Posted on: 18 November 2021
Dear colleague,
Thank you for being part of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership’s Anti-Racism Movement. Over the last few days, we have been reminded of the very clear need for movements like ours. Many of you will have seen the powerful testimony by Azeem Rafiq in Parliament on Tuesday 16 November and the high-profile media coverage around racism in sport and wider society.
We would like to thank Azeem for his courage and his determination in speaking up.
Not everyone in every organisation has the opportunity to be heard. One of the benefits of a movement like ours is that we can help to address issues of racism in our actions and in terms of the support that we offer to others. Critically, we can create the safe spaces for people to speak up.
We’d like to ask that you all consider what else can be done in each of your organisations in the coming days and weeks. This might include promoting the free resources and racial equality training that we’ve made available on the Partnership’s website so that more people can access these at a time when there is much greater interest in the issue.
We would also like you to consider how your personal actions can support our anti-racism movement. As potential role models of people in our organisations, our actions can have a significant impact particularly at this time.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or Karen Coleman [karen.colemn21@nhs.net]. In the meantime, thank you for being part of this important movement.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Webster CBE
CEO, West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership
Cllr Tim Swift MBE
Chair of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership Board and Leader of Calderdale Council
Jackie Marsh
Chief Superintendent – Director of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit
Fatima Khan-Shah
West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership Programme Director and Convener for the Partnership’s Race Equality Network