Frequently asked questions
Why race equality?
Race equality is better for everyone. It helps everyone feel a sense of collective belonging to the places they live in, trust in the neighbours and people in those neighbourhoods and solidarity towards them.
It builds trust between individuals, groups, and communities, because they know they do not suffer from inequalities or discrimination. Through that trust and solidarity, people can also feel safer, adapt to change, and build on the local skills and resources to make a difference where they live. It also encourages people to build community cohesion.
As a Council, we are tackling racial inequality through our Tackling Racism, Inequality and Disproportionality (TRID) programme. The four areas of focus under the programme are:
- Newham as an employer
- Newham as a social beacon of change
- Newham as the best place for children and young people
- Newham as a deliverer and commissioner of public services
Why are we setting up an alliance?
The council has seen some successes over the years in influencing the work of a number of key institutions however, it cannot be ignored that local Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse communities still experience significant inequalities in employment, education, housing, business, health, and the criminal justice system.
We are clear that this situation will not change unless more concerted and strategic work is done on these issues. It is for this reason that the Mayor and our lead member for Social Integration and equalities have agreed to establish Newham’s Race Equality Alliance.
What is the Newham Race Equality Alliance?
The Newham Race Equality Alliance is being set up to help address the systemic discrimination and disadvantages experienced by residents of Newham because of their race or ethnicity.
It aims to help tackle racial inequality across all the pillars of Building a Fairer Newham and recognise race equality as a source of innovation and strength for the wellbeing of our borough.
It aims to build better racial equality in a way which creates better outcomes and power & influence for Black, Asian, and other ethnically diverse groups. It also aims to build solidarity across all communities in tackling racial inequality. It will
- Help tackle racial inequality as we progress Building a Fairer Newham
- Build greater power & influence for ethnically diverse groups
- Value race equality as a source of innovation for our borough
- Build solidarity across all communities in tackling race inequalities
- Provide the direction of travel for the Tackling Racism, Inequalities & Disproportionality Programme and any related, longer term initiatives.
It will work collaboratively with a wide range of organisations to help address its key objectives.
What do we mean by race?
We use the Equality Human Rights Commission definition of race:
“In the Equality Act, race can mean our colours, or our nationalities. It can also mean our ethnic or national origins, which may not be the same as our current nationality. For example, you may have Chinese national origins and be living in Britain with a British passport.
Race also covers ethnic and racial groups. This means a group of people who all share the same protected characteristic of ethnicity or race.
A racial group can be made up of two or more distinct racial groups, for example black Britons, British Asians, British Sikhs, British Jews, Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers.”
What are the values & principles of the Alliance?
Build power
- We help increase the power, representation, and influence of Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse communities across the borough
Be strengths-based
- We recognise that people have unique needs, beliefs, values and abilities and we will respect and promote those differences
Be inclusive
- We put the strengths & lived experience of our residents at the heart of shaping the work we do to embed racial equality and acknowledges that race inequality intersects with other inequalities
Be cohesive
- We embed racial equality in a way that tackles injustice & discrimination, and we build cohesion between communities
Be impactful
- We focus on tackling the root causes of racial inequality and recommending ambitious and practical ways that the organisations and communities that make up the borough can tackle i
Be collaborative
- We work together as a group to help each other grow & improve in how we build racial equality across the borough
What are the objectives of the Alliance?
- Listen and learn from our local communities & organisations and elsewhere to identify the specific challenges the Alliance should focus on and the levers it can use
- Mobilise our communities and institutions in Newham to advance race equality to achieve an inclusive, cohesive, thriving, and representative borough
- Advocate for residents to influence & challenge Council services, and decision makers at a local, regional and a national level to use their different levers to tackle racial inequalities
- Celebrate & report the impact the Alliance and the borough is having on race equality as a result of its activities
- Act as a reference group for future work & developments of race equality initiatives and wider equality & diversity programmes
Types of activities could include:
- Running community conversations on the issues to understand how people experience the issues & campaign on changes at a local level
- Developing focused campaigns to tackle specific issues that affect tangible change)
- Inviting external speakers to provide inspiration
- Designing a strategic framework that baselines how Newham is performing on race equality and steps it can improve
- Developing partnerships with funders & networks to invest in solutions that tangibly tackle race inequality.
If you have any queries, please contact raceequality@newham.gov.uk
