In recent years, we have all been made aware of the work taking place in professional football, led by professional footballers, the FA, the Premier League and sports broadcasters to fight racism. They continue to use their platforms to show leadership and have developed high profile programmes and initiatives to ensure long-term progress. The action taken by football as a sport has become a point of focus for societal reflection. Housing associations should consider what…
This is what I published on behalf of BMELL BME London Landlords (BMELL) Statement on The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Sewell) Report March 2021 As BME London Landlords (BMELL) we reject The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (The Sewell Report March 2021) and fundamentally object to the way the forward, findings and recommendations of this report are presented in a way to create a counter narrative that suggests the impact of racism…
You may be familiar with this story, or not so, but let me tell it anyway, over 30 years ago what are now framed as urban race riots took place in the inner cities, up and down the UK, after which came independent public inquiries, and subsequent inquiry reports recommending government investment to redress the imbalance, laying a foundation towards bringing about more social cohesion, a start to creating equal access to quality affordable homes…
On a basic human level the death George Floyd’s at the hands of serving police officers who chose to abuse their position of a duty of care to the public, and commit murder is unacceptable. The vision of a police officers knee on George Floyd’s neck have sparked Worldwide protests. People are marching to express their disgust, because this is not new; countless other have died needlessly at the hands of US police because of…
Why do Smaller Landlords Matter to Local Communities? Representing Imani Housing Cooperative Ltd as Chair, a small registered social landlord for over 30 years based in Wandsworth, London, I was invited to the Housing Plus Academy think tank event in partnership with Trafford Hall (National Community Resource Centre, Chester), and London School of Economics which I saw as an interesting proposition. At this participation event, the business model of smaller housing associations and its relationship to…
Reflections on 30+ yrs of BME Social Housing The BME Housing Sector started out as a campaigning movement of community leaders seeking to address the abject poverty and social exclusion suffered by the people they represented. It’s a story of how a collective conscience, sought to organise and transition groups of people from BME backgrounds into civic service to build the foundations of organisations that are still flourishing today. Against all the odds these groups…