Don’t misunderstand me, I am really uplifted by the immense show of anti racist support on social media over the last couple of days ….but I have to be honest here and say that my greatest fear now, is that as we go through the next few days as the black boxes fade away – that your outrage will fade, the promises to listen and learn will fade and slowly as your lives return to the new normal, your commitment to becoming anti racist will fade too.

You can’t let it, you mustn’t let it – now is your opportunity to add push for ‘anti racism’ to your list of goals, to the intentions that you manifest, to your vision board or whatever your thing is…. now is the time to revisit your purpose and align it with making the world a better place through fighting racism. This is a global problem and as such it is everyone’s problem and it is a problem that we’ve been talking about for far too long. Enough is enough.

Honestly, It’s through everyday actions that you’ll become intentionally anti racist instead of proudly non racist, of course being nonracist is great but it doesn’t change anything: being intentionally anti racist helps to create real change.

So you can: 

(A) Check yourself – be honest about your governing variables, your assumptions, your biases both conscious and unconscious. It is time to unlearn.

(B) Use your voice, don’t accept racist language or bias from family, from friends, from colleagues.Speak up and let them know that it’s not okay and that you don’t accept it.

(C) Listen and learn by reading more – find out what it means to be truly anti racist .

Here’s a few recommendations: 

Book recommendation: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

Nova Reid has a powerful podcast series called ‘Conversations with Nova’, which are unedited conversations about race, allyship and antiracism.

Book Recommendation: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Here’s 5 Netflix Series to educate you on black oppression

D) If you work in an organisation… dig deep – how representative is it? Are there any black people in senior roles? What’s going on with pay? What is the company doing about the ethnicity pay gap? Ask the questions.

(E) If you are in a position to employ people, step out of your normal comfort zone don’t just look for people that look like you! There is a world of black creative excellence out there in the world. Tap into it.