The Glad Colston’s Gone campaign ran a crowdfund to raise funds to support the 4 people who were facing criminal damage charges for toppling the Colston statue in June 2020.

Since they were found not guilty the funds were no longer needed and the decision was taken to hand it over to Redistro to distribute to local Black and Brown-led groups.

The funds came to £13,518 and PRSC/Stokes Croft China, who made the Colston 4 supporters’ mug, also contributed, bringing the total to £14,851. 

We received 30 applications for this round and it was incredible to see the range of groups active here in Bristol, often working hard behind the scenes and with little support.

We asked Black and Brown people from our previously funded groups to form a panel to shortlist the applications.

Six people came forward for this job and shortlisted 15 groups who were all invited to spend a day together on 28 May 2022 and all received £1,000 funding.

Shortlisted groups:

A Space to Breathe – a collective of Black and brown women and non-binary people living in Bristol that aim to collectively create healing and wellness spaces within the city.

AFIDANCE – a group collaborating with schools, especially those within socially deprived areas, to bring awareness and understanding of diverse cultural arts.

Bristol Copwatch – a fiercely independent grassroots police monitoring project and community group, offering ongoing support from volunteer case workers for those who have been on the sharp end of police contact. 

Bristol Steppin Sistas – a walking and wellbeing group run by women of colour established to encourage an interest in walking and thriving in open spaces.

DET Entertainment– a majority female Black-led community group who aim to improve community cohesion and safer and fairer society access in deprived areas of Bristol through community events.

DMAC UK – a dance, music, storytelling and arts collective. DMAC is a thriving multi-cultural hub for grassroots practitioners set up in Bristol by dance, drum, yoga and martial arts teachers.

Healing Black Radicals – collective of healers and activists who have come together to create radical healing spaces for Black cis and trans women, and non-binary people who are comfortable in a space that centres the experience of women.

Hidayah LGBT Muslim Network and OUTSpace LGBTQ Centre – Hidayah and OUTSpace are working together to create what is possibly the first LGBTQ-designated prayer space in the UK. Hidayah supports and serves queer Muslims in the UK and across the world. Outspace is Bristol’s new LGBTQ centre project. 

Let’s Talk Parent and Carers Group – a group for parents and carers working to support and empower themselves to tackle the real concern of the young black men to school to prison pipe line and youth violence etc.

Organisation for Sickle Cell Anaemia Research (OSCAR) – group helping to improve the quality of life of sufferers of sickle cell anaemia and their families (who are mostly black and minority ethnic groups) by providing practical, financial, and emotional support.

Pride of Ruth & Mount Horeb – two Black-led fraternal organisations bringing Black Elders together for social events: coach trips, banquets, BBQs etc., providing support, information, mentoring & befriending. 

Reparation Book Club – group which aims to readdress the narrative of Afrikan history starting from the position of the transatlantic and trafficking of enslaved Afrikan by reading and discussing literature on ancient Afrikan History.

Sadaga Group – community group for Arabic speaking women aiming to reduce social isolation and to support women from Black and minoritised communities in Bristol.

Sekhmet Education – group providing Black and Afrikan history courses that are specifically designed to promote positive mental health, wellbeing and psychological liberation for Afrikan Heritage people of all ages.

Sunflower Collective – an organisation prioritising access and engagement with members of the Black African and Caribbean communities in Bristol. Currently providing a free holiday club for children in response to the lack of culturally appropriate, accessible and enriching childcare for community.

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We decided to top up the pot to £15,000 so each group could receive £1,000 each, as they’d requested. We’re happy to say that all but one grant has now been paid out.

We used our general funds to pay the short-listers and facilitators and to cover the costs of venue hire and catering. These additional costs came to around £1,200. Thank you to our supporters for enabling us to cover these costs. 

We’ll be sharing more information about this important racial justice round soon!