Thank you to all the amazing charities who came together to stand up for inclusion, equality and racial justice in our joint letter of 29 September to the Prime Minister. You can read the letter here, press release here, and article in the Guardian here.
The rise in far right violence and the devastating antisemitic attack at Heaton Park Synagogue are terrible reminders that it’s never been more important for us all to stand united when any of our communities are targeted.
In this letter, we highlight the increasing racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism our communities are experiencing, including abuse of charity staff and charity shop volunteers.
We call on the government to:
1. Set the narrative by providing a compelling vision of the diverse and pluralist country we want to be, rooted in compassion and respect for our shared humanity and equal rights.
2. Be consistent and unflinching in rejecting all forms of racism, and proactive in standing up for everyone’s human rights, including asylum seekers and other migrants, to be free from harm and treated fairly.
3. Strengthen their missions-driven approach by ensuring that any strategy to tackle disadvantage addresses the structural inequalities within communities
4. Commit to citizenship education – that reaches hearts not just minds – to increase political literacy and understanding of the rule of law and universal human rights as the everyday rights we all rely on.
5. Build resilience to hate and extremism within the communities who are being drawn in and exploited by the far right
We all have a part to play in ensuring the freedom and future of the UK. There’s strength and hope in the fact that together we are the majority.
