Yeovil Diversity Project strongly condemns the recent rise of racist rhetoric, hatred and violence. As a local charity that exists to promote equality and diversity in our town, we are very lucky to have amazing and cherished links with various ethnically diverse community groups that call Yeovil home. They have every right to feel safe and supported, and are by the majority of people who live here – but the hateful few are loud. With our actions and not just our words, we must be louder.
We are in the process of setting up a new branch of YDP – Yeovil Defies Prejudice. While we are helping behind the scenes to respond to the need for immediate and urgent action, we are also declaring our commitment to long term and ongoing measures.
A new social group for local antiracists will be added to our regular monthly schedule, which will enable us all to stay connected and keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in our town. With this established, we can support peaceful and inclusively-minded people to react and mobilise more quickly as things arise in the future, and continue to work together to cultivate an antiracist sentiment in the town we serve. We will also be working to counter misinformation with work on social media posting and engagement. This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a start – and we won’t stop.
Yeovil is a beautifully diverse town, home to residents with heritage from right across the globe, and we will not stay silent while people attempt to bring this divisive and detrimental sentiment to our door. Hatred is not welcome here. Yeovil will not stand for this; Yeovil Defies Prejudice.
