ROTA is pleased to announce the appointment of Michaela Queensborough as the new Service Development Manager.

Michaela joined the ROTA team on 2 December 2024, working on our new Housing project, funded by Oak Foundation. 

A strategic changemaker and activist, Michaela Queensborough has been disrupting oppressive systems and structures for over a decade, with her activism honoured in Violet Simon’s “Disruptors.”

ROTA are delighted to invite you to celebrate the publication of the report from our first ROTA Community Research Partnership (RCRP) report, co-produced with eight Peer Researchers from across London.

Join us to hear more about their projects investigating how issues of racial injustice and inequity have affected Black and Global Majority Londoners in the areas of education and employment, and what we can do to collectively drive change in these sectors.

While we support key government priorities such as equitable economic growth, clean energy, public safety, and healthcare reform, we emphasise the need for targeted action to address longstanding racial disparities across these areas.

This includes protecting frontline services, addressing housing inequality, ensuring environmental justice, and promoting equitable reform in policing, education, and healthcare.

We, the Board and Staff of Race on the Agenda (ROTA) note that the Impact Assessment of the Renters’ Rights Bill addresses rental discrimination against tenants receiving benefits or having children. The Bill rightly seeks to make it unlawful for landlords to discriminate on these grounds.

However, it is crucial to emphasise that discrimination based on race remains a significant and well-documented issue within the rental housing sector in the UK. 

ROTA are launching a brand new podcast show ‘Talking About Race’.

We will be hosting expert guests from across the anti-racism space to discuss the issues facing Black and Global Majority communities across the UK and beyond.

For our first episode, to be published at 5pm on 9 January 2025 where we will be joined by Lady Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of UK Black Pride, and Alba Kapoor, Head of Policy at the Runnymede Trust, to discuss Black History Month, along with wider issues around the ways in which Black histories are discussed, marginalised, and misrepresented in the UK.

The Black Health manifesto was launched at an event in London on the 1 August 2024 in a room full of passionate folk keen to ensure that racism is a public health issue that needs tackling now. 

ROTA were immensely proud to support Black Mental Health Workers Alliance (BMHWA) who unveiled this historical and groundbreaking work with its aim of tackling mental health disparities within Black and global majority communities across the UK. ROTA is even more fortunate as one of our current Trustees: Kadra Abdinasir is part of the Black Health manifesto Team.

At ROTA, partnerships and collaboration are central to our mission. We aim to advance racial equity and community cohesion by working together with individuals and organisations who share our goals.

Tackling complex social issues like race-hate violence, anti-migrant sentiment, and Islamophobia requires collective action and a shared commitment to learning, unlearning, and dispelling myths about marginalised communities.

2024 has been a year of highs and lows for the UK’s Black and Global Majority (BGM) population. On the one hand, the resolve of our communities has never been stronger. We are seeing more and more engagement in political activism, efforts to influence and shape policy, and community organisation. ROTA’s membership continues to grow, and we are looking forward to working more closely with many of you through our community research initiatives over the next year.

A groundbreaking report on the experience by Black women of sexual harassment in the workplace was released by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on 27 November.

The author of the report, Carol Freguson the Equality and Strategy support officer at the TUC worked tirelessly in putting the report together.

Kunle was recently interviewed by Civil Society Media where he discussed the challenges he has faced in his career and what is preventing greater equality in the charity sector.

Go! London Match. Trade. Grow is for London-based not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises aiming to support young people through physical activity and sport, particularly young people from underserved communities.

The BAOBAB COMMUNITY FUND is OFFERing grants ranging from £5,000 - £30,000 per year for up to 5 years flexible funding is available - find out more by reading our funding guidelines.

Resource for London
356 Holloway Road
London, N7 6PA
United Kingdom

Unsubscribe

Email: rota@rota.org.uk
Website: www.rota.org.uk

Patron: Lord Victor Adebowale CBE