First and foremost, we want to say that We Stand. We stand against racism, we stand with Black lives, we understand that we will never understand but We Stand.
Recent events including the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police brutality have sparked worldwide outrage; an ongoing battle against racism has been amplified and the whole world is now listening to this injustice that has been present for hundreds of years. The CMCBP team has experienced privilege every day in every aspect of life as we are both white individuals. The colour of our skin means that we, as a race, do not only have access to better opportunities but are more protected in the majority of other walks of life, such as not feeling fear for our children every time they leave the house, or not being scared to reach for our driving licence if we were ever pulled over.
The beginning of the change must start with the awareness of the issue. Once we have become aware of the issue, and aware of non-black privileges, we can begin to recognise the biases we hold in relation to race. The next step is then changing our behaviour in terms of being more inclusive and actively reaching out to make change in our world and stand against racism.
The current outpour of content on social media may be overwhelming and exhausting. But we have to remember that the feeling of “feed fatigue” (feeling tired/overwhelmed with the wealth of information online concerning the Black lives matter movement) is a privilege and put ourselves in the shoes of our Black peers who are tirelessly experiencing the racism on a daily basis.
What Can We Do and What Have CMCBP been doing?
The first thing we can do is EDUCATE ourselves. It is important to recognise that this is a worldwide problem and it is not just a topic of police brutality in America, but how this is something spread from systemic racism in a number of sectors. It is not up to your Black colleagues and peers to educate you, seek out ways to educate yourself. There is a wealth of reading material and online resources to use and share with your own network. An example of access to research that we have availed of is from Sage Research who have shared free access to their resources and articles on ‘Structural Racism and Police Violence’. We are using resources like this to add representation and evidence to our research and practitioner work.
We can never learn enough; it is essential to carry on educating ourselves in order to enable uncomfortable conversations. We should START DISCUSSIONS with our peers and family members about racial injustice in hopes of spreading our knowledge and awareness. The team at CMCBP has taken some time to reflect on our privileges and educate ourselves on the discrimination faced by Black individuals every day. 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.
While changing perceptions and behaviours is essential, more action is needed for change on a bigger scale. SIGNING PETITIONS and donating to BLM causes such as The Bail Project (that works to release wrongly accused/unfairly sentenced Black individuals from police custody) enables the opportunity of our voices being heard by government officials and offering chances to those unjustly charged by police officers.
Simply BUYING FROM BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES means employment will rise within the black community, which is accompanied by increased economic power, leading to increased social power, and increased political power. We learnt this from Paul Carrick Brunson (@PaulCBrunson) and his videos so follow him for more information on this.
Another way of contacting government officials includes WRITING TO YOUR MPs on the matter at hand. 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.
In terms of in business, write to or START CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR MANAGERS AND LEADERS. Look around you and ask why your business or team is not diverse enough. Ask your managers about the diversity disparity in your organisation as a way of displaying allyship. Think about the message from your organisation, what is your voice and what influence can you use as a corporate entity. Also, what message are you giving to your customers, employees and stakeholders. It is time to make a stand and be firm on your values on Diversity and Inclusion and on this topic of racial injustice.
And last but most definitely not least, LISTEN! Listen to black voices, listen to black experiences. These are the most important voices at the moment and should be heard and amplified. Reach out to your black peers and ask how they are. Do not relay information you have recently learnt to them; they know everything they need to know by living through the injustice. Be a set of ears to which they can express their feelings and empathise. Listen to learn and challenge your perceptions to really listen and let the new information inform the way you think and the way you see the world around you. Radio One DJ Clara Amfo (@claraamfo) uses her platform to spread awareness and share experiences as well as emphasising how important mental health is especially in the black community at this time.
At CMCBP, we work in the field of Diversity and Inclusion, but we are still learning and trying to be agile in our work as we continue to educate and inform ourselves and our clients. We are open to learning and doing better so please do share with us your thoughts, ideas, and guidance.
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
- 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: http://www.hotspotsmovement.com/uploads/newsletters/anti-racism.html
We have shared and will continue to share things we find insightful on our Facebook page so follow us on there and feel free to share things with us that you think will be informative. Let us continue these conversations as things have started to happen due to the large amount of signatures on petitions etc.
Written by Siobhan Headd.
