On Friday 21st October, we held a non-uniform day, everyone wearing something red, in return for a £1.00 contribution to the anti-racism educational charity ‘Show Racism the Red Card’. The children looked great and raised a grand total of £97.45!
Show Racism the Red Card is the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity. It was established in January 1996, thanks in part to a donation by the Newcastle United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop at the time.
In the 1990’s Newcastle, Shaka was at a petrol station near St James’ Park when he was confronted by a group of young people shouting racist abuse at him. After someone in the group realised that they had been shouting at Shaka Hislop, the Newcastle United football player, they came over to ask for an autograph.
It was from this experience that Shaka realised he could harness his status as a professional player to make a difference. Coupled with the power of football and his status as a role model, Shaka thought education could be an effective strategy in challenging racism in society.
At the charity’s first ever event, Shaka and fellow teammate John Beresford visited Gosforth High School in the Northeast to speak to pupils about his experiences in football and society and the rest is history!
To this day Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) continues to utilise the high-profile status of football and football players to help tackle racism in society and has also expanded into other sports. Most of the campaign’s work involves the delivery of educational workshops to young people and adults in schools, workplaces and at events held in football stadiums. Across the UK, SRtRC provides educational sessions to more than 50,000 individuals per year.
In addition to the direct education of young people and adults, SRtRC uses educational resources, to challenge misconceptions, stereotypes and negative attitudes in society.
