Race Relations Act 1965 banner unveiled in Leeds
2 November 2016 (updated on 3 November 2016)
Last month the Race Relations Act 1965 banner created by artist Alinah Azadeh was unveiled at an event attended by the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP and Baroness Usha Prashar at the School of Law, University of Leeds.
In 2015, the banner was displayed in Westminster Hall as part of an exhibition "The Beginning of that Freedome" which featured 18 large-scale banners marking 800 years of constitutional history.
The exhibition formed part of the 2015 anniversaries programme, marking 750 years since the Simon de Montford parliament (1265) and 800 years since the sealing of Magna Carta.
The Race Relations Act 1965 banner was gifted to the School of Law at the University of Leeds following an open call for applications at the end of the 2015 anniversary year.
At the unveiling in Leeds, the artist Alinah Azadeh said:
"I loved the image of all of the Acts on scrolls in the Parliamentary Archives. Connecting these with rolls of fabric, conflating the written and the woven, is the key concept. I wanted to embed an element of diversity in the image by covering the scrolls in fabrics produced across the world, including the UK."
Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central, spoke about the parliamentary aspects of the Race Relations Act and Parliament’s role in preventing discrimination. Baroness Usha Prashar, alumnus of the University and a cross-bench peer, reflected on her personal experiences shaping amendments to the Race Relations Act.
The banner now hangs in the Liberty Building at the University of Leeds. It can be visited from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.