Community Action: MK – our commitment to social and racial justice

Community Action: MK is dedicated to eradicating inequality and upholding social and racial justice in our communities.

We have been working on and looking internally at how we can be anti-racist and how to promote action to eradicate systematic racism… 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: info@communityactionmk.org. You can find out more from ouer blog: ‘Learning, Awareness and Anti-racism at CA:MK‘

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.

Black Lives Matter Pillar Unveiled at MK Rose

The new Black Lives Matter pillar at MK Rose was unveiled at the  ceremony on 25 May 2022, hosted by Cllr. Nana Oguntola, alongside  Rev  Rev Edson Dube, who led the campaign for the pillar on behalf of the MK Council of Faiths.

Local Groups in Milton Keynes

• MK Intercultural Forum: a volunteer -led umbrella network brining a wide range of organisations and communities together, aiming to provide a space and representation of voice for marginalised BAME groups in Milton Keynes. To find out more and get involved, contact: MKInterculturalForum@gmail.com
• 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

Do get in touch with us if you work or volunteer for a local group that is working on racial justice issues, so we can add you to the list. Drop us an email at support@communityactionmk.org.

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
• Diversity Marketplace – Specialist consultancy providing equality, diversity and inclusion training. Founded in 2005, Diversity Marketplace is now a leader in Diversity best practice and marketing communications.
• 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 – The UK’s leading race equality think tank
• 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
  • LGBT+ – Inclusive education for all
  • 8 ways to be a better Ally to Disabled LGBT

Events:

If you know of or would like to share any events please upload the details here.Visit our Events page here.

Funding:

Visit our Funding Directory page here or request a funding search here.

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)