held on Borough Council land managed by the Town Council.  It was advertised as a peaceful and welcoming meeting.  The organisers knew that the Deputy Chief Executive and I had accepted their invitation and would be there. Indeed, they had welcomed us and came to greet us.  The first speaker acknowledged my presence by mischaracterising me as having associated the murders in Forbury Gardens with the BLM march that day in Reading.  At the time, I explicitly, publicly and frequently said that there was no association between those two events and have repeated this regularly.  Indeed, the Police have also expressed that assertion.  I have apologised freely and openly to anyone who misconstrued what I have said and have thereby taken offence.

 

I did not commandeer the flag as you suggest, in fact, I was invited to join my Council colleagues who were holding the flag, when an individual in a mask snatched their flag from them and ran away.  I was saddened to witness that as it lowered the tone of what was otherwise a peaceful and powerful event.  And so, I fear that you have been misinformed about the incident.

 

Please join me in striving to make the quality of life in all our community better.

 

Our mission as a Borough Council and mine as an individual is committed to antiracism, promoting equality and celebrating diversity and improving where we can the quality of life of all our residents and helping residents in their pursuit of happiness.

 

Please Arya join us as part of the solution and many thanks again for raising this question.