What is EmbRACE?

EmbRACE is about race, for racial equity, by everyone. Here and now.

We’re a grassroots community, in a healthcare system in the North West of England, on a journey towards anti-racism.

We aspire to curate a newsletter every couple of months which shares our own anti-racism journey, and hopefully gives you some inspiration and support for your own.

Join the community

Come along with us and take steps on your own journey to anti-racism. Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and website. Never miss an update.

Vision

The healthcare system should be a safe and welcoming space where people from all racial backgrounds feel a genuine sense of belonging. The lived experience of people of colour tells us that this aspiration does not yet reflect our reality.

Racism causes harm to colleagues, patients, and relatives in the working environment on a daily basis. Achieving racial equity is an urgent priority and a moral imperative; it requires no further justification.

As a community of peers, from all backgrounds:

• We commit to oppose racism in all its forms.

• We commit to support each other in our development to become actively anti-racist.

• We commit to remodel policies and practices that perpetuate racist outcomes such that they promote racial justice instead. Where we lack the power to do so ourselves, we will support others to make these changes. 

• We commit to hold ourselves, and each other, accountable for improving the lived experience of people of colour in our working environment.

• We commit to compassionately continuing this work even though it may be uncomfortable and confronting. The welfare of our colleagues, patients, and carers demands it.

Together, we are our culture, we are the change we want to see.

Values and approach

• We will focus on identifying, sharing, and practising positive steps towards active anti-racism.

• We will share our individual truth from our own perspective in non-violent terms1.

• We will make invitations and offers.

• We will come from a place of compassion, curiosity, and non-judgment.

• We will be intentional about, where possible, providing a platform for creators and companies that align with our values, celebrate diverse communities, and embody anti-racism.

• We will not share information that identifies our patients, colleagues, or employers without their prior written permission.

• We will not advance an overt party-political agenda. Racism cuts across political divides.

Words matter

We build our social reality with words. The words we use have a direct effect on our, and other people’s, lived experience. Words matter, so we endeavour to use them intentionally.

The impact words have depend on who uses them, who receives them, and the context in which they are communicated. The accepted meaning of words change over time as they acquire new associations. Words are alive, somewhat unpredictable, and out of date as soon as they are written.

We ask for your forbearance as we try to find the most suitable words to share our stories.

The NHS Race and Health Observatory has undertaken a consultation on the use of collective terminology, such as “BAME”, which can be accessed here.

More about EmbRACE

We have written a blog post for the Royal College of Emergency Medicine about our experiences of setting up an anti-racism campaign. You can read it here.

Some words of caution…

Racism is a subject with a long history of harm. We commit to oppose racism in all its forms, and to support each other in our development to become actively anti-racist.

We believe that sharing our individual and collective journeys towards anti-racism is a positive step for society. That’s why we created the EmbRACE newsletter.

We recognise the complexities of talking about racism and make every effort to communicate about it sensitively. We never intend to cause offence or harm.

We also recognise that discussing experiences of racism, or witnessing other people’s journeys towards anti-racism, can be triggering or re-traumatising. We invite you to exercise self-care when choosing how, when, or whether, to engage with our work.

Finally, we recognise that the impact our communication has on you may be different from our intention. If you have the energy, please feel free to share how our communication lands with you. Feedback is a gift, and will help us to take the next steps on our journey.

EmbRACE endeavours to platform creators and companies that align with our values. However, we are not responsible for the third-party content that we link to. Please access it at your own discretion.

Email us tips, suggestions, or comments EmbRACE.Manchester@gmail.com

Follow EmbRACE on Instagram @EmbRACEmanchester

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