City of York Council has pledged to be an anti-racist council. We'll use our resources and change what we do to actively dismantle racist structures and challenge racial inequality.
We'll work in partnership with Black, Asian and Racially Minoritised Communities (BARMC), including staff, residents and their allies, and our partners to develop an anti-racist plan, learning from lived experiences and diverse perspectives.
We call on all services and employers in the city to do everything they can to work towards York becoming the first anti-racist city in the North, with the council is ready to play its part.
Cllr Douglas, Leader of the Council said:
I am confident implementation of the IERUK Anti-Racism Strategy will enhance the quality of life for our diverse residents and catalyse positive change within our wider society
"We're committed to working hand in hand with our communities to deliver real outcomes and to build an environment where racism has no place."
- Our full pledge to be an anti-racist council
- The Commitment
- Anti-Racism Plan 2023 to 2028
- The language we use
Our full pledge to be an anti-racist council
The council is committed to long term actions and change and has signed the Inclusive Equal Rights UK Anti-Racist Pledge.
We will:
- not tolerate racist behaviour and call out racism
- train employees on what being anti-racist means
- address racial inequality and improve opportunity and access to services and employment, such as reserved apprenticeship opportunities for BARMC people
In addition, we will work towards:
- educating ourselves and others about the history and impact of racism and discrimination in our society, and actively work to identify and challenge racist attitudes and behaviours
- create and maintain safe and inclusive spaces for all members of our community, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ability
- support and amplify the voices of marginalised communities and work to ensure that their needs and concerns are heard and addressed
We invite you to make the Anti-Racist Pledge, so that you and your organisation can help to send a clear and consistent message that racism and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated in the City of York.
The Commitment
By making this pledge, the City of York Council commits to be an anti-racist organisation and will:
- where possible collate and analyse staff and board level data to understand any barriers facing BARMC employees
- proactively examine any ethnic pay gap data or ethnic profile in senior leadership
- increase representation of BARMC employees at senior and leadership levels, and set targets to deliver real change and progress
- raise awareness of this Pledge internally and externally to teams, and service users
- create and maintain safe and inclusive spaces for all members of our community, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ability
Anti-Racism Plan 2023 to 2028
We're committed to produce an Anti-Racist Plan, to be approved by December 2023.
We'll share progress against our Anti-Racism Plan and pledge.
The language we use
There is a lot of discussion about terminology regarding racism and anti-racism.
The council works with and listens to the opinions of our staff, residents and community groups to understand the language to use when talking about ethnicity, culture, faith and national identity. We also look to changes nationally and internationally.
Terminology and language is dynamic and continuously evolving. We're committed to continuing our learning and evolving as language changes over time.
Through the discussions and conversations about culture and language around race, racism and identity through the development of the Anti-Racism Strategy, we aim to use specific ethnicity descriptions and terminology to speak to specific lived experiences.
Where this is not possible, we'll use the terms ‘ Black, Asian and Racially Minoritised Communities’ and ‘people who experience racism’ to refer to people who do not identify as white British. We use ‘Racially Minoritised’ to recognise that people are not minorities by identity, but have been minoritised by racist structures, systems, and societies.
However, we understand that views differ and not all people will feel comfortable with the same language. We recognise the right to self-identification.