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Historic Environment Scotland has issued a response to Black Lives Matter oin the form of a message from its Chief Executive (CE), Alex Paterson.<\/h3>\nHistoric Environment Scotland has issued a response to Black Lives Matter oin the form of a message from its Chief Executive (CE), Alex Paterson.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
HES Chief Executive, Alex Paterson, writes:<\/p>\n
Recent events have once again confronted us with the reality of racism and sparked renewed urgency to the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice across the world. At Historic Environment Scotland (HES) we have been using this time to listen to our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and reflect on our responsibilities as Scotland\u2019s lead heritage body.<\/p>\n
When we launched our new Corporate Plan last year, it wasn\u2019t by chance that we titled it\u00a0Heritage for All<\/em><\/a>. It expressed a guiding principle for our organisation to follow \u2013 that Scotland\u2019s heritage should be shared by all without any form of discrimination or inequality and with fairness at the heart of everything we do. We want to widen access to the historic environment, and ensure that those voices that are all too often missing in conversations about history and heritage are heard.<\/p>\n We\u2019re committed to continuing our outreach and engagement work with a range of different groups from Scotland\u2019s BAME community, including\u00a0BEMIS<\/a>,\u00a0CEMVO Scotland<\/a>\u00a0and the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER<\/a>), and are pleased to be partnering with The University of Edinburgh and CRER on a 2-year project to explore the legacies of Empire and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Scotland\u2019s historic built environment.<\/p>\n As an organisation, we want to make sure Scotland\u2019s heritage is cherished, understood, shared and enjoyed with pride by everyone. We\u2019re looking at what more we can do and how we can adapt our work to make this a reality. We welcome views on this.<\/p>\n The global Black Lives Matter movement has given all of us cause to reflect and consider the role we have to play in tackling racism. We will soon begin consulting on the outcomes for our next Equalities plan, giving us the opportunity to listen, learn and engage with Scotland\u2019s communities at this pivotal time.<\/p>\n Our historic environment is the story of Scotland. It tells us about our past, but it also points the way to our future. We are committed to ensuring that how we tell this story represents all of Scotland\u2019s people.<\/p>\n