New 'Colour of my skin' campaign launched in Bolton

And in an emotional appeal to people, the parents of a young boy who took his own life because of bullying urged the audience to share their message so it could help save lives.

Colour of my Skin (COMS) is a distinctive clothing brand launched by Kushy Singh and is being supported by Show Racism The Red Card.

The event at the Holiday Inn Bolton was attended by ex-Premier league stars Trevor Sinclair and Frank Sinclair and former Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers player, Howard Gayle. Jaz Singh  from the hit TV show The Traitors also spoke at the event.

The campaign shed light on racism in Britain in all its forms and also how people regardless of their colour and background could be affected by prejudice from people because they were deemed different.

Howard Gayle who was Liverpool’s first black player and played for Blackburn Rovers shared his experiences of growing up in Liverpool and how he faced abuse from a young age.

He also told of how he learnt to tackle incidents of prejudice on and off the pitch.

Howard said the new campaign would help to make a difference to ‘all communities’

He said: “Show Racism The Red Card, Kick it out and now Colour of My Skin – which is game changer.

“Because now it includes white people.

“I wish Kushy all the best and you will receive all the support from myself.”

Kushy with Frank Sinclair, Howard Gayle and Trevor Sinclair
Frank Sinclair paid tribute to former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell who died in June calling him an ‘inspiration’ to creating more awareness of the fight against racism in sport.

He revealed he had met Kevin as a child at a tournament and would later go on to play against him at professional level.

Frank said the campaign is something Kevin would have been keen to support.

Kevin was instrumental in the production process and wanted them to be the 'highest standard in terms of quality, weight and fitting'. 

He added: “I am sure he is looking down on us and is here in spirit and continuing to show his support.

“It has been pleasure to talk about someone I knew for most of my life and someone I looked up to and used as an inspiration to get where I got to.

“Because I had him showing by example.”

In a deeply moving speech the parents of a young boy who took his own life, spoke about the affects bullying can have on young people.

Vijay Singh was just 13 years-old when he died.

Hardev Kaur speaking at the launch event
His mum Hardev Kaur said: “It has been hard and we have paid the ultimate price.

“We know there are parents who send their children to schools, colleges and universities and it is still happening. Twenty-seven years on it is still happening. Why? Can we ask ourselves why?

“Because we are not educated. We are not getting our education across.

“It is hard because I feel I have been cheated. Something so precious to me has been taken  because society would not let us live our lives as we wanted to live them.”

She said she now hoped that what the family had gone through would be something other families would not have to go through.

“When does all this stop. When can we walk the streets without someone calling us names?”

She added: “If we are a hundred people here and we will talk about to another hundred and another hundred. We need to spread the word.

“Let’s get together and let’s get rid of this racism as it is killing our nation and it is killing our children on the street.”

Mrs Kaur urged parents to talk to their children and encourage them to speak to their parents if they should suffer any form of bullying.

The audience reacted by giving the parents a standing ovation for bravely sharing their words.                     

Kushy is hoping the campaign will see people from all communities unite.

She said: “Our skin colour is distinct to each and every one of us on this planet, and in this room and we believe that the colour of our skin should never be an obstacle to anyone in achieving our life’s goals.

“Whether good or bad, we all know that messages spread. Society talks, they hear something, they see something, they spread it, they copy the behaviour.

“With COMS we hope to make a positive impact in our world. It takes one person of influence to wear the T-shirt, relay our message and others we hope will follow.

 “We want COMS to be an everlasting brand passed on from generation to generation. We want it to grow from being nationwide to worldwide.

“We also want to be able to support anti-racism organisations on delivering their key educational messages that help get rid of ignorance, dispel hate and promote equality.

"We want to be able to give back to charities that aim to support the most vulnerable groups in our society.”

Kushy revealed the phrase 'Colour of my Skin' is based on the experience of her grandfather, who came to this country in the early 1940’s as a two-year-old.

He went on to run a small haulage firm in the 70s.

Kushy added: “During this time, he excelled and became a respectable, reputable name within the industry.

“However, his contact from the council – where most of his company’s work came from, announced to him that he was going to retire.

“He told my grandad that this would cause certain implications for him going forward. His words ‘once I retire, things will be different for you Juginder.’

“My grandfather, confused, asked why. The reply ‘because of the colour of your skin. They don’t like you Juginder.”