Ending Racism is Everyone’s Business: Statement from Inspire North Trustees

Recent events in the US, following the tragic murder of George Floyd, have thrown into focus the realities of racism, which is why we Trustees fully support Inspire North’s Ending Racism is Everyone’s Business challenge and commitment.

As Trustees we want to offer our wholehearted support to the Black Lives Matter Campaign. Our key charitable aim is to create a world where everyone matters and this has never been more poignant than now. We are proud of the upsurge of community spirit and support we have seen during the COVID-19 lockdown period and we hope to build and develop on this work to further strengthen community ties across all ethnicities and community groups that we serve.

We fully understand that the point of Black Lives Matter is not to diminish the importance of other people’s lives. It is to highlight that black people are being denied certain human rights and opportunities simply by virtue of the colour of their skin

We must ensure that, within our own organisational group structure, we support employees, volunteers and trustees to understand the kinds of behaviours, language and attitudes that create a hostile environment for colleagues, clients, residents and tenants and volunteers. We know that there is more for us to do, and if we are white in particular, we must educate ourselves and others about how to become anti-racist.

The Board has previously had BAME Trustee representation but with recent changes this has diminished. As a Board we will be proactive in our recruitment processes to ensure the Board is successful in maintaining its diversity.

Our commitment is to not do what traditionally has happened in society previously with the issue of racism, in that it is focussed on for a short period of time.  We will be holding ourselves and Inspire North accountable to ensure there are sustainable changes made wherever necessary to end racism.

~ The Inspire North Board of Trustees