In the wake of the race riots that swept across the UK in August 2024, The Ubele Initiative, alongside members of the Alliance for Racial Justice, set up an emergency conversation (Watch here) to assess the situation and formulate actions in response. Titled #WeNeedAnswers, this online community response was held on Monday 14th August 2024 with over 330 people from across our network tuning in to listen to a range of perspectives from community leaders.
The invited speakers (listed below) represented key organisations within the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector who contributed their analysis to deconstruct the underlying causes for the current crisis. Themes discussed included perspectives on gender-based violence against women and girls; regional socio-economic deprivation experienced across the UK; the relation between racial justice, punitive action and carcerality; the Islamophobic rhetoric of serving politicians; faith injustice; misinformation v disinformation; and the scapegoating of migrants as distraction for the underinvestment in social infrastructure and public services.
This event sparked a series of collaborative actions and connections between The Ubele Initiative and organisations across the VCSE sector including Mudaser Ali (The Muslim Charities Forum), Nasra Ayub (Future Phoenix), Jabeer Butt (Race Equality Foundation), Susan Cueva (Kanlungan Filipino Consortium), Matthew Johnson (The Runnymede Trust), Faty Kane (The Angelou Centre), Jacqueline McKenzie (Partner and Head of Immigration at Leigh Day), Kim McIntosh (Action for Race Equality), Professor Patrick Vernon OBE, Rowan Carr, Dr Penelope Mendonça, Alliance of Police Accountability, Black Equity Organisation, Caribbean & African Health Network, Inclusive North, Pathway Fund, VCS Emergency Partnership, British Muslim Heritage Centre, NCVO and many more.
Why #WeNeedAnswers?
Following our campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic (see here), the Ubele team decided to revive the #WeNeedAnswers hashtag to convene this online community event aimed at creating space for information sharing, healing and exploring actions in the wake of the riots. During the webinar, our CEO Yvonne Field OBE opened by inviting attendees to take a moment of silence to reflect on the current situation in the United Kingdom. The aim was to acknowledge the grief, anger, trauma, and fear caused by the impact of the horrific murders in Southport, the people terrorised by the racist and Islamophobic attacks that followed, but also the current political environment and associated socio-economic conditions that have led us to this breaking point.
Survey results (N=115) from the online community conversation showed that just over one-third (38.7%) of participants personally knew individuals in their community who were physically or verbally attacked. Notably, 48.6% of respondents reported feeling tense a week after the riots, which underscored the lasting psychological impact. The riots raised safety concerns in affected locations, with nearly three-quarters (71.1%) of respondents living in targeted areas.
Community Needs
The riots also raised questions between staff at Ubele on to what extent racism interrupts the organisational practices of Black and racially minoritised communities. During the riots, this interruption is observed by the emergency creation of new crisis workstreams to identify community need and support affected communities. The crisis workstreams are generally unaccounted for in terms of budget and stretch the capacity of organisations, which can also trigger stress and burnout in staff.
Further insights from the survey indicated that 53.5% of respondents called for information on how individuals or groups might protect themselves; while a little more than four-fifths (85.1%) prioritised longer-term community investment (over 5-10 years) to support local development and systems change. Additionally, 77.2% emphasised the need for community development interventions that promote racial justice. The Adebowale Commission on Social Investment (2022) revealed that Black and ethnic minority-led social enterprises raised finance at just a quarter of the rate of their White-led peers, indicating the potential challenges faced by communities in accessing capital in response to crisis.
Next Steps
A long-term action for The Ubele Initiative is to work with partners to assess the ‘preparedness’ of national infrastructure and community organisations within our network to effectively respond to emergencies whilst sustaining vital community assets and services.
The Ubele Initiative will continue to convene leaders from across the sector, signpost communities to key resources via our newsletter, and publish content including forthcoming videos recorded with colleagues at the Muslim Charities Forum and the British Muslim Heritage Centre in Manchester who provide important analysis based on insights emerging from their community networks.
Finally, thank you to our network for your tireless work and please keep an eye on organisations such as Action for Race Equality, Race Equality Foundation, Runnymede Trust, Muslim Charities Forum, VCS Emergencies Partnership, who continue to deliver events and actions in response to community needs in the wake of the riots.
Blog Editorial Contributions from Christxpher Oliver, Rémy Twahirwa, and Ezra Blondel
