Quote Originally Posted by army88 View Post
Disgraceful BT that , even if he was racist and your conservative Quip.

What does that have to do with today when the world is so less racist than then.

You my friend along with others are fuelling a problem that really isn’t there, yet you have made it a much bigger problem than it ever would have been.
I read this on Facebook, it looks like racism in this country is very much alive and kicking to me...

Katie Lynch
4 June at 09:55
I hear some of you say this is America's fight not ours. I beg to differ, we struggle with racism in the UK too, structural racism is ingrained in our society and we have become so used to it we don't even recognise it is there, we've just accepted it as the way things are. But do you know who is aware of it every single day, our black brothers and sisters.
My husband is not a fan of social media so I don't mention him much in my posts to respect his wishes but I asked for his permission to share a bit of his story with you to open your eyes up to some of what really goes on here in the UK.
Leon is a barrister by day. His journey to the bar was a long and gruelling one. It took him 12 years to finally become a tenant at his chambers. He studied law at uni where he was told he was not good enough to be a barrister. He left and worked for a year round the clock to raise enough money to pay for his law school. You may or may not know that at the Bar it's a very privileged white middle class profession. After he qualified as a barrister he worked for 5 years doing low paid legal jobs to gain experience to get a foot in the door. He was rejected from many jobs and pupillage opportunities and watched as white counterparts with less experience and skill were offered those very same jobs. But he didn't give up. Eventually he was finally offered a pupillage (an essential training process which you have to have in order to become a barrister) and worked around the clock to prove himself more than capable. People often assume that he is the defendant (despite being in a suit) purely because he is a young black man and this mistake is even made by counsel. He has had to defend clients who are on charged with racial aggravated assault offences and does so with grace, humility and integrity. Regardless of the offence, he does his best to represent all his clients to the best of his ability.
He is 31 and has been stopped and searched 7 times and unlawfully arrested once. On all these occasions there were no real grounds for stopping him and his arrest was degrading. On the day on his arrest, it was valentine's Day 2014. He was on his way to see me, in his bag he had a personalized plaque made for me for valentine's day with a hammer and nails to put it up for me. He was stopped by the police on the grounds that they believed he had a firearm, it was raining and cold, they twisted his arms and put him in handcuffs and pushed his face into a park railings. For 30 mins he stood there whilst an armed officer pointed a gun at him. He nose was running because of the cold and despite his requests, they wouldn't even let him wipe the snot running down his face. The all happened near to his home and his neighbours watched and walked past. He was utterly humiliated. On arrest they searched him and didn't find a firearm but did find the hammer so they changed the reason for his arrest to suspected robbery as he 'fitted a description'?! He explained the hammer was to put up a plaque for his fiance which was also in the bag, they found it but still wouldn't let him go. Thankfully his mum and brother passed by in the car and saw the commotion. His mum jumped out to find out what was going on. He went to the police station. Eventually he was released. With no apology.
Every single time he has been stopped and searched (sometimes in his suit and tie on his way to work) he has been singled out and people walk pass him believing he is a criminal. Can you imagine the embarrassment? One time during a stop and search the police officers allowed their dog to put his dirty paws all over his suit and he arrived at work late with dog paw marks on him.
These are just a few examples of some of the injustices he has faced. And he is just one black man, who works to fight for justice, one man who has such a heart for compassion, one man who works harder than anyone I've ever known to provide for us as a family, one man who loves the Lord, one man seeking to break the stereotypes, one man seeking to inspire other young people to believe they can be more than what the world says they can be. He has never taken drugs, he has never hurt anyone, he has never stolen, the list goes one. He is just one black man.
*A few people have asked if they can share this. My husband has given permission to raise awareness so please feel free to share it if you want to.*
#BlackLivesMatter

This is the husband in question...

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