Statement from GM VCSE Leadership Group (full statement can be read here).

All Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, and BAME-led organisations, are an integral part of the fabric that makes up Greater Manchester (GM).

Many BAME communities face injustice and are not given a fair chance to do well. There is a huge challenge to change the economic, social and political inequalities. We recognise these problems are caused by all of us and must be resolved by all of us, working together.

We are at a juncture where we can improve things – or allow them to get worse. We must work together with communities and across all sectors to create a better future in which everyone enjoys the same freedoms, rights and opportunities in Greater Manchester.

The GM VCSE Leadership Group welcomes the GMCA proposal to establish a Race Equality Panel (3 June 2020). We also support a GM-specific review of the impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities. We pledge to play our part in ensuring this agenda moves from words to actions.

We recognise that there is systematic and structural racism in our own sector.

To address this, we pledge to:

• Prioritise candid and honest conversations about racism and structural barriers in our sector
• Actively value and enable the voices of BAME people and communities in decision-making across GM
• Support our own BAME staff and volunteers, actively encouraging BAME people in leadership
• Play our part in educating and empowering the VCSE sector so we can tackle racism in all its forms
• Support local and national campaigning for racial justice
• Promote access to funding for BAME-led groups and organisations, and promote new funding and organisational models that redress financial inequity.