Strategy for Developing Black Lives Matter – 2020 and Beyond

An engagement exercise to hold Cheltenham accountable and to inform people on how severe and entrenched UK racism is, even in comparison with the US.

The council, schools, police, and other municipal organisations need to commit firmly to anti-racist measures, positive organisational strategy, and inclusivity from the bottom up, instead of continuing ignorant and malicious practices that directly harm people’s livelihoods and welfare.

There needs to be stronger community representation and prominent people taking up positions of responsibility.

Nabeela suggested that there aren’t enough community groups taking this kind of action, and there needs to be stronger opposition positions on the norm of racial intolerance and erasure of marginalised communities.

We also have elected councillors who are on record making offensive statements and using harmful language, who have continued to operate as public servants.

Empowering people to become activists and not only supplying information to them, but also directing them with concrete ways to create change.

Enabling BAME people to take centre stage in discussions, while also ensuring their mental wellbeing throughout and shielding them from any inflammatory backlash, should such arise.

There needs to be practical ways for white people to become active and compassionate allies, and put themselves at the forefront of the struggle to take on a greater share of the risk involved, while simultaneously amplifying BAME voices above their own, trusting and uplifting their experiences, and centring them at the heart of the conversation.

Eby suggested that we need to identify what allyship looks like and find ‘accomplices’ who recognise that while we may have different agendas, we can uplift ourselves by uplifting other people as well, by recognising intersections in our oppression and fighting for liberation for all of us as a collective. Empower BAME communities to become more autonomous and self-supporting while also forming links between them to strengthen them and develop an overarching movement.