We iwocans believe that Black Lives Matter. We are disgusted by the murder of George Floyd and countless others in the US. But we also know that systemic racism is just as prevalent in our country. In 2017, the Lammy review (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lammy-review-final-report) reported that while black people make up 3% of the overall population in England and Wales, they currently make up 12% of the prison population - higher than the corresponding figure in the US. We've recently found out that black people are four times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/coronavirusrelateddeathsbyethnicgroupenglandandwales/2march2020to10april2020). It's clear there is a huge amount of work to do to rectify this issue within the UK.

We're raising money for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust - named for Stephen Lawrence, a Black British teenager murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1998, and whose murderers were only found guilty in 2012. An independent review in 2014 concluded that the original police investigation had been affected by institutional racism (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stephen-lawrence-independent-review).

To do so, we will organise a cycle to Brighton (with all iwocans welcome to participate) once lockdown restrictions have ceased. iwoca will match all donations given by iwocans.

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The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust was founded to tackle inequality in all forms. We're dedicated to transforming the life chances of young people and improving the world in which they live. We support young people from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice. We support community groups to develop new skills and play an active role in building stronger communities. And we help organisations to create a more inclusive culture in order to achieve lasting social impact.