Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have published a fantastic compilation of Racial Justice Champions, featuring our very own Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice on page 43, Leela Ramdeen! Make sure to check out Leela’s amazing global contribution to the fight for global equality around the issue of race!
“The tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, USA, in May 2020 set off a seismic response to racism across the globe. In Britain and Ireland, it became a ‘Kairos’ moment for the churches to explore equality issues and address the racism that existed in their structures.
While this new commitment to effecting change was most welcomed, it did appear to suggest that the churches were not previously cognisant of this problem. Such an implication fails to take into account the efforts of brave Black, White, Asian and minority ethnic Christian women and men who, over the last five decades, have championed racial justice in churches across our lands.
Those who brought issues of equality and inclusion to the churches’ attention were regarded as ‘do gooders’ at best, and ‘troublemakers’ at worst. This resource is dedicated to those ‘troublemakers’ – those heroic individuals who created the ‘right type of trouble’ at what was deemed the wrong time for churches and Christian organisations.
The truth is, there is never a ‘wrong’ time for justice, and this publication is an opportunity to celebrate the invaluable contributions of these often-unsung individuals who spoke about racial justice when it was unfashionable to do so. In hearing their stories, let us be educated and encouraged, but most of all inspired to do likewise.
Richard Reddie
Director of Justice and Inclusion,
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI)”
