Anti-Racism Update
by Serena Phillips
Anti-Racism Progress Update – what have we done since the anti-racism action survey?
At the beginning of September, we opened an anti-racism action questionnaire to all current and past members of RUMS Netball. Since then we have been actively making changes to both improve the environment of the club and educate all of our members. The aim is to make RUMS Netball a more inclusive, anti-racist club whilst ensuring we hold ourselves accountable throughout the process.
My role of Inclusivity Officer was introduced following the feedback, with the main aim to identify areas of improvement and be an active voice in educating and promoting inclusivity club-wide. I am also involved in setting up other initiatives focusing on raising awareness, education and inclusivity.
Other committee members also reviewed their roles to adapt and work more effectively to promote the same ideals. We have been educating ourselves about the diversity within our club already and recognise the importance of acknowledging and celebrating this throughout the year. Socials are being reviewed to ensure inclusivity is the highest priority.
During September many RUMS sports team participated in the RUMS Runs charity event raising money for Southall Black Sisters and Black Minds Matter. It was great to see such a strong effort throughout the club, with over 30 members participating at some point over the two weeks. We came away with a much-deserved win, but most importantly we raised £1,168 for these incredible charities.
To mark Black History Month, we attended a panel held by TeamUCL that focussed on anti-racism action in sport and the role sport can play. The recording has been made public to any members who are interested in watching it. [see attached link at the end] This panel highlighted how sport can provide a sense of belonging and a support network for many people from multiple different backgrounds.
71% of attendees said that they felt their club was not representative of the diversity of UCL. The panel presented ideas for how clubs can counter this, and the key point was to create a safe, friendly and inclusive space which allows open dialogue. Communal understanding and support is vital and clubs must be aware of the issues that members may be facing and actively support them with this. As RUMS Netball members, there is a responsibility to educate yourself, in order to ensure we are promoting our club as actively anti-racist, with a supportive and inclusive environment.
The panel also sign-posted to the non-competitive sports teams within ACS which encourage participation and inclusion as no experience is necessary. This welcoming nature is something we hope to encourage in RUMS Netball as well. The UCL Access and Widening Participation Fund is also available to students and covers the membership cost as well as others for those students who are unable to join sports clubs due to financial limitation. The UCL website has more information on this. [see attached link at the end] It was encouraged that both of these things be actively promoted by individual clubs to increase diversity and participation and foster a welcoming environment.
The panel also gave suggestions for what sports clubs can do to be anti-racist allies. Clubs must be proactive and continually trying to identify ways to improve. This can include listening to members experiences, supporting each other and amplifying black voices within clubs. Members must be willing to educate themselves on issues and as a club education must be promoted.
The panel also shared many of their positive experiences within TeamUCL and highlighted that sports clubs are very important in forming a community and support network which is something we want to prioritise within our club.
We have also launched our new Book Club with a brilliant book, Queenie, that highlights important aspects of Black history and experiences faced by a young, Black woman. We hope that this will tie in with educating our members about issues people may be facing and that by using this as our first book, it will promote and continue the anti-racism momentum beyond Black History Month.
In addition to our new Book Club, we are looking to host some discussion groups and talks in areas that our members want. We are hoping to expand the scope of our “Education” role to broaden our horizons and get everyone thinking about more than just medicine!
Our anti-racism survey highlighted that many members wanted an anonymous reporting system made available. We have created an “Anonymous reporting form” and we want to encourage this to be used for all and any types of feedback, from personal experiences to raising concerns and issues faced within the club.
We also have lots planned for future action to ensure that progress continues to be made:
We are actively encouraging all members to take the Active Bystandering course provided by UCL [see attached link at the end]. We hope this will promote anti-racist action on individual levels which can be incorporated on a club level.
We will run more charity events to raise money for inclusive charities and we will be asking our members what charities you would like to put forward. Please contact our Community Outreach Sec, Hera Bradly, regarding this.
We will ensure there are official policies within RUMS Netball regarding discrimination to support all of our members and make the club a safe space.
There will also be many more events focussed on education and incorporating this into socials. Watch this space for a Cook-Along event that is on the way!
Thank you for all of the efforts that have been made already, but we want to make clear that the work is nowhere near done. Education is a lifelong process and we want to encourage active improvements from every member of RUMS Netball, to make the club a better and more inclusive community for all of its members.
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