Stroud Against Racism Mission Statement

We are a grassroots, anti-racist organisation with the mission of replacing systemic racism with a system of equality and equity.  We are a multi-racial, multi-cultural organisation focused on eliminating racism and discrimination through action, campaigning and policy change. We work to engage the community from a place of empathy, art, culture, conversation and advocacy both on an individual and organisational level.

While we work to promote anti-racist behavioural change,  our key priority is to challenge the actual adverse impacts of inequity, injustice and discrimination due to race, ethnicity or national origin, including in health, education, policing, and economic security.  We stand in international solidarity with all those facing threats due to racism and xenophobia.  We aim to help empower and raise the visibility and voices of those most impacted by racism.  

We are working to ensure that Stroud is welcoming and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion for all people and cultures. We will encourage all who engage with us to learn what racism means, including how it intersects with other forms of oppression and discrimination.

We are a volunteer organisation, and we are committed to learning from each other and holding each other accountable to the values of the organisation.

We are proud to be Stroud, moving forward for a more equal future for all.

More about Stroud Against Racism

Stroud Against Racism CIC (Company number: 13225296) (SAR) stared as a small group of people protesting in the town square on the 3rd of June 2020 in solidarity with international protests against systemic racism. It is a group of volunteers who tirelessly give of their skills and resources in a bid to try and sculpt the local social landscape in order to make it a more inclusive and positive environment for our local residents and visitors. SAR believe that living in a predominantly ethnically homogenous area, means there is ever more reason to educate locals.  

The majority of people in Stroud believe that racism does not exist in this town, unfortunately, that simply isn’t the case. Many members who suffer from racism face loneliness and rejection and feelings of marginalisation even after several years of living here. Their stories are of exclusion and isolation and they feel too vulnerable to step forward, fearing their societal position will only become even weaker if they are seen to complain. This is the most common form of racism that we have heard, but it is not only these quiet and passive-aggressive levels of hostility aimed at our residents. We need to change that. 

We have raised the profile of anti-racism, and quite rightly, it is an important one to be discussed. By openly denouncing racism, SAR has validated the experiences of many people from diverse cultural communities, as articulated by Patricia Camp, a local artist, “I felt like I couldn’t open my mouth, like I had no voice. When I couldn’t speak for myself, you spoke for me, and gave me the strength to see that it’s not OK. It’s enabled me now, I have found my voice again.” 

SAR started with 4 increasingly well attended BLM gatherings immediately after George Floyd’s murder, culminating in a gathering of 600 people on the last day. This led to a flurry of interest in anti-racist activity. So far, we have organised several successful projects using education to try and help people to investigate their own part in systemic racism, through book clubs studying literature and non-fiction, and through public art. We have opened a public library for residents to gain access to material that will help them on their journey to understanding racism. We have had the Ecotricity banner installed proudly stating Stroud’s anti-racist intentions. 

Several shops donated their windows to be decorated with anti-racist art, helping to normalise anti-racism, and a huge mural was painted along the canal path and another on the council building in the centre of town. SAR also had a column in the local newspaper, the Stroud News and Journal, that is used to help inform residents of the relevance of anti-racism, even in a predominantly white town. SAR is not the main point of contact when people see racist abuse, such as leaflets being circulated by white supremacist organisations. Zoe Kingston, Director of Photography and art teacher from Homleigh Park High School has used SAR as a consultancy for her current in-school project to redress a lack of diversity in the photography curriculum. Local poets use the Facebook page to host anti-racism poetry slams.

There have been events run with the Stroud Book Festival, where Sabrina Pace Humphries very successfully interviewed Adam Rutherford (geneticist, broadcaster and author of “How to Argue with a Racist”) online in 2020, and Stuart Lawrence (older brother of Stephen Lawrence, motivational speaker and author of “Silence is not an Option”) to a sold out venue in 2021.

Florence Nysamo from Lives Of Colour’s has taken responsibility for mentoring Polly Healey with the aim of ensuring the success and longevity of SAR, and they meet at least once a month to strategise and for general support.  

Khady Gueye of the Local Equality Commission has also been involved as a partner and consultant to the organisation and actively administrates the Facebook page.

Find us on Instagram @stroudagainstracism

If you would like to get involved, message us via Facebook, Instagram or the contact page, and join our mailing list when it’s up and running soon.

Find the Stroud Against Racism community on Facebook and feel free to contact an admin on there with any queries. Also find our Instagram account : @stroudagainstracism

About the Team

We are a team of volunteers all striving for the same aim. Rural racism is deeply misunderstood and often hides in plain sight, it is our mission to amplify Black voices and educate local individuals and communities towards awareness of the complexities of racism in predominantly white areas such as Stroud where covert and systemic oppression often go overlooked.

We believe it’s important to shift the paradigm away from anti-racist activity being the burden of those who suffer from racism and for people from communities that have racism inherent with in them to start making the change from within.

We have a number of permanent and respected consultants who support and challenge us. We also welcome people with lived experience of racism to get involved in a variety of ways. However we refuse to tokenise any members or expect free labour from an already exhausted racialised community.