Black Voices Cornwall officially launches in Newquay

The group's aim is to make the Duchy an anti-racist county.

Published 1st Oct 2020

A new organisation to help Cornwall become an anti-racist county is to be officially launched in Newquay on Thursday (1st October)

Black Voices Cornwall (BVC) has been set up to raise awareness and educate people across the Duchy about the black community.

It comes following the global rise of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement earlier this year. The black community in Cornwall said they felt empowered enough to begin raising their voices and to bring much needed change and drive to bringing about an actively anti - racist county.

The launch will be held at C Space Newquay with a live/virtual Zoom Audience with local councillors and the BVC team discussing what they have achieved to far and showcasing some local artists and performers from the county.

BVC says its key aims are:

To create and establish a Race Equalities Council.

Promote and provide the education of Black History and awareness in Education (including HE), community and workplace settings.

Provide equality, diversity and anti-racism training to upskill governors, managers and the work force to increase awareness.

To help embed a culture of zero tolerance to racism in Cornwall.

Support and encourage celebration of BAME Culture in Cornwall.

To work in partnership with organisations (e.g. The Council, The Police, Citizens Advice, NHS, Mental Health and other key partnerships) to ensure a visible, fair and appropriate representation of BAME residents throughout Cornwall.

To support and challenge the strategic direction of the local authority, regarding the BAME inequalities and activities.

To challenge the injustice and racial bias within the judicial system.

To Support Health and Social Care, community and wellbeing projects.

To facilitate BAME businesses, employment and enterprises within Cornwall.

So far, they have already delivered resources on Black History Month to 160 schools across the Duchy.

"Teachers who maybe don't have the resources, or the skill set to deliver black history month topics and content affectively have got a really easy, user friendly resource that they can just use now.

"It's a good first step into helping educate the young people in Cornwall and highlighting some of the iconic black figures we have and celebrating them."

Marcus Alleyne, Spokesperson for Black Voices Cornwall