West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership (WY&H HCP) and the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) alongside nearly 500 organisations and community allies launched the area’s anti-racism movement today (Monday 23 August).
Along with CHFT, movement supporters include other NHS organisations, councils, West Yorkshire Police, Healthwatch, hospices, universities, housing associations, unions, and the voluntary community social enterprise sector. High profile sports club supporters include Yorkshire Cricket Club, and sports foundations, Yorkshire Sports Foundation, Keighley Cougars, The Leeds United Foundation, Community Foundation at Wakefield Trinity, Bradford Bulls Foundation, Castleford Tigers and Halifax Panthers (rugby) to name a few.
Co-created by over 100 WY&H HCP ethnic minority colleagues to proactively challenge racism across all aspects of society, the movement is part of an ongoing commitment to tackle structural and institutionalised racism, as well as addressing health and social inequalities across the area.
The movement, a recommendation from the WY&H HCP review in October 2020 into the impact of COVID-19 on health inequalities, spotlights the experiences of ethnic minority staff and allies from across WY&H HCP and illustrates their views and experiences of racism. Imagery from the campaign will be displayed outdoors and on buses, as well as across social media with the hashtag #WYHRootOutRacism.
It includes a suite of educational resources to encourage people to better inform themselves on anti-racist behaviours and practices, whilst linking to training and people’s life stories. Built from colleagues’ insight, evidence shows that people from ethnic minority backgrounds continue to face health inequalities and discrimination in their communities and workplace.
Comments include:
“Racism started before I was even born. It’s always been there, having to work twice as hard, always working harder to be seen, to feel visible; not as valued as your White colleagues and that just became a standard.”
“I’m getting way more stares, people looking at you just because of your skin tone. I’m being faced with racism from kids who are 5-6 years old. Of all the racism I’ve encountered, that’s probably the most shocking, the racism coming from kids.”
“Stereotypes, assumptions that are made about me as a Black man, professionally or socially. Simple things like when I go on a bus, being the last person to be sat next to, or when the cashier puts the change into people’s hands but when it comes to you, she puts it on the counter.”
Together we can Root Out Racism.
You can register to join the movement at http://ow.ly/lWB250FBmYt. To find out more, including how to access the free resources, visit https://www.wyhpartnership.co.uk/rootoutracism
Pictured: Engagement Team colleagues Carys Bentley and Tahliah Kelly-Martin
