ANTI-RACISM ACTION PLAN
In June 2020, after the murder of George Floyd and increased awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement and systemic racism across the world, we committed to becoming an actively anti-racist organisation.
During 2021-22, Sing Inside received support from consultancy firm Strawberry Words to begin considering how race plays out within Sing Inside; the ways in which we can act to improve; and the further knowledge, reflection and honest criticism we need to take in order to ensure the changes we make are impactful and long-lasting. We are now in a position to make public how those conversations have been translated into actions, in the form of our first anti-racism action plan.
We know this work will never be over, and need continued resource and attention as we review old work and develop new projects. As such we welcome challenge, suggestion and support from anyone willing to share thoughts or views, at any time. Please contact maisie@singinside.org if you have any thoughts at all on our anti-racism action plan.
You can download our full anti-racism action plan using the button to the right. A summary of key areas is provided below.
Our action plan focuses on four key areas:
Key goals for each area include:
Learning and knowledge
Annual anti-racism, whiteness and fragility training for SMT and board members
Setting recruitment targets for each local area based on census data and comparing this with the volunteer makeup in each region
Publishing our progress and learning at least once per year and being transparent about meeting or missing our targets
Policy and procedure
Creating robust complaints policies to ensure everyone who might experience discrimination understands how to report this and access support
Integrate our learning from anti-racism into our musical leadership training and workshop planning, contextualising the music we teach; programming diverse repertoie; and championing and platforming musicians of colour from across our volunteer and prison-based participants
Reviewing our terms of reference around how we work with prisons and partners in the context of race, and aligning policies and practices where possible
Recruitment
Setting recruitment targets for our volunteer base which outline how we would like our demographics to change and over what period
Increasing and diversifying our engagement with local organisations outside of student communities, approaching not only local choirs but local volunteering hubs, community groups engaging minoritized ethnic communities, specific cultural and artistic activities outside of our cultural norm of the English choral tradition, and forming mutually beneficial partnerships with such groups.
Involving people of colour in decision making
Integrating anti-racism and diverse recruitment processes into our Ambassador Scheme as we enter project design phase, and engage closely with the issue of race and inclusion through greater contact with people in prison and prison policy
Run engagement sessions, facilitated where necessary, for our volunteers and people in prison brainstorming and exploring how race intersects with their roles and engagement at Sing Inside
Over time, seeking input from volunteers on whether a BAME volunteer network or support mechanism would be appropriate within Sing Inside, to ensure we are providing safe spaces to discuss and share experiences of race and racism while working with Sing Inside. We will seek feedback (anonymised wherever appropriate) from this group and invite them to board meetings to ensure the group’s views are reflected in decision making