An easy read version of our anti-racism strategy.
Racism means treating people unfairly because of the colour of their skin, their language or culture.
Racism is a type of discrimination. It can make people feel upset and left out.
People can be badly hurt or even killed because of racism.
Racial abuse is a type of hate crime. It is against the law.
Racism is also the damage caused by doing things in a way that doesn’t think about the needs of all people.
This strategy is a plan of the work the council will do to make sure all people have equal access to council services and resources.
By doing this we are working towards being an anti-racist council.
Anti-racist means taking action to make sure people from all races are treated fairly and equally and have the same chances in life.
We know Black People and people who are not White British experience racism. We use the words Racially Minoritised to describe these people.
Racism has been going on for hundreds of years all around the world.
Because of racism many people and communities are not treated equally or fairly.
Because of racism many people and communities do not have the same chances to lead happy, healthy lives.
We want to put a stop to Racism in Brighton & Hove.
We want to make sure that the way we work is the best way and make changes to improve things.
Racism makes it hard for Racially Minoritised people to to:
People can also be treated unfairly because of:
These are all parts of a person’s identity. We call these parts Protected Characteristics.
We use the term Intersectionality to refer to all of a person’s protected characteristics.
Racially Minoritsed people may be treated differently for the way they look and all these other characteristics.
It is important to consider all parts of a person’s identity when making changes.
The strategy is a plan to make these things easier and fairer for all people.
We did a lot of research to write the strategy.
We spoke to lots Racially Minoritised people who live or work in Brighton & Hove.
They told us what we need to do to make their lives better.
We listened to people from different community groups and anti-racist organisations.
We listened to Racially Minoritised people from different faiths, backgrounds and with different experiences of life.
We listened to our Racially Minoritised staff.
We have set up the anti-racism Community Advisory Group.
This is a group of Racially Minoritised people who meet to talk about what the council is doing to stop racism in Brighton & Hove.
They also bring feedback from Racially Minoritised communities.
This helps make sure we are making progress.
This also helps us think about what Racially Minoritised people need when we are making plans.
Local councillors will be updated about our progress at a regular committee meeting.
Every 3 months we will carry out checks to make sure the council is following the plans and making progress.
The Community Advisory Group helped us decide the 3 most important things for us to concentrate on.
We have called these Priorities. These are the 3 priorities.
Making sure we are doing things in the best way.
Making sure the council works in a way that is anti-racist. This means working in a way that is fair and equal for all racial groups.
Everyone at the council will work together to reach our goal of making Brighton and Hove an anti-racist city.
There are 5 teams in the council. They will all follow the three priorities to put a stop to racism in their service.
Next we will tell you what each team does.
And what they will do to make Brighton & Hove an anti-racist city.
We:
We will:
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To read the long version of the strategy you can go to the Anti-Racism Strategy web page.
If you have questions or comments send an email to Equalities@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
To get involved with the strategy/panel send an email to Equalities@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
We would like to thank the anti-racism Community Advisory Group (CAG), Racially Minoritised staff and other community members for helping us create this strategy.