Call to support collective change in Race Equality Week 2026

2025 saw a slowdown and de-prioritisation of race equity and anti-oppression work across many organisations. Negative hyperbole around diversity initiatives in the U.S. coupled with the rise of divisive narratives and the far right in the UK and people being silenced for speaking out against genocide, has been set against a backdrop of funding cuts and squeezed priorities.

Race Equality Week should serve as a reminder that progressing a racial equity agenda is not the responsibility of people of colour – who are often employed to take on this burden but with limited resources and responsibilities, thus perpetuating the cycle of trauma. We want to attract more Black people and people of colour to work in this sector, however that is challenging when anti-oppressive and justice-led principles are not at the core of the social change and sustainability work that many organisations prescribe to.

In our webinar on Culture, Community and Food Futures, we explore the positive contribution that people from the global majority play in the food system. People of colur should not predominantly be those harvesting and serving food on everyone else’s plate, but they should be central to decision-making, advocacy and leadership in this movement. This can only be done by genuinely centring anti-oppressive principles throughout an organisation, campaign or movement.

The 2025 RACE Report shows that whilst there has been a marginalise increase in the percentage of people of colour working in the environment and sustainability sector, there is still considerable worth to be done. Change doesn't happen overnight. 

The leadership gap

Sustain’s racial justice work over the past three years – including training, mentoring and convening  - repeatedly unearthed that leadership across justice, diversity and anti-racism was often the barrier to change. We’ve been proudly working over the past few months with Eating Better to develop a JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) leadership programme, funded by Farming the Future and delivered by Letesia Gibson of New Ways. From late February until early summer, a cohort of leaders from twelve sustainable food and farming organisations will meet regularly to explore how to meaningful centre JEDI principles across their organisations and leadership. This will be the first time leaders have intentionally come together to openly share, discuss and support one another on this journey. The programme includes ‘accountability buddies’ to bring an external lens as an additional dimension of support and reflection. The programme aims to set a renewed tone and vision for these leaders to centre JEDI across their strategy, organisational culture, and leaderships approach. We will be following up with them in the months following the end of the programme to continue momentum and explore any challenges.

We are also conscious that leadership is not just for those with senior roles. We advocate for passionate, well-resourced and well-equipped people across the sector to lead on centring justice, equity and anti-oppression in their work. Often this is where meaningful impact happens. We continue to create spaces – online and in-person – for people to connect, share and learn. Recognising that this work is non-linear but it is relational and it can be slow, which I spoke about at the Food Ethics Council session on what funders and the movement can do together at ORFC 2026. 

Solidarity and collective care

When we take on race equity work, solidarity and collective care can be absent. Particularly as we – as individuals and organisations - adhere to the speed of funding cycles, report writing, and KPI-ticking. But what matters is how we hold the weight of this work whilst moving forward.

This was the inspiration behind us convening a space in January on Holding Ground – an intimate facilitated session as a follow up to the 2025 Gathering Table summit on food and racial justice – to make space to discuss and centre solidarity, collective care, sustainable activism and the role of leadership in this work. The session included embodiment work, collaging, music, and creative expression. Alongside reflection, discussion and action planning. The creative work supporting the practical and providing opportunity to really reflect on how we show up in this work.

So on the theme #ChangeNeedsAllOfUs for Race Equality Week 2026, we add that the change needs all of us to be connected, supported, resourced, and recognised.

To support organisations and individuals to move towards an anti-racist and equity-driven sector, we have complied a series of resources from our work over the past three years in this area.