TACKLE DAILY INJUSTICES

THE tragic killing of George Floyd has sent shockwaves across the world and sparked huge protests on both sides of the Atlantic.

But this campaigning is not solely about the senseless death of the 46-year-old, who was killed in US police custody.

Nor is it just about the mistreatment of black people by police.

Britain’s black community experience discrimination every single day – whether it is seen or unseen.

We’ve all seen the racism in the football stadiums but that is just a reflection of the systemic racism black people have been experiencing for years.

And I don’t just mean black singers and actors missing out on Oscars and Grammys, or footballers like myself being pelted with bananas.

I mean the prejudice faced by those in our inner city communities who are denied access to jobs, proper housing, a decent education and better health and social care. It is those people who have been forgotten about.

The visible face of racism inspires us to protest the killing of George Floyd but there is an invisible reality of racial injustice which happens every day in the inner cities. Sadly, while I see black leaders call for more black football managers and more black Emmy and Bafta winners not too many seem to be demanding meaningful change in our communities.

It’s great to see my old club Liverpool FC show their support by kneeling in solidarity with George Floyd, and the likes of F1 star Lewis Hamilton and England winger Jadon Sancho speak out. But these are reactions to racist events and we need to be proactive. We need people in the public eye to show their continual support for unseen racial injustice month after month.

The black community experiences racism every single day. There is an unconscious bias making it harder to get jobs or homes and meaning we are watched closely when we go to the shops. We have to understand until we get rid of racism, racist events will always happen. We cannot protest at every abhorrent racist event and expect this evil to just disappear.

It will keep happening until we tackle the very root cause.

Yes, we should demand equality for black footballers, actors and singers who experience racism, but we also must root out racial bias in the community. Challenge racism and these appalling racist incidents will disappear.