Black Lives Matter | Act
"In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist" - Angela Y. Davis
With any important social cause, there are various actions you can take to make a difference which generally fall into the following categories (click on any one to find out more):
For the Black Lives Matter cause, here’s some information and resources we’ve compiled to help you make a difference.
Join the BAME Network at Staffs
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Discuss and shape change at the University
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Contribute your experiences and perspectives to the Union's ongoing work for Black, Asian and Minoriy Ethnic students
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Be kept in the loop with how we're lobbying to make change for Black students
Students' Union
Tue 02 Jun 2020
We show solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter cause and those people exercising their right to peacefully protest against injustices around the world.
Learn
Education doesn’t stop at what you learn in the classroom.
Take a look at our web page on Learning or read our testimonials from Black students and staff.
Question: Do you feel you’ve learnt enough around Black history, racism or broadly more equality and diversity issues on your degree?
Donate/Fundraise
As a Students’ Union, we can support students who want to fundraise for anti-racist causes. If you’re interesting in access support to fundraise, get in touch with our Student Engagement Team at studentengagement@staffs.ac.uk.
To get you started, read our A-Z guide on Fundraising (please bear in mind this was created before social distancing measures but we’re sure you’re creative enough to work something out virtually!)
If you’re not in a place to donate or fundraise yourself, you can watch this video project which was created to offer people a way to donate and financially contribute to #blacklivesmatter without having any actual money or going out to protest themselves.
Sign a petition AND Submit your idea for a #BetterStaffs
Signing a petition is one of the most accessible ways to draw attention to a cause. You add your name to a list of other people who also agree with that cause.
Below are a list of petitions that are looking to tackle racism in the UK but you can also change things specifically at Staffs by logging in and submitting your idea via our #BetterStaffs Big Ideas tool - you can share this with other Staffs students to have change implemented in your University and Students' Union.
Contacting the people in charge
Union/University
Your Elected Officer Team can represent your views to make a change at Staffordshire University and especially within the Students' Union. They canvass student opinion and feedback, meeting regularly with senior figures in the University to make sure that this is heard.
Contact them here.
Locally/Nationally
Find your local MP and email them asking for the change you'd like to see on a local or national level.
Find your MP.
Register to Vote
Make sure that you are registered to vote in your home and term-time address to be able to vote in all local and national elections and referenda.
Register to vote.
Find out more about registering and voting as a student.
Question: Do you know who represents you and what they stand for?
Opening up conversations about Race & Racism
Whilst we recognise that there is #NoExcuse for racism at Staffs, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen in reality and as a Students' Union we should make sure all of our students can exist in a safe environment, free from discrimination.
That means as well as offering Support for those affected by racism, we encourage Allyship.
There are different layers to racism from structural to the more subtle day-to-day stuff and having conversations with those around you regularly can start to help addressing these.
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"Learn about racism [together]. Utilize these resources and then have a conversation. Look to facts and black voices for the answers to questions you don't know. Make conversation about anti-racism a regular practice in your household, friend group, and work[place"
@wastefreemarie, via Instagram |
Read this blog from Students' Union staff member who reflects on having those conversations about race with other white people.
Question: Would you feel comfortable having conversations about racism with your family and friends?
Offering support
See our web pages around well-being support for our students affected by racism at Staffs.
Unlearning habits
The best way to unlearn problematic habits is to Learn yourself, but there a few "quick actions" you can take.
We will be sharing a list of these soon!
Protesting
If you choose to attend any peaceful protests, please take every measure you can to stay safe, keep your fellow protestors safe, and you understand your rights as a protestor.
There have been some virtual protests taking place, have you researched how you can get involved?
What did you think about these resources? If there's anything else you'd like to share with us, contact union@staffs.ac.uk.
You can also have your say and share your resources.