A statement on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd

On the 1st anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, Plaid Cymru reaffirm our commitment to ending racial injustice and structural racism in Wales and the rest of the world. 

Black lives still matter.

And Wales is not exempt from such structural racism.

There remain stark inequalities in health, employment, justice system and education for black people and people of colour in Wales - according to the report by the Wales Governance Centre, Wales has an incarceration rate that is more racially disproportionate than England, which itself is more racially disproportionate even than the United States.

If we truly believe that Black Lives Matter, we have to acknowledge and address structural racism here in Wales too. 

From ensuring better representation in Welsh public life, ensuring the voices of black people and people of colour are represented and visible in all avenues of public life, improving diversity within the new curriculum, and reforming the justice system here in Wales – we all have to do so much better.

Plaid Cymru will campaign to ensure that the Race Equality Action Plan for Wales is implemented - taking forward the detailed report and recommendations of Professor Ogbonna for the Welsh Government. We will address the education attainment gap between children from different home backgrounds – and advocate to implement the recommendations of Charlotte Williams’ report on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities, and Cynefin in the New Curriculum. In public and political life, we will campaign to publish ethnicity data in relation to pay gap, elections, public appointments and health outcomes, as well as improving ethnicity categorisation in Welsh public bodies’ data capture.

We all have a part to play to end racial injustice and structural racism in Wales and the rest of the world - for good.