Black Lives Matter UK to give 600,000 in funding to campaign groups – The Guardian

Black Lives Matter UK has announced it is giving 600,000 in funding to grassroots groups across the country, including those that organised last summers anti-racism protests.

The campaign group received 1.2m in donations via a GoFundMe appeal, following widespread protests last summer.

BLMUK is awarding the funds in two phases. The first round has seen just over 169,500 given in small grants to 14 organisations that work to improve Black peoples lives in a racist society and that the campaign group has worked with over the last five years.

The largest recipient of the first round of funding is the United Friends and Families Campaign, which has received 45,000 to set up a peoples tribunal for deaths in custody. Other organisations include the groups behind last summers protest, All Black Lives, Justice for Black Lives, and A Tribe Named Athari.

BLMUK has also given funding to the Northern Police Monitoring Project;Sistah Space, Londons only specialist domestic violence service for women of African and Caribbean heritage; African Rainbow Family, a charity supporting Black and minority ethnic (BME) LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers; Acts of Love, an African-Caribbean community centre; AZ Magazine, an arts and culture initiative for LGBTQI people of colour; and BME Cancer Communities, a charity that protects the health of BAME and low-income communities affected by cancer, long-term health conditions and Covid-19.

The group has also given money to two international groups: Abahlali, a Black South African shack dwellers movement campaigning against evictions and for public housing; and Sindicato de Manteros de Madrid, a Spanish labour union of people primarily from Black and migrant communities.

Each organisation has either Black or multi-ethnic leadership, BLMUK said.

The second round of funding will take place later this year, where groups will be invited to apply for the remaining funds ringfenced for other organisations.

BLMUK said it will put the remaining 600,000 towards building an anti-racist organisation that can scale up its existing community organising, educational work and direct actions.

Kingsley, an organiser at BLMUK said: We were inspired by the tens of thousands who supported the 2020 protests against racism and wish to send out a massive thank you to every single person that donated to us. These funds are another step in helping to sustain our movements for the future.

Lemara Francis, an organiser at BLMUK, said: State racism is widening inequality, making support for Black workers, youth, the undocumented, women, LGBTQI people and those struggling during the pandemic more urgent than ever. Were excited to be contributing to projects that will aid the vital work being done in these areas and more.

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Black Lives Matter UK to give 600,000 in funding to campaign groups - The Guardian