Exploring the Windrush Legacy

Windrush legacy: standing tall against racial abuse

Symbolic gestures are pointless if structural change does not follow.

That was the thinking behind footballer Wilfried Zaha’s decision to break ranks and not ‘take the knee’ before Premier League games (pictured right).

‘It has become part of the pre-match routine,’ he said. ‘It doesn’t matter whether we kneel or stand, some of us continue to receive abuse… I will continue to stand tall.’

Aware that structural change is needed in the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury established a Commission for Racial Justice in 2021. One of its 11 members, Rev Canon Dr Chigor Chike, will take us behind the work of the commission and discuss its initial report and conclusions (11am, Thu 13 Oct). Dr Chike is a parish priest, theological educator and social justice activist who has written several books including African Christianity in Britain, which examines the particular ways African Christians hold and express their faith.

Bishop Mike Royal, general secretary of Churches Together in England (CTE), will highlight how the work of CTE helps to drive significant racial, cultural and structural change within UK churches of all denominations (2.30pm, Tue 11 Oct). He is a founding trustee and former national director of award-winning charity Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) and holds an MA in Black Theology from the University. of Birmingham

Rev Canon Dr Chigor Chike Bishop Mike Royal