An update on my racial justice commitments

Last July, I made several public commitments to learning to be anti-racist. I'm serious about these commitments, and about deepening them as I continue to learn. Here's a wee update about what (and how) I'm doing. ⠀

*Please* don't applaud this post or praise me for it. Use this energy to work on your own learning. I'm sharing for accountability purposes and to encourage you to do the same. I’m not perfect and I’m sure I’m getting lots wrong. ⠀

Thank you to the brilliant people creating content that supports my learning every day; @everydayracism @theconsciouskid

Thank you to the incredible Black women and women of colour who inspire me in my work; Arlan Hamilton Aiko Bethea

Onward 🔥⠀

I will write to my MP continuously 

I  had four exchanges with my MP Henry Smith; Black history being taught in schools, the UK Government suspending the sales of British tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot shields to the US, condemning President Trump’s aggressive, violent, and excessively militarised response to US protesters, justice for Belly Mujinga and her family, and asking make the key findings from the BAME Covid-19 report more accessible and explain why the release of the report was delayed. It became clear that my Tory MP is...well, a Tory MP. My emails weren't being taken seriously.

I no longer live in the UK so this feels less relevant. I continue to signpost petitions and share content that needs signatures. I continue to remind you *how* to write to your MP and encourage you to engage in politics and stand for office #askhertostand

I will talk to my parents about race

These conversations are difficult on facetime so they have not been as often or as nuanced as I'd intended. I remind them to watch the anti-racist stories in my highlights here. I send them articles and raise timely topics - the last conversation we had was about the Capitol Riots.

I will take part in Nova Reid's course

I'm nearly finished with this course. I've taken steps to share my network and relevant professional knowledge with Nova to support her in scaling her courses. 

I will amplify the voices of Black people

I invite Black women and women of colour who do work relevant to my community to take over my newsletter. I invite Black people with expertise in leadership to host Stride webinars. I follow accounts led by Black people. These fall into two groups a) people on a similar mission to me and b) activists and change-makers - so I can learn and share their content.

I will create a study group for white parents

I have not done this because I realised working on parenting comes *after* working on yourself. I want to do more work on myself and my own family before I request the same of others. For my own parenting, we have pictures of our Black role models on the walls of our house. 👶 has a Black baby dolly and multiple books with Black and brown characters. We prioritise TV shows with Black and brown characters. 

I will take part in an accountability group with others doing this work

This continues, we try to meet once a week. We have a WhatsApp group too. Our conversations are based on Layla Saad's book #MeAndWhiteSupremacy. We are now deciding what to do next as the weekly meets aren't serving everyone anymore.

I will feel the feelings and sit with them and not wish them away

This continues. This is not the place for me to reflect on what those feelings are and how I process them but it's happening.

I will create feminist spaces online where Black women feel safe and welcome

This continues. I'm satisfied with the feedback I've received from Black women in the UPFRONT bonds but I know I will always have more work to do. I want to build products that serve *all women of colour* Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Asian.

I will call out racism when I see it 

Lockdown means group conversations and meeting new people has been minimal. I try to notice my own racial biases and racist thoughts. I try to discuss these with someone to get an external perspective. I publicly call out racism when I see it - the last time this happened was the response to the Sainsburi’s Christmas ad.

Other things

Our UPFRONT online party raised £500 for Black Minds Matter.

When I'm asked to recommend someone in any professional capacity I always prioritise Black women.

I'm intentionally reading more Black and BIPOC authors. You can follow my reviews #lcbooklist. 

#beantiracist #accountability #feminismisantiracist #keepthemomentum #donotmoveon