Jesus College stands in solidarity with those in our community who have been deeply affected by the death of George Floyd and those who suffer racial injustice throughout the world.

We believe that black lives matter. As a College, we uphold the values of inclusivity, equality, diversity and opportunity for all. But we also recognize that there is still much work we need to do. Conscious and unconscious racial bias, and inaction in addressing them, remain uncomfortably prevalent across many institutions. We are committed to ensuring that our Black and other Minority Ethnic students feel supported, and will redouble our efforts to make their time at Oxford rewarding and life-enhancing.

Education plays a critical role in establishing equality and inclusion of BME voices and perspectives in society. We strive to be inclusive in our research, teaching, teaching support, admissions, practices and activities for staff and students. A diverse community is a stronger community and we are determined to make ours more diverse with each passing year. Through our targeted Access and Outreach programmes that engage with young people in underrepresented groups, we demonstrate that an Oxford education is open to all and is based on academic potential and not ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, school-type or any other non-academic characteristic. We will do all in our power to reduce any ethnicity attainment gap in our undergraduate population. We will seek to understand the barriers faced by prospective students from BME backgrounds, and make a concerted effort to help anyone interested in studying at Oxford overcome them.

Equality and diversity are at the heart of this College’s ethos and academic mission. We stand with all those in our community and beyond who face inequality, intolerance, and injustice.