Dear voluntary sector colleagues, 

We have worked alongside and amongst you for the cause of social justice through our careers. We have personally experienced the flaws of a system that continues to marginalise minoritised groups.

The recent #NotJustNCVO movement has yet again highlighted the continued concerns that the sector perpetuates racism, homo/bi/transphobia, classism, disablism, ableism and misogyny.  

Today, we as a collective of leaders from minoritised communities come together to be clear on how we can resolve these issues and create a sector actively dismantling and standing up to oppression.

We seek to work with individuals and organisations that are open to change, recognise their role within the system and understand that they must think, act and behave differently if we are to truly tackle these issues.

We need to:

  • start by building an understanding of systems of power and privilege within our sector, and therefore how oppression manifests within it 

  • apply this social justice lens to our organisations and then to honestly explore our individual power and motivation to change a system that oppresses or benefits us

  • recognise the need to create space and pass power to exec and non-exec leaders who have the motivation, lived experience and expertise to build a new anti-oppressive system and culture across our sector, and crucially are representative of the people we seek to serve 

  • engage experts and centre the voices of minoritised people to create and publish bold three-year EDI commitments at organisational level; built from a place of shared understanding of power, privilege and manifestations of oppression

  • publish organisational plans and commitments in Third Sector or relevant sector press to be held accountable by one another and by those we seek to serve 

  • recognise the urgency of a clear accountability process when bullying and oppression occurs and the need for due diligence in the appointment of all leaders to tackle the movement of oppressive behaviours through our sector

  • acknowledge our inability to create justice and fairness in society until we can do so in our own organisations and sector

  • recognise that minoritised people have spoken out to share experiences of racism, homo/bi/transphobia, disablism, ableism and misogyny, and offered solutions; their bravery requires us to listen, learn and act and create a record of the state of our sector in 2021

  • support and platform allies in leadership who speak up as part of taking action not as virtue signalling 

We, the undersigned, stand together against racism, homo/bi/transphobia, disablism, ableism and misogyny in the charity sector.

We stand in solidarity with all those that have come forward with courage to share the trauma experienced within this sector, one that we believe should be the beacon for social justice.

We offer the power and privilege afforded by our positions as leaders of the sector to amplify your voices and your recommended solutions. We also stand together in hope and belief that the allies in our sector’s leadership will step forward and join us in delivering on our commitments to build social justice into the fabric of our sector. 

Beyond this open letter, which has been written in solidarity with #NotJustNCVO, we commit our time and influence to creating the change you, this movement and this sector demands.

Asif Afridi, deputy chief executive, BRAP

Tracey Agyeman, programmes manager, Equally Ours

Shameem Ahmad, an anti-oppression activist

Martha Awojobi, anti-racism consultant & activist  

Halima Begum, chief executive, Runnymede Trust

Gracie Bradley, director, Liberty 

Minda Burgos-Lukes, a consultant in social justice, social change and anti-oppression

#charitysowhite 

Aanchal Clare, trustee of the Association of Charitable Foundations and the Peter Minet Trust

Tiger de Souza 

Pari Dhillon, director, Social Justice Collective

Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, vice president higher education, National Union of Students 

Ali Harris, chief executive, Equally Ours

Ruth Ibegbuna, founder, Reclaim & Roots Programme

Ugo Ikokwu

Thomas Lawson, chief executive, Turn2Us

Kiran Kaur, chief executive, Girldreamer 

Nancy Kelley, chief executive, Stonewall

Anjana Khatwa

Sophia Moreau, deputy chief executive/public affairs and policy manager, Small Charities Coalition

Maurice McLeod, chief executive, Race on the Agenda and councillor for Queenstown, Wandsworth 

Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, executive director, UK Black Pride

Sonya Ruparel, director of programmes and partnerships, Turn2Us

Akima Thomas, clinical director, WGN

Zara Todd

Gurpreet Virdee, WGN director of operations and development

Wanda Wyporska, executive director, The Equality Trust