The Coalition for Action on Racial Equity and Justice

In 1964, spurred on by Martin Luther King a, small group including Jocelyn Barrow, Anthony Lester and David Pitt founded the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD). Others like Paul Stephenson in Bristol were inspired into action at the time (his boycott of the Bristol Omnibus Company). These and similar campaigns were instrumental in paving the way for legislative change including the Race Relations Act in 1965.

During 2018 a group was founded by three black women, Asher Craig, Sado Jirde and Tracie Jolliff, together with Mayor Marvin Rees. Our aim was to bring an end to systemic discrimination, by assembling a collaborative group of leaders, prepared to take action to dismantle the architecture that continues to perpetuate racial inequity and injustice. This work was a continuation of the pioneering work of Building Leadership For Inclusion that began in the NHS, as well as building on Bristol based innovation in this space. The coalition quickly grew.

Intrinsic to our efforts is the amplification of the voices of those who are most negatively affected by continuing racial discrimination, and a recognition of the need to address all forms of oppression in seeking to achieve our core aims. US Politician Ayanna Pressley states that “those closest to the pain, must be closest to the power” for progress to ensue. Hence our leadership must position itself in service of this purpose – transformation should be led by those with lived experience; the time is now for sustainable progress towards racial justice. In 2020, spurred on by the disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 and then the Black Lives Matter protests in the USA and UK, we are building a coalition of the willing, to precipitate and maintain a focus on ACTION for racial equity and justice, in which we will model the inclusive leadership needed for a post Covid-19 world through the Coalition for Action on Racial Equity and Justice.

We are seeking to build a broad national coalition, securing in the process the patronage of people from all walks of life and political hues, capable of independent thinking and to help shape a programme of ACTION on racial equity and justice – beginning with the creation of a manifesto of requirements that will support our aims.

Core to the membership of this advisory group will be a selection of people from all sectors who will support the above aims. Some proposed names for this group are: Mayor Marvin Rees, Asher Craig, Tracie Jolliff, Christine Wint, Sado Jirde, David Weaver and Museji Ahmed Takolia (Advisory Group).