A north-east union will hold two online meetings this week to celebrate Black History Month.
The Aberdeenshire branch of Unison has lined up a number of guest speakers for the events, running from 2-4pm on Thursday and Friday.
Both will have the theme of “Black Lives Matter in a hostile environment”.
Chairwoman of the union’s national black women’s committee Davena Rankin, Kebba Manneh, who heads up its black members group, and Rakiya Suleiman, who holds the same post in its Scottish counterpart, will be involved.
North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald will also speak.
Benson Mugyenyi, black members officer for the branch, will chair both events.
He said: “There is no more powerful force than a people steeped in their history, but a future where racism will be a distant memory will indeed be a greater more powerful force.
“In the words of Nelson Mandela, a recipient of the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen: ‘no one is born to hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion, people must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than the opposite’.
“That is our hope.”
Equality officer Kathleen Kennedy said: “Black History Month has come at a really crucial time, as the Covid-19 pandemic highlights starkly the disproportionate impact on black and minority ethnic people.
“However we also see the revitalisation of the Black Lives Matter movement as a rallying call to fight the scourge of racism.”
