GoFundMe gone wrong, a hero security guard & other stories from Black, Asian an Arab communities in the UK you shouldn't have missed this week - curated by Melissa Sigodo.

The Longer read is here. My first opinion piece for The Thread.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for subscribing to The Thread.

Apologies for the delay. It was down to the fact that it’s my turn to give you my first opinion piece for The Read.

It’s something I’m hoping to do once a month. Let’s call it the Longer Read.

I’d love your thoughts on it which you can either send to me on Twitter or by dropping me a message or comment on here.

Without further ado, here’s it is.

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The Longer Read

Melissa Sigodo is a journalist, NCTJ Excellence Award winner and the editor of The Thread newsletter. She has appeared on the BBC, Times Radio, LBC and Colourful Radio. She has written for The Guardian, The Voice and others. She mainly covers issues affecting ethnic minorities in the UK.

“What should have been a watershed moment for race relations in the UK, is now a painfully missed opportunity.”

Melissa Sigodo - Friday August 16, 2024 - The Thread

Young children throwing petrol bombs and frenzied men setting fire to a building with asylum seeking people inside. Immigration lawyers targeted, mosques preyed upon and manmade checkpoints to assess if drivers were “white British.” Black and Asian people assaulted and dragged out of cars while baying mobs hurled racists abuse and chants to “kill them.” Elon Musk on X, prophesying an ‘inevitable civil war’, while outside of social media, sections of the press sanitised horrifying scenes by labelling them “protests.”

The UK became a no-go area as foreign offices issued travel warnings not to visit Britain and each anxiety-filled day had all the makings of a fever dream. But unfortunately, the sad truth was that racist rioting hell was our reality.

Within that time, you might have expected the army to be called in, the terror threat raised, or parliament recalled - but instead all we got were two masterclasses in….