Gloucestershire initiative tackles racial inequalities in rural communities
The Local Equality Collective was set up following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020
An initiative in Gloucestershire is tackling social and racial inequalities in rural communities.
The Local Equality Collective is based in the Forest of Dean and was set up following the Black Lives matter movement and the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Members of the group run workshops in schools to educate children and young people who aren't exposed to the subject due to where they live.
"We don't talk about race, we don't talk about colour and we don't talk about lived experience the same way we do in bigger cities", says Khady Gueye, founder and director of the initiative.
"I think of a lot of it is fear. When you live in an area like this which is predominantly white it tends to be the only things you see about different races or cultures are on social media or the news.
"That isn't particularly productive when it comes to a real understanding of what it means to be from a diverse background."
The workshops open up the conversation around what it means to be a person of colour and black British history.
"We really try to talk to the children about the differences between being black in rural Britain compared to metropolitan cities", Khady continues.
"And that is the key, it's that we're working with young people to really challenge the entrenched and embedded racism which does exist in our society."
Celebrating black culture and heritage
Just 0.2% of black people make up the population in the Forest of Dean and the Local Equality Collective are working hard to ensure they are supported.
"It's things ranging from not seeing faces like your own - I was just one of three mixed race people in both my primary and secondary school.
"It's about how we provide young people of colour with that celebration of their culture and heritage whilst they're in this sea of white faces."