Black Lives Matter
22nd June 2020
We are appalled about the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer who swore to protect him.
This shocking event, as well as the ignorant statements by white apologists and the police brutality that have followed protests, have focused our attention on this brutality and injustice. While this was an event in the US, the impact of it has been felt across the world including in the UK.
We reject the racism that persists against Black people, as well as others, every day.
The Dyspraxia Foundation has a zero tolerance towards racism against Black people as well as discrimination against people of colour, women, LGBTQ+ and other groups. We maintain our commitments to address those wrongs while racism demands our focus right now.
We acknowledge that:
- Racism is a system, not an event.
- Racism isn’t limited to the intentional acts of bad people. It includes unintentional and subtle acts.
- Racism is a socialized condition that begins in our homes and hides behind how we see others and in the implicit biases we must all confront and address.
- Whiteness is not the human standard, nor are variations in skin tone deviations from that norm.
- Colour blindness is a lie that denies people of colour and Black people their own identity and amounts to a “witness protection program” that attempts to absolve us of our racism.
- We also have an ethical duty to speak up against racism or we are complicit in racist violence.
- Eliminating racism will be hard work: it requires grace and courage, and most of all a safe environment for people to speak up.
Led by our new Trustee for Inclusion and Diversity, our board is taking stock of the actions that we need to take in pursuing in support of racial justice and equity.
However, we are committing to the following actions immediately:
- Reviewing our policies with a racial lens to ensure that they protect our members, volunteers, employees and Trustees from any form of discrimination, bulling or harassment.
- Improving our understanding of the communities we serve through data monitoring.
- Ensuring our employees and board of Trustees have completed essential training, including unconscious bias.
George Floyd’s name is one of thousands; we have already squandered our indignation too many times. Think of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor — and those in the UK, Stephen Lawrence, Mark Duggan, Sean Rigg, Zahid Mubarek, Sharon Bibb to name a few.
Until we take responsibility to eliminate racism, and commit to equity and justice, the long list of names will keep growing.