Birmingham Race Impact Group

Charity 1203456

wearebrig.co.uk

Overview

Summary

Sources:Civic AtlasAI-assisted

Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG) appears to operate less as a direct-service charity than as a civic change organisation: connecting activists, academics and institutional leaders to make anti-racism a sustained regional responsibility. Its stated approach combines public accountability, historical memory, research and intergenerational organising. The available evidence suggests that BRIG’s distinctive role may be to turn broad commitments to racial equity into a shared agenda across Birmingham and the West Midlands, though its practical mechanisms and measurable effects remain unclear.

See observations

Operational geography

Sources:ONSCivic AtlasAI-assisted

Coverage: Citywide

Operational areas:

Evidence and reasoning
Supporting evidence
Bordesley and Highgate

Confidence: high

Direct evidence identifies BRIG Café at The Warehouse as an active BRIG venue with regular opening hours and events advertised in July 2026. Birmingham City Council records identify the affected ward as Bordesley and Highgate.

  • BRIG Café at The Warehouse, We Are BRIG official website
    BRIG describes the café as a community hub and events venue, open Tuesday to Friday, and advertises events at the venue during July 2026.
  • Birmingham City Council licensing report: Warehouse Café Bar
    The Council identifies Warehouse Café Bar in Digbeth and states that the affected ward is Bordesley and Highgate.
Remaining uncertainties
  • The evidence strongly supports one active physical base in Bordesley and Highgate, but does not identify regular BRIG-operated sites or recurring delivery venues in other Birmingham wards.
  • BRIG's citywide role is supported directly by its city-focused campaigns, summits and collaboration in the citywide Unite The People movement; interpreting this as a citywide operational identity is reasonable, but the available material does not quantify activity or participation across individual wards.
  • BRIG also works with West Midlands institutions and frames some activity around Birmingham and the West Midlands. The available evidence does not clearly establish sustained direct delivery outside Birmingham, so a regional coverage classification is not sufficiently evidenced.
Additional evidence needed
  • A current 2025/26 annual or impact report listing projects, delivery venues, event locations and participant geography.
  • Current project pages or partner documentation identifying which Birmingham neighbourhoods or wards host BRIG-led activity.
  • Confirmation of whether BRIG operates, leases or manages any physical sites other than BRIG Café at The Warehouse.

Areas of work

Source:Charity Commission
  • Arts/culture/heritage/science
  • Economic/community Development/employment
  • Education/training
  • General Charitable Purposes
  • Human Rights/religious Or Racial Harmony/equality Or Diversity

Who they help

Source:Charity Commission
  • Children/young People
  • People Of A Particular Ethnic Or Racial Origin
  • The General Public/mankind

How they help

Source:Charity Commission
  • Acts As An Umbrella Or Resource Body
  • Provides Advocacy/advice/information
  • Provides Services
  • Sponsors Or Undertakes Research

Discoveries involving this organisation

The Atlas has not published any Discoveries involving this organisation yet.

Observations

Sources:Civic AtlasAI-assisted
  • A convenor for institutional anti-racism

    BRIG appears to position itself as a cross-sector convenor that seeks to make race equality a collective civic commitment, rather than the responsibility of specialist equality bodies alone.

    Why it matters

    This suggests BRIG may influence the wider local system by creating shared expectations and relationships between sectors that do not routinely act together.

    Show evidence
    • Leaders from city, regional, civic, public, education, private, faith, cultural, community and voluntary sectors came together at its summit.

      Source:Organisation
    • Leaders signed a pledge to build an anti-racist city and region.

      Source:Organisation
    • The charity acts as an umbrella or resource body.

      Source:Charity Commission
  • Accountability and movement-building are paired

    BRIG appears to combine pressure on institutions with investment in future activists, suggesting a strategy to pursue both immediate accountability and longer-term cultural change.

    Why it matters

    This dual approach may make BRIG distinct from organisations focused only on advocacy or only on youth development: it links present power structures to the people expected to challenge and reshape them.

    Show evidence
    • Its work includes holding institutions to account for race equality.

      Source:Organisation
    • Its work includes passing the baton to next and future generations.

      Source:Organisation
    • It aims to resource the next generation of activists.

      Source:Organisation
  • Historical memory is treated as civic infrastructure

    BRIG appears to see documenting Black, Asian and Global Majority campaigning history as part of changing the present, not simply as heritage activity.

    Why it matters

    This may create a valuable bridge between cultural institutions, researchers and campaigners, while challenging the assumption that anti-racist progress begins with recent events.

    Show evidence
    • BRIG aims to document the successes of Black, Asian and Global Majority campaigners in Birmingham over the last 80 years.

      Source:Organisation
    • BRIG seeks to rethink how national and local histories are viewed.

      Source:Organisation
    • The charity's objects include conducting or commissioning research on equality and diversity issues and publishing the results.

      Source:Charity Commission

    Remaining uncertainties

  • It is unclear whether the anti-racist pledge has monitoring, targets or consequences for signatories.
  • There is no evidence of BRIG's staffing, governance, funding model, partnerships or direct reach among communities.
  • The available material does not show which institutions BRIG has influenced or what changes have resulted.

    Additional evidence needed

  • The text of the pledge, named signatories and any reporting or accountability framework.
  • Annual reports, project evaluations and examples of institutional or community outcomes.
  • Information on BRIG's governance, membership, funding and relationships with grassroots groups.
Charity Commission profile
Source:Charity Commission

Activities

BRIG is a race equality and equity anti racist campaigning charity based in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Our work seeks to create Anti-Racist Places, Keep Race of the Agenda, Pass the Baton onto the next and future generations and hold institutions to account for race equality and improving relations with regard to racial harmony between and within communities.

Charity objects

THE PROMOTION OF RACIAL HARMONY FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN BIRMINGHAM AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS BY: (A) PROMOTING KNOWLEDGE AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN DIFFERENT RACIAL GROUPS; (B) ADVANCING EDUCATION AND RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT DIFFERENT RACIAL GROUPS TO PROMOTE GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN PERSONS OF DIFFERENT RACIAL GROUPS; (C) WORKING TOWARDS THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION ON THE GROUNDS OF RACE; (D) CONDUCTING OR COMMISSIONING RESEARCH ON EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY ISSUES AND PUBLISHING THE RESULTS TO THE PUBLIC.