Community Action: MK is dedicated to eradicating inequality and upholding social and racial justice in our communities.
‘Learning, Awareness and Anti-racism at CA:MK‘ (Nov, 2020) we have been working on and looking internally at how we can be anti-racist… this is an ongoing process. We are keen to learn from others and share our experience and process. Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments: danielle@communityactionmk.org / info@communityactionmk.org
Please see some resources below and sign up to our newsletter to hear about events, forums and discussions that contribute towards social justice in Milton Keynes.
Local MK Groups:
- Friends of the Caribbean
- Q Alliance
- Sri Lankan Muslim Community Foundation of Milton Keynes / Islamic Centre Milton Keynes
- Pakistani & Kashmiri Muslim Welfare Association MK
- Global Outreach Foundation
- NEW – Working group for a BAME Network/ platform to be created – if you are interested in joining / learning more please contact danielle@communityactionmk.org who can link you with the group to provide more information.
Lived Experiences:
- Young Emerging Leaders Collective – have launched their podcast ‘Today’s Learning, Tomorrow’s Leaders’. This is a collective offers space for young people to grow and learn, with commitments to design their own training / event and much more.
- YMCA – Young, discriminated, and Black: the true colour of institutional racism in the UK, real insight into the the experiences of young people and how racism is in all areas of the their lives.
- BBC documentary, Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson and Afua Hirsch
- CBBC Newsround – Being young and Black in Britain / Why Black History month is important / ‘My ancestor was a slave’
- Where are you really from? – A project sharing stories from Black and Brown people in the rural south west.
- Oxfordshire Youth Podcast – Are you listening? Black Lives Matter series
- Woodcraft Folk – ‘Anti racist education is urgently needed’ a range of resources, guides, activities and education tools. Take ownership of your learning and share with family and friends. ‘Check you privilege’, you can use this activity to explore your position of privilege and understand what this means so as a society we can begin to dismantle it.
- 1 Working Class: Race, class, inequities. Campaign from Runnymede Trust, the petition is calling for the government to ‘Commence Section 1 of the Equality Act’ that would provide protections to working class communities from all backgrounds – this would create a space for a shared address of issues rather than a division of vulnerable communities.
Reports/ Resources:
- RunnyMede – Race Matters Blog
- Home Truths: Undoing racism and delivering real diversity in the charity sector
- An Unsafe Distance: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Excluded People in England
- CharitySoWhite: Tackling institutional racism in the charity sector
- Fawcett Paper: Re-thinking equality for post-crisis times: a focus on gender
- The Ubele Initiative
- Runnymede Trust: Race and Racism in English Secondary Schoolsreport drawing upon insights from teachers, police, curricula and highlighting how racism is deeply embedded in schooling.
- BAME STREAM – Coming together during Covid-19 to bring Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Mental Health into the Mainstream. Survey and Report on ‘Implications and Impact: A Case for Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Service in response to COVID-19
- Writing about Ethnicities – Government guidance
- Mermaids – Mermaids has evolved into one of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ charities, empowering thousands of people with its secure online communities, local community groups, helpline services, web resources, events and residential weekends.
- Q Alliance – A charity that provides support, information and representation for the LGBTQ+ people who live, work and play in Milton Keynes.
- LGBT+ History month this February 2021 – take a look at resources from Stonewall
Community Action: MK Blogs
- Black Lives Matter
- Inclusion Not Exceptionalism
- Update from MK Fawcett Group
- Covid 19: Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants
- Combating Coronavirus Stigma and Discrimination
Events:
If you know of or would like to share any events please email us at info@communityactionmk.org
Funding:
The Rowntree Society – have been working with their funders ( JRF, JRCT, JRRT) and created an independent body to look at their history and the colonial context of the Rowntree company’s historic global supply chains. This is a really important piece of work that marks a transition from ‘turning a blind eye’ to confronting the realties and impact of empire. Please read more about the work they are doing, how and what it looks like here.
Ubele Initiative -”Booska Paper exposes structural racism in the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and explored the impact of the pandemic on funding attitudes in the UK. It highlights the issues that need to be addressed to help us create more just and racially equitable society where all communities can flourish.” They have also created the The Booska Paper – Calls to Action that are concrete and tangible steps that funders can work towards to address structural racism in the sector, the funding landscape and to benefit society as a whole. (Ubele Initiative, April 2021)
Phoenix Fund is now closed for applications – Global fund for Children and The National Lottery Community fund are partnering to support the delivery of the Phoenix Fund. This initiative will provide £1 million in emergency funds to BAME communities across England.
Organisations to look at:
- Racial Justice Network
- Ubele Initiative
- Runnymede – Intelligence for a multi-ethnic Britain
- Resourcing Racial Justice
- CharitySoWhite
- Black Heros Foundation
- Core – Coalition of Race Equality organisations
- ROTA – Race on the Agenda
- Voice 4 Change (England)
