Working people must unite to change these oppressive societies

impact of Covid-19 on BAME people due to fears of civil unrest. The Scottish Government has yet to produce a report.

Over the past week, we’ve seen the same institutions, organisations and individuals who have invested and participate in oppressive systems, lend their public support to #BlackLivesMatter and though welcome, this requires us to look deeper.

We know many firms place incomprehensible demands on workers while avoiding taxes, we know councils work with private developers to enable the erasure of long-standing communities and we know care providers charge in excess for inadequate care to those who should be cared for the most.

We know when we behave in ways which cause pain – including remaining silent to injustice – we signal our social support to an economic system which will continue to find ways to cause harm and ultimately, unnecessary death.

Since 1990, more than 1700 people have died in police custody across England and Wales. Many of which come from the poorest communities. Where use of force is a feature, the proportion of black deaths in custody was over twice that for white people.

Here in Scotland, we have our own George Floyd. His name is Sheku Bayoh and in 2015, he was killed in police custody. With the weight of at least four police officers on him, he too could not breathe. His family still awaits justice.

These are not stories about whether you believe some cops are good and a minority bad, but about a system that needs to change. It’s about seeing the daily struggle experienced by the poorest and most marginalised people in our communities. It is about going beyond the hashtags.

Some of us survived the 2008 global financial crisis and many did not. As we move through the Covid-19 crisis, some of us will live and many will not. We must be prepared for the inevitable social and economic crises which will come – and this requires individual and collective responsibility.

In order to prevent ongoing needless harm and deaths, we need to understand what systems we’ve invested in and prepare to be uncomfortable – a feeling experienced by those of us who’ve been at the receiving end of injustice for years – with the cost of those truths and take actions which go beyond the performance of “good politics” and throwing money at “worthy causes” to solve the “problem”.

If this crisis teaches us anything, it’s that things CAN change and when working class people come together and support each other, we are stronger.