At Oxford, we, like you, were moved by the events of the summer of 2020, when the murder of George Floyd brought issues of diversity and inclusion to the fore.
From our shock surrounding the events and resulting violence grew a desire to do something more to help foster healing and provide education around issues affecting people of color and other minorities and marginalized groups. Our informal conversations in the immediate wake of the events in Minneapolis quickly grew into a more concerted and lasting effort.
We created this effort, called Brixton Borough, both to ensure that the lessons of past misdeeds against people of color would not be forgotten and to give our team an outlet to share personal experiences in a collaborative way, so we could take a hands-on approach to diversity and inclusion of all people.
We settled quickly on the name Brixton Borough – a tribute to the lively multicultural community located in the Lambeth borough of south London, likened to New York’s Harlem neighborhood. The south London Brixton Borough experienced struggles similar to many of America’s inner-city neighborhoods – a marginalized populace riddled with degradation. Through a focused effort, it is now considered a jewel of resilience, even recognized by Nelson Mandela as a “heartland of anti-apartheid struggle.”
For us at Oxford, Brixton Borough is a symbol of hope, guiding us in our pursuit of diversity education. Our efforts have been focused both internally and in our community. Each month, we circulate an educational message highlighting events such as Black History Month, Asian American Pacific Islander Month, Pride Day, Women’s Equality Day, Hispanic Heritage Month and more. Brixton Borough also conducted a drive for Dayspring Center, a local charity in one of our communities.
Our future plans include more all-hands community outreach, internal programs such as lunch and learns and other ways to inspire our team and our clients to invest their time, talent and resources into marginalized areas of their own communities.
