Black Lives Matter – NUJ statement

  • 09 Jun 2020

The NUJ salutes the dignity of the family of George Floyd and extend condolences as they mourn his loss in such barbaric circumstances.

Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:

"The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland strongly condemns the brutal killing of George Floyd.
"As a trade union, we consistently and vigorously oppose the pernicious evil of racism.  We stand with workers across the world in demanding an end to racial inequality.
"Media organisations have a duty to report accurately and fairly on the ongoing protests arising from the murder of George Floyd. The media plays a vital role in highlighting injustice and inequality.
"As a trade union we will continue to campaign for a diverse media free from all forms of discrimination.
"NUJ members have a right to cover public protests in safety, free from obstruction, harassment or abuse from any quarter.
"We salute the dignity of the family of George Floyd and extend condolences to them as they mourn his loss in such barbaric circumstances at the hands of those charged with the protection of his rights."

NUJ Black Members Council (BMC) motion on George Floyd

The BMC condemns the brutal murder of unarmed Black man George Floyd by Minneapolis police in America.

It rightly sent shockwaves of revulsion around the world and led to mass Black Lives Matter protests, including in Britain. The BMC sends its deepest condolences to George Floyd's family and extends its support to all those people fighting for justice as a result of this latest instance of police brutality against the Black community.

We condemn the hateful statements of President Trump and the of taking militaristic action to attack peaceful American demonstrators and call on British prime minister Boris Johnson to join us in speaking out against this.

It should be remembered, there have been 13 deaths of Black people in police custody in the UK since 2010, yet no officer has been prosecuted.

We condemn as racist and an attack on press freedom the arrest of Black CNN reporter Omar Jimenez, and his crew, who were reporting live from one of the protests on May 29. We deplore the dozens of attacks against journalists and other unjust arrests and send our solidarity to sister journalist unions and The National Association of Black Journalists.

The BMC calls on the NUJ general secretary to issue a statement along the lines of this motion and for her to encourage other Federation of Entertainment unions and the TUC to do the same as well as them visibly supporting the Black Lives Matter protest events in Britain.

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