Security fears force Ngozi Fulanis charity to suspend work after racism incident at palace | Race

[ad_1]

A charity run by a black domestic violence campaigner who the Queen’s lady-in-waiting has had to suspend operations due to safety fears.

Sistah Space said it was forced to temporarily stop working after its founder, Ngozi Fulani, spoke about her treatment by Susan Hussey at a reception at Buckingham Palace. The charity supports women of African and Caribbean descent who have been affected by domestic and sexual violence.

Fulani said she suffered horrific abuse on social media after speaking out about the incident, which she said amounted to an interrogation about the origin of her people.

In a statement on her Instagram page on Friday evening, Sistah Space said: Thank you for the continued support and messages. Unfortunately, recent events have forced us to temporarily cease many of our operations to ensure the safety of our service users and our team.

We are overwhelmed with the amount of support and encouragement and look forward to fully restoring our services as soon as it is safe to do so.

Fulani said Lady Hussey, who is godmother to Prince Williams, also parted Fulanis hair so she could see his name badge.

Hussey, 83, has resigned from her honorary position as lady of the royal household and offered her deep apologies for any harm caused.

After the incident, Fulani told ITV Good Morning Britain: I was standing next to two other black women and she just walked over to me and she took my locks and pushed them aside so she could see my badge.

It’s a no-no. I wouldn’t put my hands in anyone’s hair, and culturally that’s not appropriate.

‘It’s racism’: Charity boss quizzed over video of royal aid

While some commentators tried to blame the incident on Hussey’s age, Fulani said the comments were the result of racism.

I’ve heard so many suggestions about her age and stuff like that and I think it’s kind of disrespectful to ageism, she said on BBC Radio 4s Today.

Are we saying that because of your age you can’t be racist or inappropriate?

If you’re inviting people to an event, as I said, against domestic violence, and there are people from different demographics, I don’t see the relevance of whether I’m British or non-British. You are trying to make me unwanted in my own space.

When asked what she thought of the resignation, she replied: I want the focus to stay where it should be, which is on women and girls affected by domestic violence .

A spokesperson for the Prince of Wales previously said the comments were unacceptable and that racism had no place in our society. Buckingham Palace called the remarks unacceptable and deeply regrettable.

The Mail reported last week that Buckingham Palace had invited Fulani to meet King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, to address the incident.

[ad_2]