Kingsley Napley is pleased to be an inaugural donor to the Jack Leslie Campaign.
Co-founded by Kingsley Napley lawyer, Greg Foxsmith, the Campaign aims to honour and raise awareness of the late Jack Leslie, a talented football player who would have been England’s first black player in 1925, but was denied an England cap because of the colour of his skin.
The Jack Leslie Campaign launched a Crowdfunder today, with a target of £100,000, which will go towards building a statue of Jack Leslie at Home Park where he played professionally for Plymouth Argyle. This will be one of the first BAME statues to be erected in the country.
Jack Leslie was born in London. The campaign also hopes to secure support and funding from West Ham FC (where Jack finished his career) to erect a statuette or plaque commemorating Jack’s life at the stadium, or a location in East London. In addition, donations will be put towards using Jack Leslie’s story to roll out education programs in order to promote diversity and inspire younger generations to fight prejudice.
Greg Foxsmith comments:
I am delighted that Kingsley Napley is partnering with this campaign. I hope other members of the legal profession will follow Kingsley Napley’s lead and will pledge their support in turn.”
Katie Newbury, an Immigration lawyer and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Group at Kingsley Napley, comments:
As a firm we have had many discussions about how we can take substantive action to support the Black Lives Matter movement and address the inequalities faced by Black people and other ethnic minorities. We are incredibly excited to be an inaugural donor to such a well-deserving campaign that shines a light on an important piece of sporting history, highlighting both Jack's accomplishments and the history of racism which has kept his story out of the spotlight until now.”
Shannett Thompson, a Regulatory lawyer and Chair of the BAME & Allies Network at Kingsley Napley adds:
Members of the BAME Network at Kingsley Napley are working hard to champion diversity and create an inclusive workplace where everyone is given the support they need to fulfil their potential, without risk of discrimination. We understand that the fight against systemic racism won’t be won overnight which is why it’s so important to back grassroots initiatives like the Jack Leslie Campaign.”
Kingsley Napley will be publishing a series of blogs by its lawyers which aims to shed light on the inequalities faced by BAME individuals and the actions we can all take to combat racism. The firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Group is also working with Human Resources and the Management Team to effect change at the firm through methods such as training and reviewing recruitment practices.
ENDS
For more details on the Jack Leslie Campaign or to donate, please visit www.jackleslie.co.uk.
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