Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

'I've experienced horrific racism': Meet the woman who wants York to become first anti-racist city

'I've experienced horrific racism': Meet the woman who wants York to become first anti-racist city

A risk manager who experienced “horrific” racism when she moved to York is behind a bid to make the city the first ‘anti-racist city’ in the north of England.

Haddy Njie was shocked at the level of racism she experienced after moving to the city in 2015 and set up Speak up Diversity to try to tackle the problem.


The 37-year-old was raised in Huddersfield before studying international corporate law and moving to London.

She was then sent to York by her company to establish a base in the city she now calls home.

Not long after her move, she was racially abused by a taxi driver who told her to leave his vehicle after she asked him to take a different route, an experience she described as “life-altering”.

Her African American partner was told he was “no longer a slave” in a York pub, and Haddy said the couple are stared at and given wary looks every day while out and about around their Fulford home.

“There were horrific experiences which I’ve never experienced in my entire life in the UK,” Haddy said.

“We have a growing BAME community in York, but because of the experiences people have, we do self-segregate ourselves.

“A lot of people would say ‘York is a white city’, ‘York is such an Anglo-Saxon city, these things don’t happen in York’, but it does.”

According to figures from North Yorkshire Police, there has been a 239 per cent in recorded race-related hate crimes since 2012.

Speak up Diversity aims to dismantle systemic racism with four initiatives: education and awareness; boosting BAME representation in decision making; reviewing policy and tackling racist incidents in schools and workplaces.

The organisation has received the backing of York Labour Party, which is proposing that City of York Council votes to officially make York an anti-racist and inclusive city, following in the footsteps of other English cities like Oxford and Brigton and Hove.

The motion calls for a working group to be set up within three months to start to develop a long-term anti-racism and inclusion strategy.

Haddy said: “The first step of the motion is saying that there is hope, that we will tackle this and it may lead to a more positive, safer, happier environment where all human beings can express themselves and can go for things and not experience the barriers that we encounter.”

The motion, set to go before full council on Thursday, October 21, is backed by a host of York organisations including York Racial Equality Network, York Racecourse, York City of Sanctuary, York Disability Rights Forum, York Travellers Trust and York Mosque.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)

More For You

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less
Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less