CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WITH YOUR MP

Your MP Responded To Your Email: Now What?

Continue the conversation. We need a sustained commitment to justice and racial equality in the UK.

Templates courtesy of @lemonlimebear

Use the templates below to write a response to your MP based upon how they responded to you.

There are 3 replies to choose from based upon their reply to your email.

POSITIVE RESPONSE
BALANCED BUT IMPRACTICAL - ASKS FOR MORE SPECIFIC ACTION
NEGATIVE RESPONSE - URGES THEM TO TAKE THESE ISSUES SERIOUSLY

Please use these templates and personalise them to work for you / tailor based on your initial email and what was addressed, and not addressed.

Please also consider setting a personal reminder to follow-up with your MP in three or six months' time to hold them accountable for their commitments and to ask for an update.

1. This template THANKS MP FOR THEIR POSITIVE RESPONSE.

Dear (insert MPs Name)

Thank you so much for your informative and pragmatic response to the issues I raised in my previous email. I really appreciate the time you took in collating your thoughts and expressing the action that you will take. Moving forward, please can you keep me updated on any parliamentary or governmental level progress in areas of racial equality, police reform and fair racial representation in education?

In six months, I will reach out again to continue this conversation. I hope to hear that some proactive and concrete steps, both here in our constituency and in parliament, have been taken.

Thank you again for your time,

(Insert Full Name)

2. This template THANKS MP for their awareness but BALANCED BUT IMPRACTICAL - ASKS FOR MORE SPECIFIC ACTION.

Dear (Insert MPs Name),

Thank you so much for your response to my email and clearly laying out your thoughts. I really do appreciate the time you have taken to express all of your concerns and points of action that you will be taking on behalf of our constituency. However, I would like to press for a more specific response around some of the issues I raised in my previous email around areas of police reform, education and economic disparities.

I spoke about police prejudice and brutality which is statistically more likely to be targeted towards Black people. Please could you comment on how both here, locally, but also on a national level we can be reforming our police to ensure that over-racial profiling, over-policing of the Black community and racism can be uprooted and stopped?

Secondly, [I already mentioned that] our education syllabuses are not reflective of our diverse society and our history syllabuses exclude huge portions of BAME history and the incredible contributions that BAME have made to the UK. To move forward in this area, please would you consider supporting a petition to add some key diversifying reading materials to GCSE English syllabuses? You can find details of this petition here: https://www.change.org/p/department-of-education-battle-racism-by-updating-reading-lists-at-gcse

More in the area of education, please would you consider meeting either physically when appropriate or digitally the incredible team from ’The Black Curriculum’? They are working towards diversifying our national curriculum to include more Black British History. The UK historically has been a nation committed to celebrating diversity and opposing any form of oppression. Please could you be proactive in reaching out to ’The Black Curriculum’ and speak with them about how you could support them and their mission? Their email is here: theblackcurriculum@gmail.com

And finally, [as aforementioned in my first email,] there are huge economic and social disparities and injustices that stem from a systemic lack of governmental support. Please can you comment on what specific action you plan to take to move towards a society that is racially equal?

Thank you so much and I really appreciate your time,

(Insert Full Name)

3. This template THANKS MP BUT NEGATIVE RESPONSE - URGES THEM TO TAKE THESE ISSUES SERIOUSLY.

Dear (Insert MPs Name)

Thank you very much for your response. Although it was not the response I hoped I would receive, I’m glad that we have now opened a line of communication about racial issues in the UK. As previously mentioned, racial inequality is not just a US problem, it’s a problem that is so prevalent here in the UK today and we have to address it. Below I have listed some action that I urge you to take in areas of police reform and education.

I spoke about police prejudice and brutality which is statistically more likely to be targeted towards Black people. Please could you comment on how both here, locally, but also on a national level we can be reforming our police to ensure that racial profiling, over-policing of the black community and racism can be uprooted and stopped?

Secondly, [I clearly mentioned that] our education syllabuses are not reflective of our diverse society and our history syllabuses exclude huge portions of BAME history and the incredible contributions that BAME have made to the UK. To move forward in this area, please would you consider supporting a petition to add some key diversifying reading materials to GCSE English syllabuses? You can find details of this petition here: https://www.change.org/p/department-of-education-battle-racism-by-updating-reading-lists-at-gcse

More in the area of education, please would you consider meeting either physically when appropriate or digitally the incredible team from ’The Black Curriculum’? They are working towards diversifying our national curriculum to include more Black British History. The UK historically has been a nation committed to celebrating diversity and opposing any form of oppression. Please could you be proactive in reaching out to ’The Black Curriculum’ and speak with them about how you could support them and their mission? Their email is here: theblackcurriculum@gmail.com

And finally, [as aforementioned in my first email,] there are huge economic and social disparities and injustices that stem from a systemic lack of governmental support. Please can you comment on what specific action you plan to take to move towards a society that is racially equal?

I implore you to explore these issues and take some productive and concrete steps to move towards a society that is fairer and just.

Thank you so much and I really appreciate your time,

(Insert Full Name)

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