Jermain Defoe and Alan Irvine latest Hall of Fame members
Campaign highlights funding from DCLG as part of event at Houses of Parliament
"I am proud to be involved in the campaign, kids and young people look up to professionals, so it is important for people like myself to support the campaign and help get the message across. If you can help positively shape the attitudes of youngsters then the world will ultimately become a better place."Jermain Defoe
Pictured: Sandra St Helen receives a Hall of Fame award on behalf of her son Jermain Defoe (L-R: Luther Blissett, Sandra, Doreen Lawrence, Stephen Cavalier - Thompson's Solicitors)
Show Racism the Red Card held an event in the Houses of Parliament to induct new members in the campaign’s Hall of Fame and showcase the work carried out by SRtRC to tackle far-right extremism, thanks to funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Attendees of the event, sponsored by Thompson's Solicitors, included leading anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence OBE and other SRtRC Honorary Patrons, Hall of Fame members and former professional footballers Luther Blissett, Leroy Rosenior, Paul Davis, Curtis Fleming, Anwar Uddin, Clint Easton, Paul Mortimer and Charlton Athletic FC manager Chris Powell.
Recipients of Hall of Fame awards on the night were the head of Everton FC’s academy Alan Irvine, who has worked with the campaign during his time at Everton, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday, and Tottenham Hotspur and England international Jermain Defoe.
Unfortunately, due to England’s rearranged fixture against Poland, Jermain was unable to collect his award in person, however members of his family accepted the award on his behalf.
Jermain also sent this message:
“I am sorry that I am not able to attend in person to accept this award, but the Warsaw weather saw to it that our travel plans were unavoidably delayed!
"Show Racism the Red Card carries a message that I wholeheartedly endorse and, in the light of events in Serbia last night, a message that we should constantly reinforce to respect people from all walks of life in football and society as a whole.
“We must keep raising awareness and make people realise that you should never get complacent. The game in England has made massive strides in eradicating racism, but we should never stand still and we should continue to make sure that the sport is a comfortable environment for everyone.
“I am proud to be involved in the campaign, kids and young people look up to professionals, so it is important for people like myself to support the campaign and help get the message across. If you can help positively shape the attitudes of youngsters then the world will ultimately become a better place. Thank you.”
MPs from across the House were in attendance to witness the presentation of the awards and to hear from Show Racism the Red Card staff about how the funding from the DCLG will be used.
Paul Kearns, Deputy Chief Executive of Show Racism the Red Card said: “This new generation of far right groups is an emerging and unknown threat.
“This funding will enable us to carry out ground breaking research into the impact the far right is having on young people’s attitudes around the country – particularly through social media.
“It will help us to inform young people about the issue and show us how best to tackle this kind of threat.”
Show Racism the Red Card would like to thank Thompson's Solicitors for their sponsorship of the event.