The GARA (Goldsmiths Anti-Racist Action) Black Annual Fund is a fund of £20,000 won by the GARA occupation. The fund is for the benefit of Black students and community members who will be able to use the fund to put on events or projects.
About GARA
GARA, a Black and PoC led student protest group, began organising in March 2019 in response to racist attacks on a candidate in our SU elections. This proved a lightning rod for students to share experiences of racism on campus, and on the 12th March, GARA began an occupation of Deptford Town Hall in protest over the failure of senior management to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to tackling institutional racism on campus. The occupation, which lasted four-and-a-half months, was something we at Goldsmiths SU, backed.
During the occupation, Deptford Town Hall was a hub not just for activism but for the local community. Crucially, GARA strived to cultivate a community beyond the institution that included the local community, so they held many events that were open to the public as well as to students. It was also a place where students united. Those protesting created an amazing space - there were study rooms, quiet rooms, prayer and wellbeing rooms, and free food and drink.
After a mighty 137 days of occupation, the Warden and SMT agreed to the demands made by GARA. They signed a statement of commitment, which you can read in full, promising to work towards these demands to the best of their ability.
One of the demands made by GARA was for an annual fund of £20,000 to be created by the university for Black history events. The GARA Black Annual Fund is the fulfilment of this demand!
The panel is comprised of an all-Black group of members representing various positions in the Goldsmiths community, including at least one sabbatical officer, one member of staff and one student leader.