Black History Month: How Greater Manchester's Mayor is committing to change.
We caught up with Mayor Andy Burnham on how he intends to create a fairer society for all walks of life.
Last updated 8th Oct 2020
The Mayor of Greater Manchester has outlined his ambition for true equality across Greater Manchester, as we continue to mark Black History Month 2020.
"I'm very conscious that one of the biggest things I can do is make life different for the generations coming through, in a way that it perhaps wasn't so different for people of generations before."
Andy Burnham says a number of initiatives are already in the pipeline with the aim of stamping out racism and prejudice across the region's ten boroughs.
Among them, Greater Manchester Police will soon publish the region's first ever 'Racial Equality in Policing' report. Burnham's told us it's vital to have transparency within the force: "We need to challenge the structural discrimination that we still see - there is a marked under representation of the black community in public, business and political life in Greater Manchester.
"We're committed to producing a 'Racial Equality in Policing' report quarterly, and the first will be published soon. Just to have transparency; so we know what's happening in our city region and the things that are going on can be challenged openly. We want to create the conditions for change.
"We're also recruiting a Race Equality Panel. We want all voices from all communities to shape the work of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority - but we're conscious that isn't the case at the moment.
"We want to recruit a powerful race equality panel that will challenge the system to go further, faster and not just tackle discrimination - but deliver a true equality."
The Mayor's also set out his vision for the next generation of young Black citizens in Greater Manchester, to ensure equal opportunities in all areas of life: "We've asked Diane Modahl to chair a young person's task force with a view to developing a young person's guarantee.
"One of the outlooks for the task force will be to work with 'Operation Black Vote' to establish a leadership and mentorship support programme to bring through people into leadership positions across all walks of life in Greater Manchester.
"We want to challenge that whole question of under representation and to open the doors that are currently closed. I have high ambitions for this and I don't just want it to open doors in the political world, but also in business, in sport, in law, in finance and music.
"By the time we meet next year for Black History Month - I would hope that the programme will be up and running and offering real opportunity to change the way Greater Manchester's society works.
"Is all of this enough? probably not - but I'm challenging myself in what more we can do that's in the sphere of action, and I am clear that Black Lives Matter. It's clear that it's actions, not words, that will be judged.
The disproportionate effect of the global COVID19 pandemic has not gone unnoticed in the announcements, Andy's also committed to establishing an independent Inequalities Commission to look deeply at the way in which coronavirus has exposed the inequalities of the city region. Its aim will be to propose remedies for those inequalities; not just in health but in many different areas of life.
By 2021 - it's hoped Greater Manchester will be able to host a full civic event to mark Black History Month, providing the region is no longer gripped by COVID19 restrictions.