
In 1968 the Race Relations Act became only the second law (since 1965) to protect the Black population from discrimination. The law itself was not fully comprehensive and only came into effect due to intense lobbying from the African/Caribbean community. In this talk Judge Peter Herbert OBE, founder of the society of Black Lawyers, will review the efficacy and legacy of the law itself as well as tell the history of Black lawyers who have fought for equality. The talk will cover social/legal activity in housing, employment, policing,education and immigration
2018 marks:
- 50 years since the 1968 Race Relations
- 70 years since the arrival of the SS Windrush
- 60 years since the Notting Hill Race Riots
- 100 years since the end of the First World War
- And the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King
This event is sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright Origins group and Black History Walks
About the speaker
Peter Herbert was called to the Bar in 1982 his professional career has involved a number of high profile human rights cases both here in the UK and internationally. His practice has involved representation of a wide range of clients and high profile cases from the Victoria Climbie case through to the Kamlesh Bahl employment case to appearances before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He has also appeared at the European Court of Human Rights in Gregory v The United Kingdom.
After spending many years at Tooks Court Chambers with Michael Mansfield Q.C. Hemoved to become a direct access practitioner working on a selection of cases alongside my part time Judicial career and consultancy work. He was appointed a part time Immigration Judge in 1997, and then a Recorder in the Crown Court and part-time Employment Judge in 2003. He has successfully run his private practice alongside his Judicial appointments and his previous public duties as Vice Chair and Independent member of the Metropolitan Police Authority.
Mr Herbert was an adviser to the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith Q.C. as well as Vice Chair, and an independent member of the Metropolitan Police Authority from 2000 to 2008 and was a member of Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow Health Authority from 1990 to 1998. He chaired two public mental health homicide enquiries for the Department of Health that have been published as reports.
He has appeared regularly on national and international news current affairs channels such as BBC TV News, CNN, BBC Question Time, Sky News, BBC Newsnight, and helped produce documentary programmes as a human rights barrister and as Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers. He has written for the Guardian newspaper, Times, Independent and Voice newspapers and been reported extensively in publications from the USA, Japan and most recently in Sicily.
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