A STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR OF BADA AND THE PRESIDENT OF AFBADA

The wave of Black Lives Matter protests across the USA and the UK following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police has once again put institutional racism in the spotlight. We, the BADA Board, publicly affirm our commitment to anti-racism and to equality for all our staff, faculty, students and alumni. Black Lives Matter. Racism and bigotry have no place in our society. We need to work together to dismantle the structures of racism.

We recognise the hurt caused by historic injustices and we acknowledge that, as an institution, despite our best intentions, we still have work to do to effect the structural and systemic changes needed to be truly inclusive and reflective of the society in which we live. We pledge to use this moment in history as an opportunity to implement fundamental change in our organisation and embrace diversity across all markers to challenge inequality – be it by race, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, age or class – and to do so in a manner that is both transparent and fully accountable.

This will take time and courage; deep-rooted change cannot happen overnight but this is the first step in that journey. We will listen to our community, examine our structures and systems, and take practical and targeted actions to address racism and all forms of inequality.

Specifically, and immediately, the Board commits to:

• Introduce mandatory diversity training, including unconscious bias training, for the Board, staff and faculty;
• Review our offer: what we teach, how we teach, who we teach;
• Develop an independent and transparent process for addressing grievances;
• Nurture a safe space for all students to be themselves in an open and supportive environment;
• Create an open space for ongoing discussion to ensure inclusion remains at the heart of all we do;
• Give the time and resources required to effect the necessary change.

This is just the beginning. As we progress on this journey, the Board will provide regular reports on progress towards our stated commitments and updates on new initiatives we develop to achieve this important and overdue change.