Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Newcastle mayor's call to end racism – 'People like me have suffered far too much'

Newcastle mayor's call to end racism – 'People like me have suffered far too much'

NEWCASTLE'S first non-white lord mayor made an impassioned plea on Friday (22) for the North East to take a stand against the evils of racism.

Habib Rahman told other civic leaders from across the region that “people like me have suffered far too much”, during an event to mark charity Show Racism the Red Card’s annual Wear Red day of action.


The Labour councillor became the first black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) person to take on the city’s highest ceremonial post earlier this year, having moved to Tyneside from Bangladesh in 1985 at the age of 12.

Just last month, Coun Rahman was subjected to “sickening” abuse outside a mosque in the West End.

His father, Azizur, was brutally killed in a racist attack in 1977, stabbed by a customer in the Wallsend takeaway where he worked.

In a forceful and emotional speech at Newcastle Civic Centre on Friday, before a Show Racism the Red Card flag was raised outside the council headquarters, Coun Rahman said: “For far too long, people like me have suffered far too much – verbal abuse, physical attacks, experienced injustices and inequalities, and lost nearest and dearest loved ones.”

Speaking to a crowd that included former Newcastle United players John Beresford, Olivier Bernard, and John Anderson, other mayors from around the North East, and Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness, he added that racism is “the biggest act of terrorism”.

He added: “A form of terrorism that has haunted and terrorised communities, divided communities and nations, created ‘us and them’ among us, deprived and stripped off basic human rights and liberties for many of us, alienated and ostracised us, prevented many hundreds of thousands and millions of us from living lives as fellow human beings with equal access and equal human rights.

“For centuries and decades it has destroyed too many lives and literally killed far too many of us in the individual and collective act of terrorism. This terrorism must stop now.”

Coun Rahman said afterwards that he was “truly moved” by the support he had received since speaking about the incident outside his mosque in September, in which youths hurled verbal abuse and aimed fireworks at worshippers.

He added: “That confirms how the North East is, or rather can be, in stamping out racism. The problem still remains, sadly, but I am still very positive about how individuals and organisations are working together to eliminate racism and stop the perpetration of it in the first place.

“The brutal reality is that racism remains, it is lurking about, and it should not be.”

Bishop of Newcastle Christine Hardman, who also spoke at the event, said that the North East can take “proper pride” in the way it has combated racism but “we cannot be complacent”.

The lord mayor announced that Wear Red Day would be marked each year in Newcastle with an event to bring together the region’s leaders to stand against racism.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)

More For You

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

Narendra Modi in a group picture with US vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance and their children Ewan and Vivek, at Elysee Palace in Paris. (ANI Photo)

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

US vice president JD Vance and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke on Tuesday (11) about how the US can assist India in diversifying its energy sourcing through investments in US nuclear technology, the White House said.

The meeting between Vance and Modi in Paris, where they were both attending an artificial intelligence summit, came ahead of the prime minister's US visit later this week in which topics like trade, investment, technology and immigration are expected to be discussed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

A British Airways passenger plane takes off behind houses next to land earmarked for a third runway at Longford near Heathrow Airport. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

LONDON's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs, will submit its proposal for a third runway to the British government by summer, its chief executive Thomas Woldbye will say in a speech on Wednesday (12).

The move comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves said last month the government would back the construction of a new runway at Heathrow to boost trade and economic growth.

Keep ReadingShow less
trump-musk-

Musk, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office with his 4-year-old son, said he was leading the effort to cut government waste. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump, Musk move to cut federal workforce under new order

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to work with Elon Musk to identify government jobs that can be cut and functions that can be eliminated.

The move is part of an effort to reduce the federal workforce and align it with Trump’s policy priorities.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ed-Miliband-India

Miliband said his meetings with Indian officials reinforced the commitment to work together in key areas, including grid modernisation, offshore wind, and industrial decarbonisation.

Exclusive: UK-India energy partnership strengthens as Miliband backs clean transition

BRITAIN sees India as a “crucial partner” as both countries aim to deepen their cooperation on clean energy, with a focus on renewables and climate action, UK secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband, said.

On a visit to India this week, Miliband highlighted India’s ambitious renewable energy targets and its commitment to achieving net zero by 2070.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bangladesh's former government accused of 'crimes against humanity'

Sheikh Hasina (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Bangladesh's former government accused of 'crimes against humanity'

BANGLADESH's former government was behind systematic attacks and killings of protesters as it strived to hold onto power last year, the UN said Wednesday (12), warning the abuses could amount to "crimes against humanity".

Before premier Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a student-led revolution last August, her government oversaw a systematic crackdown on protesters and others, including "hundreds of extrajudicial killings", the UN said.

Keep ReadingShow less