Three and a half years after the murder of George Floyd, and considerable attention in civil society to racism and anti-racism, too little has changed in day-to-day experience for Black and Minoritised Ethnic people in mainstream civil society.
This report, ‘Warm Words, Cold Comfort: UK civil society’s ongoing racism problem’ is released by ACEVO and Voice4Change England and authored by Dr. Sanjiv Lingayah, co-creator of the Home Truths 2 programme, and based on a survey of Black and Minoritised Ethnic people with current or recent experience of working in UK mainstream civil society which ran online from 17 July to 12 October 2023.
This report contains discussions about people’s experiences of racism which could be distressing or triggering. If you feel distressed reading the report or would like support for your emotional or mental health you can find resources at:
About Home Truths 2
Home Truths 2 is a new programme of work from ACEVO, Voice4Change England and Dr Sanjiv Lingayah designed to challenge and support mainstream UK civil society to take serious practical action on anti-racism and race equity.
Over the course of the next 18 months from December 2023 to June 2025, Home Truths 2 will engage stakeholders from across mainstream and Black and Minoritised Ethnic civil society, including senior leaders and staff in a targeted programme of activity. Home Truths 2 will offer practical resources and guidance to mainstream civil society, such as on how to integrate race equity into a core mission. It will also recruit senior leaders and bring them together in a Further, Faster cohort to undertake specialist facilitated small group work to drive forward their anti-racist and race equity practice.
The programme is intended to convert positive words from mainstream civil society on anti-racism and race equity into practical and powerful change.
Register to stay up to date with the programme and its progress.
About ACEVO
ACEVO is the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations. It is a network of over 1,700 CEOs and aspiring CEOs leading voluntary organisations ranging from small, community-based groups to ambitious medium-sized organisations to well known, well-loved national and international not-for-profits.
ACEVO’s vision is for civil society leaders to make the biggest possible difference. Together with our network we inspire and support civil society leaders by providing connection, skills and influence.
About Voice4Change England
Voice4Change England (V4CE) is a charity and national advocate for the Black and Minoritised Ethnic voluntary and community sector. As a leading national membership organisation, V4CE actively speaks to policymakers on the issues that matter to the sector, brings the sector together to share good practices and develops the sector to better meet the needs of communities.
The author
Dr Sanjiv Lingayah is a researcher, writer and consultant on racial justice. Sanjiv was the lead author and researcher on the first Home Truths report and is the co-creator of and racial justice specialist on Home Truths 2. Sanjiv is the Founder and Director of Reframing Race, a not-for-profit initiative that exists to change the public conversation on racism in order to build an anti-racist future. He can be contacted at mail@sanjivlingayah.com.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ACEVO or Voice4Change England.
Citation: If you wish to reference this report in your own writing our preferred format is:
Lingayah, S (2023) Warm words, cold comfort: UK civil society’s ongoing racism problem. London: Home Truths 2.
This document is copyright © Sanjiv Lingayah / ACEVO / Voice4Change England 2023. Some rights reserved.
Anyone can download, save, perform or distribute this work. You are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work in any format, including translation, without written permission. You must give the original authors credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may not alter or transform this work.
You are welcome to ask for permission to use this work for purposes other than those stated above. In these circumstances, please email hometruthstwo@acevo.org.uk.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express gratitude to the day-to-day Home Truths 2 team, especially Pamela Daniels and Roberta Fusco from ACEVO, and to Jane Ide at ACEVO and Kunle Olulode from Voice4Change England.
A big thank you to Maisie Hulbert for co-developing the survey and to Sangeeta Sooriah for her advice on the survey design, analytical input to the report and comments on an earlier draft. Thanks also to Luke Finley for copy-editing this report.
Any errors or shortfalls in the report remain the responsibility of the author.
Special gratitude goes to all the people who took time to complete the survey. We are grateful to each participant for sharing their wisdom and experience.
A final thanks to our funders: ACEVO, Barrow Cadbury Trust, Charities Aid Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation, the National Lottery Community Fund and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
