Birmingham Race Impact Group
How we started, who we are and what we do
What is Anti-Racism?
Anti-Racism is not a slogan or reaction to incidents
Anti-Racism
Anti-racism demands that we face why racism continues to exist, why it shifts shape, and how it embeds itself in the systems that govern our lives. Racism is not accidental prejudice; it is bound up with the histories of slavery, empire, imperialism and colonialism, and continues today as a tool of exploitation and global inequality.
Our Impact
Where Action Means Impact
01
The BRIG Pledge
Leaders across every sector signing the BRIG Pledge are vowing to create a truly anti-racist Birmingham and hold their institutions accountable.
02
Seeking The Pioneers
A National Lottery Heritage Funded project documenting untold stories of Birmingham’s anti-racist activists. We are creating a living archive to empower future generations.
03
Join the Movement
Your support is vital. Volunteer or donate to help us hold institutions accountable and empower future activists in our fight for a more equitable Birmingham.
Seeking The Pioneers
Who Are The Pioneers?
‘The Pioneers’ are the unsung heroes of Birmingham’s anti-racism movement. They are the individuals who led transformative change, whose stories and legacies are at risk of being lost to time.
Many experienced racism directly, and through this project, we are creating a living archive to ensure their struggles and successes are preserved, empowering a new generation to continue the fight for a just and equitable future.
Past to Present
Birmingham's Anti-Racist Narrative Timeline
The anti-racism narrative timeline traces how Birmingham’s histories of migration, labour, and culture intersected with struggles against racism from the late 19th century to the post-war period and beyond. Beginning with the presence of Black and Asian workers in the city’s industries, it charts how communities challenged discrimination, from early trade union activism and colour bar cases to solidarity expressed through cultural events and artistic expression. By situating local experiences within broader currents of decolonisation, civil rights, and global justice movements, the timeline highlights the resilience and creativity of communities who resisted exclusion and helped lay the foundations for Birmingham’s anti-racism traditions.
1910s-1930s
These decades before World War II saw Black, Chinese, and Indian migrants face systemic segregation in Birmingham, spurring early anti-racism efforts against discrimination and fascist figures like Oswald Mosley, with the global significance underscored by Mahatma Gandhi's 1931 visit.
1940s
From Indian workers to Caribbean pioneers, wartime Birmingham exposed tensions of identity, race and belonging in modern Britain, highlighting both solidarity and hostility towards its migrant communities.
1950s
Birmingham in the 1950s underwent a significant social transformation, characterised by the emergence of new migrant communities from the Commonwealth who, while facing prejudice, actively built their own institutions and laid the groundwork for future civil rights struggles.
1960s
In the 1960s, Birmingham became a key battleground for racial equality, as a BBC documentary exposed the pervasive "colour bar" and the community's powerful backlash against Enoch Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech solidified the city's anti-racist movement.
1970s
From equality for black nurses, OSA establishing as the first British South Asian record label, and Steel Pulse's anti-facist tour, the 1970s became a powerhouse of grassroots anti-racist resistance and cultural transformation in Birmingham.
1980s
Fueled by the Handsworth Uprisings and militant youth groups like the Birmingham Black Sisters, the 1980s solidified Birmingham's anti-racist resistance and achieved global cultural milestones with Steel Pulse and the BLK Art Group.
1990s
Driven by the Birmingham Six release, the 1990s achieved lasting civic accountability through the ADAE Campaign and the UFFC, which sought justice following losses like Tasleem Akhtar; while simultaneously celebrating super-diversity and achieving the historic election of Sybil Spence.
2000s
The 2000s in Birmingham saw institutional denial of racism and post-9/11 Islamophobia ignite a wave of grassroots and intersectional resistance, notably the Mikey Powell Campaign and Lady Phyll founding UK Black Pride.
2010s
Facing far-right violence and institutional moral panic, the 2010s in Birmingham fueled a powerful movement for decolonisation and intellectual resistance, culminating in Europe's first Black Studies degree and landmark cultural reckoning.
2020s
The 2020s saw the energy of the Black Lives Matter movement translate into a fight for institutional accountability, marked by landmark convictions, the signing of the BRIG Anti-Racist Pledge for Birmingham and the West Midlands, and persistent resistance to racist violence and imperial legacies.
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates and more.
Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know about our work and movement across Birimngham and the West Midlands. Or if you have questions, feel free to contact us.