Barnwood Trust, funding origins, and racial justice

 

Barnwood Trust is an independent charitable foundation that goes back nearly 230 years. Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, we looked into the origins of the Trust’s funds. British history meant that there were likely to be links with slavery and the slave trade.

 

We have found links between the origins of Barnwood Trust’s funds and the proceeds of slavery.  We have written up our findings here.

 

Trustee statement

Our Board of Trustees have written a statement about our funding origins here. The statement explains what we have found out about our historic links with slavery and what we are doing next.  Below is a summary.

Barnwood Trustees say that our historic links with slavery mean that the Trust received funds from a way of life that has oppressed people of colour for centuries.

We need to think carefully about how we can address racial inequality in the work that we do, how we do this, and the next steps. This is both in the ways that we think and act – as individuals, as an organisation, and as a community. We also need to connect and work with people of colour and communities of colour in Gloucestershire.

The Trustees go on to say: “We take seriously our responsibility to use our resources and position to do what we can to diminish the huge impact of race and racism on mental health and disability.” 

To read the full statement from Barnwood’s Trustees click here

 

Accessible versions

To watch a BSL video of the statement click here

For our Easy Read version of our statement, click here.

 

Becoming anti-racist

Our Chief Executive Officer, Sally Byng has made a statement on anti-racism. To find out what we are doing to become an anti-racist organisation click here

 

Get in touch

We very much want to hear from you. We welcome your thoughts on race, racism, and the experiences of people of colour in Gloucestershire, especially as they relate to mental health challenges and disability.

Get in touch with our Chief Executive Officer, Sally Byng for a conversation. You can contact her on sally.byng@barnwoodtrust.org or by phone 01242 539935

Alternatively, book a time to talk to Sally using Calendly here.