Our Work
The 1990 Trust is a leading Human Rights and Race Equality organisation. Established as a charity more than 20 years ago, the Trust has been actively involved in promoting a range of race equality issues affecting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
The Trust is focused on three main areas:
- Research and Policy development – from a global community perspective.
- Community Leadership – developing civic and social inclusion programmes.
- Information and Consultation – enabling community voices in race equality policy and initiatives.
Recent work by the Trust includes creating the Black Manifesto for government, in collaboration with over 30 organisations. It has also been closely monitoring and informing BAME organisations and communities on the progress of the Equality Act.
The Trust has also continued its commitment to incubating and launching key services that fill identified social policy or service delivery gaps, by establishing the Roots Research Centre, which specialises in conducting social action research.
History
The 1990 Trust emerged following the turbulent decades of the 70s and 80s in the UK, as communities fought for hard won civil and political rights to be realised and many institutions grappled with changing the status quo. The 1990 Trust first began as the National Black Caucus (NBC) in the 1980s, working with the Society of Black Lawyers, the Association of Black Probation Officers and the Association of Black Social Workers and Allied Professionals, to create one of the most dynamic African, Caribbean and Asian networks across the UK, much of which remains in place today.
The Launch of OBV
The 1990 Trust established the Bandung Parliamentary Institute, to act as a conduit for Black organisations and communities seeking to respond to government consultations or influence Government policy. In 1995, this was replaced by Operation Black Vote, established in partnership with Charter 88. The flagship Operation Black Vote (OBV) is now one of the most prominent and forward thinking Black lead organisations in the UK.
Research Partnerships
In 2000, the Trust formed a research partnership with four centres at De Montfort University to focus on equality research in the fields of criminal justice, health, housing, community and education. The partnership name was REDRAPP - standing for Race and Ethnic Diversity Research and Policy Partnership. The 1990 Trust were also partners in EIBS - The European Institute for Black Studies - with universities in the Netherlands, France, and Germany.
Research
In 2009, the 1990 Trust was one of 27 organisations to receive funding from the Communities and Local Government's Tackling Race Inequalities Fund (TRIF). The funding was used to set up the Roots Research Centre – the research arm of the Trust, specialising in social action research.