LGBTQ+ Staff Forum statement on #Black Lives Matter and in support of VCG commitment
The Oxford Brookes LGBTQ+ Staff Forum welcomes the important statements from the senior leadership of the University since the killing of George Floyd of unequivocal support for Black Lives Matter.
As a self-organised network for LGBTQ+ staff and their allies within Oxford Brookes we recognise and support the urgent and compelling need for change.
We give our full backing to the commitment expressed by the Vice-Chancellor’s Group to change in institutional culture and practice, and to listening, learning and tackling racism and racialised inequality head on.
We further recognise the impacts of intersectional issues of identity and experience within BAME and LGBTQ+ communities, and the ongoing realities of racism and white privilege within LGBTQ+ activism.
As individuals working together on LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion and in collaboration with colleagues in our BAME Staff Network, we therefore pledge our own commitment to stand up with black communities, the Black Lives Matter movement and to further Antiracism, personally and collectively.
We will further strengthen and evolve an interconnected approach to these shared goals, which addresses the multilayered experience of BAME LGBTQ+ communities and individuals.
We will take active steps to ensure that our work is informed by antiracist practice and undertake self-education to demonstrate meaningful solidarity in our own actions and spheres of influence.
We will seek to support all colleagues and leaders within our University in their commitments to race equality and to making Oxford Brookes the fully inclusive community we aspire to be.