#CharitySoWhite - The Path Forward
Almost a year ago today, #CharitySoWhite was founded to fight for a brave, anti-racist charity sector where BAME staff, VCS organisations, and benefitting communities feel seen, spoken for, and supported. Ever since, we have been tireless in our efforts to have the charity sector take the lead in rooting out racism from our society.
We’ve been accused of being a simple pressure group, a thorn in the side of PR departments, and adding unnecessary pressure on organisations who are “just doing their best”. But this isn’t the first time that people of colour have been underestimated and this group of troublemakers were ready for it.
In the last year we have begun to shift the window of dialogue and debate and moreover forced action from our sector.
In August 2019, our exposure of the Citizens Advice Bureau’s racist training materials forced the organisation to review and redesign its material
In April 2020, we released a comprehensive report on the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 would have on racialised groups in our society, providing critical recommendations for influencers and campaigners in the sector
In April 2020, we called on funders to centre racialised communities in their COVID response and commit to ringfencing 20% of funds towards BAME VCS organisations. Our call for action ensured that organisations like Comic Relief and National Survivor User Network adjusted their policy
In July 2020, we successfully demanded that NET pay its voluntary BAME grant assessors for the equity analysis they were being asked to provide
Our committee of volunteers saw a problem, and demanded answers to questions the sector has too often avoided and too readily deprioritised.
We are the guard dog of this sector and we fiercely protect the rights of racialised groups within the charity ecosystem. “Where once, we felt scared, alone, and powerless to blow the whistle on racist practices both inside and outside our organisations, we know now that #CharitySoWhite will always be in their corner.”
But the work can not stop there. There is so much more to do. For the sector to truly root out racist and colonial structures and narratives from our work, we need the infrastructure to do so, infrastructure which a guard dog alone can not ensure.
If we’re really going to tackle institutional racism in our sector, #CharitySoWhite needs to be critical and honest about our failings, as much as we are about our wins. We were born out of the need for an immediate response to institutional racism in the sector, and because of the sheer volume of disclosures we have been forced to almost always be in a place of reacting and responding. We’ve been dodging, headbutting, and tackling so many plays on the pitch, but we all know that the real wins happen with a playmaker and a plan. We need to give ourselves time so we can strategise from the bench instead of the mid-field.
For the next two months we will be developing and growing new, distinct campaigns to build the ecosystem needed to truly fight the racism in our sector. We’ve been asked to fill in all the gaps in the sector from anti-racist training to unionising, but we need a clear understanding of where the exact pressure points are and the space to reflect on what we as a committee are able to build.
Make no mistake, we are in this for the long haul. By taking this time, we know that we can win the tournament, not just the qualifiers. The guard dog will still be on watch. We will continue to watch the actions of the sector (especially everyone who has received an extra hot batch of cookies and pretzels from our oven!). While we will be honouring and following through with work we’ve currently committed to and opportunities we’ve already accepted, for the time being we will only be responding to disclosures and requests for support from racialised groups in the sector. We will also be reaching out to individuals and organisations to partner with as we build our plans for the future.
We want the sector to also take this opportunity to reflect and reassess. If you’ve been promising big learnings, posting black squares or sharing the ACEVO Home Truths report, now is the time to question why you might be so uncomfortable with our existence and the work that we are doing.
We are done with platitudes, with painfully worded communications, and with all of your sign-up sheets and tick boxes and good intentions. We are forging a new path forward.
