Supporting the Black Cultural Archives

[kaberett]

The Black Cultural Archives are based in Brixton, and are Britain's only national heritage centre dedicated to African and Caribbean people in Britain. They desperately need more funding.

Things you can do:

• contribute to their crowdfunding campaign for an endowment fund that will enable them to keep operating indefinitely
  
• support the BCA directly: but options include one-off donations, regular support, volunteering, and just straight-up sharing this link
  
• check whether your MP signed the letter. If they did, write to them (https://www.writetothem.com/!) to say thank you; if they didn't, please consider writing to them and telling them that this is important to you.

Courtesy of alexwlchan, transcript of the letter (search for your MP):

Dear Secretary of State

The Black Cultural Archives is the only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain. In this Windrush 70th anniversary year, its importance has never been greater. BCA played a key role in the national Windrush anniversary celebrations, and by contrast, in supporting Windrush citizens affected by the policies of the Home Office.

The BCA opened a stunning new building in the heart of Brixton in 2014, but it is now facing a serious funding crisis. Four years of Heritage Lottery Funding has come to an end, resulting in the loss of two thirds of the BCA's revenue funding. This has left the local Council, Lambeth, as the BCA's major funder at a time when Councils across the country are facing unprecedented pressure on their resources.

Your colleague, Michael Ellis, visited BCA in June this year to see the BCA's collection, facilities and current exhibition and to meet with the Director, Paul Reid and Trustees. At that meeting, the funding crisis was discussed, and it was agreed that officials from the Department would work with the BCA as a matter of urgency to address the funding challenges.

We are very concerend to learn that despite repeated attempts to contact the Department following the meeting, there has been no meaningful follow up with the BCA, which in the meantime has had to undertake a comprehensive internal restructure to respond to the drop in income.

The BCA is a vitally important institution, which must be supported to address the current funding issues and to achieve a sustainable plan for the future. We are therefore writing to ask that, as a matter of urgency you commit short term funding to sustain the BCA and work with the organisation on a sustainable funding plan for the future, including the establishment of an endowment.

This national institution cannot be allowed to fail in the Windrush anniversary year, at a time when its work has never been more important.

We look forward to your earliest response.

(Signatures)

Helen Hayes MP
MP for Dulwich and West Norwood

Chuka Umunna MP
MP for Streatham

Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP
Debbie Abrahams MP
Rushanara Ali MP
Luciana Berger MP
Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods MP
Tracy Brabin MP
Rt Hon Tom Brake MP
Kevein Brennan MP
Chris Bryant MP
Karen Buck MP
Dawn Butler MP
Rt Hon Sir Vincent Cable MP
Ruth Cadbury MP
Ronnie Campbell MP
Bambos Charalambous MP
Rt Hon Ann Clwyd MP
Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP
Neil Coyle MP
Stella Creasy MP
Alex Cunningham MP
Janet Daby MP
Nic Dakin MP
Marsha de Cordova MP
Dr David Drew MP
Jack Dromey MP
Julie Elliott MP
Dame Louise Ellman MP
Chris Elmore MP
Gill Furniss MP
Mike Gapes MP
Ruth George MP
Kate Green MP
Lilian Greenwood MP
John Grogan MP
Emma Hardy MP
Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Sharon Hodgson MP
Kate Hoey MP
Dr Rupa Huq MP
Christine Jardine MP
Dan Jarvis MP
Sarah Jones MP
Preet Kaur Gill MP
Liz Kendall MP
Afzal Khan MP
Stephen Kinnock MP
Peter Kyle MP
Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP
Rt Hon David Lammy MP
Jeremy Lefroy MP
Chris Leslie MP
Clive Lewis MP
Caroline Lucas MP
Seema Malhotra MP
Gordon Marsden MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Chris Matheson MP
Kerry McCarthy MP
Alison McGovern MP
Liz McInnes MP
Madeleine Moon MP
Lisa Nandy MP
Melanie Onn MP
Kate Osamor MP
Fiona Onasanya MP
Matthew Pennycook MP
Jess Phillips MP
Lucy Powell MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Steve Reed MP
Rachel Reeves MP
Ellie Reeves MP
Emma Reynolds MP
Marie Rimmer MP
Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP
Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP
Naz Shah MP
Virendra Sharma MP
Barry Sheerman MP
Tulip Siddiq MP
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP
Andy Slaughter MP
Angela Smith MP
Eleanor Smith MP
Alex Sobel MP
Jo Stevens MP
Wes Streeting MP
Jo Swinson MP
Alison Thewliss MP
Gareth Thomas MP
Nick Thomas-Symonds MP
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP
Anna Turley MP
Liz Twist MP
Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP
Valerie Vaz MP
Charles Walker MP
Tom Watson MP
Catherine West MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Daniel Zeichner MP

Comments

[cesy]

Thanks for the info.

[kaberett]

\o/ thank you for saying!