Action for Race Equality - ARE

19/06/2026

Why in the aftermath of 9/11, has global security shifted its focus from regional stability to the fear of ‘outsiders’ within a country’s own borders?

As we mark Refugee Week/World Refugee Day with this guest blog by Islington Refugee and Migrant Forum, we look at how migrants have become ‘the enemy’ according to the far-right.

https://ow.ly/Bnzc50ZeCml

19/06/2026

Yesterday morning, we hosted a roundtable with employers at City Hall, chaired by Dr Debbie Weekes Bernard.

We shared recommendations from our upcoming Race Equity in Employment Task Force report and discussed good employment practice for young Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage people.

More to come on 1 July.

17/06/2026

Action for Race Equality is delighted to see our friend and colleague Patrick Vernon honoured with a Knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours this weekend.

Patrick has been a longstanding campaigner of the Windrush Home Office Scandal and has worked with ARE for the past four years on our Windrush Justice Programme, providing robust policy advice and crucially chairing our Independent Advisory Panel, who were instrumental in making decisions on how ARE should onward grant just under £1m of funding to grassroots organisations.

’This honour belongs to all the communities, colleagues and campaigners I have worked alongside over many years,’ said Sir Patrick.

‘For me, it is a great honour to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List for services to racial equality and social justice, reflecting more than 30 years of contribution across a range of sectors and issues.

‘I see this recognition not simply as a personal achievement, but as an opportunity to further tackle inequality and promote greater dialogue and engagement across the UK around the ongoing injustices faced by the Windrush Generation and migrant communities,’

Well said, Sir Patrick Vernon

11/06/2026

🚨UPLIFT Cohort 2 applications are still open!

Ready to strengthen your organisation’s sustainability and long-term impact?

Applications are now open for Cohort 2 of the UPLIFT Programme, a 12-month programme designed to support Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage-led organisations across London.

Delivered by Action for Race Equality and supported by City Bridge Foundation’s Anchor Programme, UPLIFT provides fully funded support to help grassroots organisations build capacity, confidence and influence.

Successful organisations will receive:

✅ 21 hours of bespoke 1-to-1 consultancy
✅ Expert-led group learning workshops
✅ Action learning and peer support
✅ Practical guidance across areas including governance, income generation, communications, impact, AI, policy and influencing
✅ A co-designed approach shaped by the needs of participating organisations

Cohort 2 is open to organisations that are:

• Led by and for Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage communities
• Based in London and active in their local boroughs
• Focused on criminal justice, employment, education or youth programmes
• A registered charity, CIC, social enterprise or voluntary group
• Operating for at least one year
• Working with an annual income between £50,000 and £200,000

To keep the process accessible, applications involve a single Expression of Interest only, with no interview stage.

Key dates:

📅 Applications close:
5pm on 15 June 2026

📅 Mandatory induction session:
Wednesday 24 June 2026

Find out more and submit your Expression of Interest:
https://actionforraceequality.org.uk/are-launches-cohort-2-of-the-uplift-programme/programme/

10/06/2026

Action for Race Equality (ARE) calls for urgent action as it warns that rising division, attacks on anti-discrimination laws, and growing youth disengagement are damaging hope, safety and opportunity across the UK.

ARE is deeply concerned about the impact on young people across the UK of the current political and social climate.

At a time when young people should be looking to the future with confidence, too many are facing insecurity, exclusion and a growing loss of hope as public discourse has become increasingly hostile and polarised.

Inflammatory rhetoric, racist agitation, and attacks on anti-discrimination laws and other legal safeguards against unfair treatment are contributing to an atmosphere that is harmful and deeply unsettling.

When laws designed to protect people from discrimination are weakened or called into question, it sends a damning message to young people about who belongs, whose rights matter and whether fairness and equal treatment can still be relied upon.

This is especially serious for young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, including those who face discrimination because of their ethnicity and/or faith. Young people experience unequal treatment in education, employment and public life. In this climate, those barriers can become even harder to overcome, with real consequences for well-being, aspiration as well as trust in our society’s institutions.

If the current climate of division, inequality and economic insecurity continues, many more young people will be left feeling that society has little to offer them.

ARE is also deeply concerned about the position of vulnerable ethnic minority communities in Northern Ireland, particularly at a time when racist incidents and intimidation have been rising and many people feel increasingly unsafe. We recognise the fear and insecurity that this creates for individuals, families and communities.

We condemn all violence unequivocally. There can be no justification for intimidation, racist abuse, attacks on homes or communities, or any attempt to divide people through hatred and fear.

Our Chief Executive has also commented on the matter.

Read in full: https://actionforraceequality.org.uk/hostile-climate-deepens-harm-to-young-people-and-ethnic-minority-communities-warns-are/are-voices/

03/06/2026

Now ONLNE, tomorrow's Action for Race Equality round table features the latest updates and developments surrounding ethnicity pay gap reporting and discuss what organisations should be doing now to drive meaningful action.RESERVE YOUR SPOT: https://ow.ly/z8CI50Z7aej

03/06/2026

Now ONLNE, tomorrow's Action for Race Equality round table features the latest updates and developments surrounding ethnicity pay gap reporting and discuss what organisations should be doing now to drive meaningful action.RESERVE YOUR SPOT: https://ow.ly/i2n250Z79Ov

Join us for an insightful breakfast round table exploring the progress, challenges and opportunities emerging after the EPG consultation.

29/05/2026

There is a pressing need to separate specific personal identity terms from broad umbrella categories that help identify trends and build solidarity amongst groups facing discrimination.

In our last Racial Terminology Project blog: A Connected Collective, we reflect on the tension between the rich, layered ways people describe themselves and the wider terms used to make injustice visible.

Read as we explore why collective language still matters, how categorisation can serve a purpose, and what it takes to build shared understanding without flattening identity.👇
https://actionforraceequality.org.uk/a-connected-collective/are-voices/

29/05/2026

ARE welcomes Alan Milburn’s interim analysis of the NEET crisis and urges action on systemic racism.

Follow link below to read the full statement from our Chief Executive.

https://ow.ly/z3gP50Z5tcc

27/05/2026

Eid Mubarak!

From Action for Race Equality.