During the CIPD Festival of Work I had the privilege to list to a talk by John Amaechi. He is a psychologist and shares such great content, so I do recommend following him on social media. You can also watch the full talk via this link
He has been talking a lot about the #blacklivesmatter movement this month on social media, tv and in the press and I have been grateful to him for sharing his wisdom.
He shared some great advice on being anti-racist that I wanted to also share via my website and social media.
He said that we cannot get tired of talking about this topic and we need to be working towards being anti-racist.
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- Stop “being surprised” – realise it is hurtful that we react this way to this reality of the challenges faced by black people. White privilege means we did not see it and we did not know and are only just getting this now. Being surprised shows that we have not been aware of this problem up until now.
- “Tired of talking about….” – What black people have to face has had such dire consequences so we need to keep talking about it until justice is served and there is no longer racism in our communities.
- Well-meaning is not enough – having good intentions is upskilling yourself to be an authentic ally and be part of the positive change – but this is not enough, we need to actually take action to initiate change.
- Black people are not your library – instead of turning to black people and asking about the prejudice they face, educate yourself especially on how to incorporate being an ally or challenge privilege as part of your own role, responsibilities and influence.
- Stop doing interventions that will not work
- Upskilling minorities – stop the idea that we upskill minorities to fit in and change the culture. We see this a lot for gender diversity too, where we train women to be more assertive just to be able to fit in with the senior management team competency expectations.
- Deficit model – the environment needs to be changed, not the individuals.
- Being seen to ‘do stuff’ – do not just tick boxes, be strategic with your diversity plans.
Lynda Gratton also conducted some research on what it means to be an anti-racist workplace. As it is important to be (and learn to be) actively anti-racist, it is also essential that we bring this into our working lives. She has shared some tips on how to do this so do give this blog a read:
We compiled a list of resources where you can educate yourself and help the cause by signing petitions and donating, we thought we should share it again. Please know that educating yourself and taking meaningful action towards ending racism are the most important things you can do.
Useful resources we have been sharing:
- A Twitter thread explaining and showing systemic racial discrimination in medicine and when treating patients https://twitter.com/grimworldview/status/1266770035768508425?s=21
- An explanation of how buying from Black owned businesses is HUGELY beneficial for black individuals worldwide https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA3FZTuHF8j/?igshid=y4j2lalcz5wx
- A moving series of drawings by an artist who spent one-minute colouring for every year of a Black person’s life before they were killed by police. The blank space on the drawings shows the amount of life they still had to live. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEFrlzBNi1/?igshid=ymtthcmrna6x
- A document with a list of way to help and petitions to sign – this will take minutes! https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
- A youtube video that is donating all profits made to a BLM movement – put this video on in the background, do not skip any adverts as they are what generates the profit! Something you can do if you do not have the money to directly donate. I have been opening this video in a tab and putting it on mute whilst I am working during the day (and going back every once in a while to click replay) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM
- Video sharing black experiences and the importance of black mental health always but especially in the current climate https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA7vWpjoCOI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
- A netflix documentary “13th” uploaded to youtube in full that talks about the history of the prison system in the US and the racial injustice of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krfcq5pF8u8
- A link to a post with lots of businesses to support/share that are owned by black females https://www.instagram.com/p/CA_KN2cnCtT/?igshid=12zg27kxvg34o
- Here is a resource with a pre-written email, all you need to do is insert your name and constituency along with some other details stated and email it to your MP; you can find the correct MP to write to here.
- A must-read is “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race” by Reni Eddo-Lodge, a book which focuses on links between gender, class and race in Great Britain and other countries from the perspective of a black female author.
For more information on what you can do to become an ally, check out our blog here.
