About a month ago in Dudley, West Midlands, a 12 y/o black boy was held down by a near adult white boy, while an elder white man (50s) attacked him brutally with a hammer in what was known to be a racially motivated attack. While disgusting, and shocking, this remains an unsurprising act of racial violence for this town. 

If for a moment we diverged the debate of whether racism is still rampant in the UK away from large cities and focused on smaller British towns, like Dudley, the answer would be immediately clear. The reality of life as a black briton in this borough, like many others in the UK, is knowing what streets to avoid for your own safety, because the fear of a violent, racist attack is still prevalent amongst our community.

And who will protect us? Who will help us? This petition isn't about the grown, adult, racists that violently attacked a young boy- this petition is about what I perceive to be the failure, at every stage, of the police and associated services to this family. 

The police have made no effort to make him feel protected, supported, or even prioritised. After engaging with the police, it took threats of going public and gaining media involvement for West Midlands police to even agree to assign the case with immediate effect, something that still took days, and one month later the family still await updates and any kind of engagement with mental health or victim related services. This is not good enough. The damage this life-changing, traumatic event has done to a child and his mother is irrevocable- but to have to petition your own protectors to protect? 

Here in Dudley we leave ourselves wondering if the police can't protect even our youngest children, who can they protect? West Midlands Police- we need answers and we need you to do better.