Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG), a UK-based equality charity established in 1991 and a leading voice for reform across Education, Employment and Criminal justice, has today (14th February 2022) relaunched as Action for Race Equality (ARE) and with it revealed a brand-new website under its new guise.
The launch follows on from a series of consultations held with Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups and young people from across the country. It responds to urgent calls from the voluntary and community sector for a solutions-based approach to addressing the UK’s deepening and systemic racial disparities. This is a call that has become all the more pressing since the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The rebrand also comes as the organisation marks its 30th anniversary which it celebrated on in November 2021 at the Camden Arts Centre, where the new name was first revealed to the charity’s supporters. The event featured reflections by special guests including acclaimed author of Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge and performance poet, Shareefa Energy.
Jeremy Crook OBE, CEO of Action for Race Equality said: “In 1991 when BTEG was set up by a network of local black and Asian led organisations and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations there was more consensus to identify with the term ‘Black’ as an inclusive label. This has changed. We support young people from black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds and there is much debate about appropriate ethnicity terms. We can only make a difference by working collaboratively with individuals and organisations from all ethnicities and sectors. But we want to keep the focus on action to tackle systemic and institutional racism.“
Action for Race Equality’s aim for the new website is to ensure visitors get the best browsing experience possible, and that it can meet the needs of today’s users by making content more accessible, more searchable and easier to utilise the breadth and depth of ARE’s research, policy work and long-standing programmes.
On the back of the feedback we received from community consultations, we took a step back and began thinking: ‘What are we about? What do we want to be known for?’. One of the things that we have always been known for, is the fact that we are action-orientated, and solution-focussed. We are a ‘do-tank’ not a ‘think-tank’. So the new name just made sense – we are now evolving with the communities and people that we are working with.”
Tebussum Rashid, Deputy CEO, Action for Race Equality
It will also collate, for the first time ever, a comprehensive provision of ARE’s specialist diversity, equality and inclusion training and consultancy services which harness three decades of insights and expertise in the field by Black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders.
The team at Action for Race Equality is proud to be taking this step into the new decade to strengthen and futureproof its already deep and solid roots.