Empowering Communities of Colour across gm
& the north west
We are the 'People of Colour' mission led ‘One Stop Shop’ in Greater Manchester and the NW that can engage with Global Majority communities and support them in a unique manner due to our extensive reach and diverse membership. We aim to be a true voice for those communities and a supporting crutch to better their resilience against the backdrop of systemic and institutional racism within the societal and political structures that surround us.
Our Story
BASE X has formed to directly and actively tackle, in partnership with other like minded bodies, the spectre of institutional racism that we believe is at the root cause of the many inequalities that Communities of Colour face in Britain today.
BASE X is an infrastructure platform that collaborates with most of the Global Majority networks and communities that exist in Greater Manchester and the northwest region.
Why the X?
Well, its in honour of the great Civil rights activist: 'Malcolm X'
Our BASE X registration was also done on May 19th and that also coincides with the birth of Malcolm X that is widely celebrated around the world.
BASE X recognises the huge gap that exists between the take up of Social Investment from Communities of Colour in comparison to the rest of the population and has worked hard to to develop the beginnings of that road to change.
This year, we have also decided to focus on 'Barriers to Employment' faced by young people from certain Communities of Colour. This disparity in employment figures is not only, just down to lack of skills or aspirations from our communities. Its also, down to clear systemic racism that is hampering and keeping out young professionally educated successful young people from professions that they actually graduated for..
BASE X is involved in co-designing some pioneering culturally sensitive/acceptable employment hubs and employment grapevines with our partners that are grassroots led.
We have also honed in on places where communities of colour live without a 'voice' in their town or city and are disunited amongst themselves to unify them and create new neighbourhood partnership platforms led by communities of colour within the area in which they live. This has proved an effective and winning formula as it not only gives them a voice and attracts funding but also gives them political power in deciding what happens in their areas and where designated public funding is spent.
Our philosophy is very much 'Collaboration instead of Competition'.
BASE X split from BASE INC (that was led by GMCVO) a few years ago, and this was due to fundamental differences and opinions on how we should work with communities of colour in a fashion that ensured non exploitation of those vulnerable communities, which in the end were untenable.
BASE X led by organisations/networks of colour and the Lead Officer, have now evolved into something much more of a platform for people of colour networks and has become an infrastructure organisation itself.
Our unique cultural knowledge and ability to successfully engage with Global Majority 'BAME' groups and our professionalism to research these communities are our core competencies
BASE X – Board of Directors
Shamime Jan
Chair
Shamime is the Founder Director of Bollyfit Active CIC. Shamime has 27 years of experience of working with the Pakistani Community through her community work.
Imtiaz Patel
Health & Wellbeing
Imtiaz has a background in the NHS and Community Activism for many years.
He is an advocate for Urdu and Persian literature/Poetry.
Mohammed T Akhtar
Company Secretary
Mohammed T Akhtar, LLB LLM MCIARB an international dispute resolution solicitor. Mohamed has been devoting his time for pro bono legal work to better the BAME community.
Helen Pyne
Education Consultant
Helen has worked all her life in community education partnerships with local colleges and Communities of Colour. Although, retired now, Helen still actively involved in community education projects.
Hanif Alli
Senior Consultant
Hanif has worked in the Youth & Community Development Sector for the last 30 years. Has vast experience in developing community projects, new networks and campaigning.
Mary Tasowa Moyo
Creative Arts & Vice Chair
Mary is from Malawi and a Director of Women Arise CIC.
Mary is multi talented and is known for her role in campaigning for Black Women's Rights and has a hand in the creative arts industries as well.
Adebukola Adepoju-Ojo
Treasurer
Adebukola worked with the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office and has experience in procurement. Ade, has qualifications in accounting and developing financial systems.
Isabella Bedi
Head of Marketing
Isabella is a young, vivacious, creative media and design architect.
She is our latest recruit and BASE X is
extremely excited to have her on the team as her work speaks for itself and it is a privilege to work with her.
Our Board Members
Our Board Members are seasoned, committed activists to racial justice and have each had their own journey.
They know first hand and through other third parties, what it is to face 'Systemic Racism' and what a thriving cancer it is in todays society!
BASE X Board members are vehemently against the common practice of non People of Colour led infrastructure organisations within the Public and VCSE Sectors purposefully creating 'BAME Cash Cows' in the name of People of Colour, purely with the sole intention of milking funds out of government agencies and national funders in order to exploit Communities of Colour further.
BASE X does not believe that research carried out by PoC led organisations should then only, be solely owned by
the 'non BAME led infrastructure organisations' who secured the funding by naming BAME research partners like BASE X to make their bids successful.
The research conducted should be made available to the People of Colour organisations that carried it out and they should be credited within the research document too.
The Board are elected by the wider membership of BASE X.
There is a Chief Officer that carries out the ‘day to day’ operations of the organisation who line manages Sessional Officers and then reports back to the Management Board.
