A directory of organisations working with the Black community to fight racism and racial injustice

Created in 2015, AZ Magazine is a platform that allows QTIBPOC to amplify their voices, share their stories and address issues. In the five years since launching, they have established a self-funded, award-winning online community, social space and events company. Visit website.

Black Band Camp is a volunteer-run, crowd-sourced database showcasing and directly supporting Black artists, producers and labels on Bandcamp. You can search by name, genre, and location. Visit website.

The Black Junglist Alliance is a collective, and soon to be charitable foundation, that supports Black and non-Black POC in jungle and drum & bass. Visit website.

The Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) is an advocacy organisation, formed in alliance with the individuals behind #TheShowMustBePaused campaign, that advocates on behalf of Black artists, songwriters, producers, managers, agents, executives, lawyers and other passionate industry professionals, and aims to address racism within the music industry and society at large. In addition, BMAC organises and disseminates key information through its network of 200+ initial members to influence culture on matters of racial justice and equity. Visit website.

Creative Access is a social enterprise working with individuals from underrepresented communities in the creative industries, to help them enter the sector, and then thrive as part of it. The organisation is funded by employer partners, and works with brands including ITV, Hachette, Apple, Tate, Pan Macmillan and the National Theatre. Visit website.

The Equality in Audio Pact is an initiative from London-based audio production company Broccoli Content, who are committed to improving opportunities for minority talent in the industry, both in front of and behind the mic. They have challenged their peers in the audio industry to pledge to five actions in order to drive this change. The steps are outlined in our radio feature that forms part of our August UK print magazine. Visit website.

Multitrack is a fellowship of audio producers that support individuals who want to get professional experience making radio and podcasts. The collective is currently planning for Multitrack 2020, so are looking for companies that could offer paid placements to Multitrack Fellows. Visit website.

Pact Diversity is a trade association representing independent UK television, film, digital, children’s and animation media companies. They work to improve diversity and do this collaboratively with their members and broadcasters to make sure it is a large part of their operating standards. Visit website.

The Young Urban Arts Foundation (YUAF) is a UK programme aiming to empower young people and improve their mental wellbeing through creative pursuits. The YUAF provides workshops in hard-to-reach areas where young people have less opportunities and are at higher risk of being victims of crime or exploitation. Visit website.

Organisations focusing on mental health support for the Black and non-Black POC community

Black Emotional And Mental Health (also known as BEAM) is a US-based collective of advocates committed to the mental health and healing of Black communities. Their vision is a world with no barriers to Black mental healing, and they work towards this through education, training, advocacy, and the creative arts. Visit website.

Based in Lambeth — the council with the highest number of Black people accessing mental health services in the UK — Black Thrive is a partnership of communities and statutory organisations created to initiate the change required to see Black residents thrive in the borough. They also work to reduce the inequality and injustices experienced by Black people in mental health services. Visit website.

National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN) is a US-based organisation committed to reshaping mental health for QTPOC. They work to achieve this through a set of core values listed as: exquisite care, trust, interdependence, courage and humility, accountability, healing, freedom and liberation, and radical imagination. Visit website.

Nilaari is a Black and non-Black POC community-based charity formed over 20 years ago. Based in Bristol, the agency delivers social care support, talking therapies and training to communities across the city. Visit website.

Established in 2018, The Loveland Foundation is a US-based organisation aimed at providing therapy support to Black and non-Black POC communities, with a particular focus on women. Their website shares the message: “we are becoming the ones we’ve been waiting for”. Visit website.

Organisations focusing on justice and equality for the Black and non-Black POC community

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international human rights organisation founded in 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot 17-year-old, unarmed African-American Trayvon Martin. Established within the US, Canada, and the UK, BLM’s primary mission is to eradicate white supremacy, building local powers to intervene when Black communities are affected by violence and prejudice from the state and vigilantes. BLM regularly hold protests highlighting police brutality, racial inequality, and the injustice suffered by the Black community in the US criminal justice system. Visit website.

The Black Visions Collective (BLVC) is an organisation committed to a long-term vision in which Black lives not only matter, but are able to thrive. The BLVC, as a collective dedicated to Black liberation and to collective liberation, focus on building collective power in order to create change. By building movements from the ground up, they work to create conditions that can carry us towards dignity and equity for all, and a deeper place of freedom for all of us. Visit website.

Funds donated to Campaign Zero support the analysis of policing practices across the USA, research to identify effective solutions to end police violence, technical assistance to organisers leading police accountability campaigns, and the development of model legislation and advocacy to end police violence nationwide. Visit website.

The Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) is a Glasgow-based charity that campaigns to eliminate racial discrimination and promote racial justic across Scotland. Visit website.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a US civil rights organisation that has campaigned for political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights and the elimination of race-based discrimination for over 100 years. Visit website.

Reclaim the Block is a volunteer-led community coalition that works to organise Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety. Started in 2018, the organisation works around policies that strengthen community-led safety initiatives, and reduce reliance on police departments, in order to promote healthier, safer, and more diverse communities. Visit website.

Runnymede is an independent, UK-based think-tank focused around racial equality. Through research, debate, public engagement and democratic dialogue, it aims to assist policy makers, and reduce racism and discrimination across society. Visit website.

The Bail Project™ combats mass incarceration through their National Revolving Bail Fund. Their goal is to secure freedom for as many people as possible and fuel momentum for equal justice. Run from a central support office but doing work all over America, The Bail Project™ provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release before trial contingent on paying bail. Visit website.

The George Floyd Memorial Fund was created in the wake of George Floyd’s death, a 46-year-old Black man from Minnesota who was killed by white police officer, Derek Chauvin, on Monday 25th May. Set up by George’s sister Philonise, the fund will go towards funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counselling, lodging and travel for all court proceedings, and to assist the Floyd family as they continue to seek justice. A portion of the funds raised will also go to the Estate of George Floyd, for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund. Visit website.

Founded in 2014, The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a space for Black organisations in America to debate and discuss the current political conditions, develop shared assessments of what political interventions were necessary in order to achieve key policy, cultural and political wins, convene organisational leadership in order to debate, and co-create a shared movement wide strategy. The M4BL believes in achieving more together, with the movement driven by six focus points: policy, organising/basebuilding, electoral justice, the rising majority, culture, and resource. Visit website.

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust was set up in memory of Stephen Lawrence, a Black teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in Southeast London in 1993. The UK-based trust works with people from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 13-30, to help them gain the skills and knowledge to progress in the career of their choice, and create a fairer society. Visit website.

Launched in 2010, StopWatch campaigns against the disproportionate use of stop and search by police, and lack of robust accountability mechanisms, utilising political advocacy, media coverage, litigation and community organising. Their goals involve raising awareness around stop and search, and achieving effective, accountable and fair policing in the UK. Visit website.

Annuity is a free financial web resource accredited by the Better Business Bureau. In a recently published article on its website, it provided some valuable info and resources for financial literacy in the Black community. It examines the socioeconomic and cultural barriers that have historically blocked Black people from accessing adequate financial literacy, and outlines the role of Black financial advisors in changing this. Learn more here.