Race Reflections AT WORK

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on Black and brown people's relationship with pain, particularly Black women's relationship with pain and distress. And from this also the relationship between pain and associated issues such as accessing health services and self compassion.

She begins with a personal disclosure that one of her younger sisters recently nearly died and considers how pain played into this. ...

In this re-released episode first published  on October 4th, 2021,  we are joined by head of editorial at Black Ballad (and author of Hope & Glory) Jendella Benson, and teacher (and author of Being Amani) Annabelle Steele to talk about how they navigate the workplace and the publishing space as Black women. The conversation reflects on Black representation, Black motherhood, authorship, self care and Black literature.

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In today's episode Guilaine reflects and thinks back on the things that have stood out for her during 2022. What is she left with, what have been the biggest stories, the biggest moments and the biggest lessons?

She considers how the world cup final has brought up a lot for her and others around homelessness, homeness, displacement and migration. She engages with this from an autobiographical, auto-ethnographical posi...

In today's episode Race Reflections' Assistant Disruptor Lucia returns to reflect on class and classism. She shares her thoughts around these concepts and what they may represent within our current systems of oppression. She covers reasons why it's difficult to clearly define class or different class groups and then gives a definition of classism as the belief that a persons social or economic station in society dete...

In today's episode Guilaine responds to a listener question: Can Black employees ever be authentic in the workplace?  She answers the question with some other questions and reflects on the issues surrounding them.

The first is: Is authenticity a desirable aim to achieve for Black people and organisations?  She comes to the conclusion that their is a strong case as a general rule for the importance of workplace authen...

In today's episode Guilaine reflects on reaching a milestone within the PHD she is currently undertaking.  She gives the lowdown on what she's been working on, discusses some of the challenges she has encountered and what she has learnt so far, and she discusses where she stands in relation to the research and some of the implications for her and for Race Reflections.

Her study looks at whiteness, at time and spa...

In this re-released episode first published  on Jun 7, 2021 we consider surviving the workplace while black. We reflect on the workplace conditions of previous and current generations of black people, particularly black women.

We think about three strands that are navigated when working while black:

1.  Inequalities and structural racism which impacts physical and mental health.

2. Experiences of discr...

In today's episode Race Reflections' Assistant Disruptor Lucia offers some thoughts and potential approaches to how to navigate organisational or community change processes that come out of anti-oppressive or anti-racist work. These reflections are inspired by regular responses and questions posed by participants during the delivery of Race Reflections training. She considers practical ways to apply theory to practice, th...

In today's episode Race Reflections' Academic Lead/Scholar Scout Mel Green takes us through her personal relationship with imposter syndrome and it's effects on black women. She thinks about concepts like over productivity, burnout, breakdown, authenticity, assimilation and what bell hooks calls the "mind/body split". She uses her experience as a case study and reflects on the tactics and realisations she h...

In this re-released episode first published  on 19th April, 2021 we consider aversive racism. Specifically, how the fear of being called racist, the fear of confronting racism and the avoidance of difficult race-related conversations by white managers, can lead to exclusionary interpersonal dynamics and cultures of marginalisation within institutions which can have significant adverse consequences on the welfare, morale and/or work...

In today's episode we return to exploring the relationship between podcasting and power, this time looking at how "Prestige" podcasting has replicated and interacted with existing power systems. We look at some of the worst cases of podcasts being made with a colonialist mindset, and then look at The Trojan Horse Affair and how that avoided the traps of previous prestige podcast journalism and how it was mostly dismi...

In today's episode Guilaine is back to talk about social media, particularly twitter, and the ways this platform has helped both Guilaine personally and Race Reflections as an organisation. She goes over how she came to use social media as a professional platform, considers the advantages, opportunities and gifts that using this platform have created for her and for RR, and reflects on where she stands in terms of some of the ...

In today's episode Race Reflections' Lead Associate Disruptor Dr Furaha Asani talks about empathy, and lack of empathy, in the workplace. She thinks about definitions of empathy and sympathy and how empathy can function as an action. As a case study she reflects on a personal experience of not receiving empathy and support at work within a racialised context. She considers how gaslighting and self-gaslighting can operate ...

In today's episode therapist and Race Reflections' Assistant Disruptor Lucia talks about whiteness in psychotherapy. This episode is for everyone but particularly for people either working within the therapeutic traditions, or people who are current or future service users. Drawing on the existing Race Reflections training resources she looks at the ways that whiteness and violence have framed therapy during it's his...