Race(ism)

For The Association, as a representative organisation, it is important that our members and partners have a better understanding of the racial inequalities that exist and recognise that we live in a society that is institutionally racist. We can see this in our health, education, policing, housing and all other sectors. This is particularly of import in the mental health sector as we know that social determinants and inequalities have a detrimental impact on a person's mental health and wellbeing, but we must also consider the impact of racism on mental health as a standalone causal factor.

Although we saw quite early on in the pandemic that the impact of Covid-19 on people from BME communities was hugely different to white counterparts, it was the George Floyd killing in the US in the early summer which sparked a conversation around racism in this country. Despite several racist killings through police brutality in this country, it is the killing of George Floyd abroad that shone light on a flawed system. This in turn led to a summer of protests and public statements from organisations globally around equality and diversity.

In order to create change and to hold ourselves and others accountable, it's essential that we learn and understand racism and what it means to be anti-racist. It is important that when we consider policies or statements, we look at them from a racial inequalities lens. As such, The Association has collated a set of articles, blogs, podcasts, books, and programmes/films to support this journey of learning, to educate and enlighten, and help you better navigate this "new world".

Articles and blogs

• BAME acronym is often reductive and lazy
• Please, don't call me BAME or BME!
• Warning: Why using the term 'coloured' is offensive
• White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
• How to talk about race and racism
• If you're a white woman who is watching the world burn because of police murder against Black people, and you don't know what to do, I wrote you a guide
• wikiHow to Stop Being Racist
• 30+ Resources to Help White Americans Learn About Race and Racism
• As we grapple with the ravages of COVID-19 and the experience of anti-Blackness made ever more visible, we are seeing unprecedented reckoning with the realities of inequity and momentum toward societal transformation
• Guardian article focusing on the ties between police, prosecutors, and grand juries [Long Read]
• As a black police officer, I know the Met Police is still institutionally racist
• Kimberlé Crenshaw: the woman who revolutionised feminism – and landed at the heart of the culture wars.
• Policy So White
• Why is it so hard to talk about racism?
• The Intersectionality Wars
• How imposter syndrome and racism overlap
• They were quick to express solidarity after George Floyd's murder. Six months on, here's how much their promises were worth
• Use of language: race and ethnicity
• A guide to race and ethnicity terminology and language
• Writing about ethnicity
• Racial Categorisation and Terminology
• Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate
• The Appropriate Language Guide
• How to be an anti-racist and white ally
• Rich Mix Picks Resources for Dismantling Racism in the UK, Today and Everyday
• #DoTheWork Course: All 30 Days (mailchi.mp)
• Mental Health and Race Toolkit

Podcasts

• Pod for the Cause
• Nice White Parents
• Raising White Kids with Jennifer Harvey
• Raising Free People
• Five Pandemic Parenting Lessons with Cindy Wang Brandt
• Sip on This
• Intersectionality Matters!

Reading list

• Orientalism - Edward Said is a 1978 book by Edward W. Said, in which the author establishes the eponymous term " Orientalism " as a critical concept to describe the West 's common, contemptuous depiction and portrayal of " The East ," i.e. the Orient. Societies and peoples of the Orient are those who inhabit the places of Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East. To order click here.
• Black and British - David Olusoga Black British history can be read in stately homes, street names, statues and memorials across Britain and is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation. Unflinching, confronting taboos and revealing hitherto unknown scandals, Olusoga describes how black and white Britons have been intimately entwined for centuries. To order click here.
• The Good Immigrant - Nikesh-Shukla "The Good Immigrant is a lively and vital intervention into the British cultural conversation around race. Instead of statistics and dogma we find real human experience and impassioned argument – and it's funny and moving, too. A must read!" To order click here.
• Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire - Akala Part memoir, the book provides race and class analysis of a variety of historical eras, in addition to contemporary British society. Covering everything from the police, education and identity to politics, sexual objectification and the far right, Natives speaks directly to British denial and squeamishness when it comes to confronting issues of race and class that are at the heart of the legacy of Britain's racialised empire. To order click here.
• Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race - Reni Eddo-Lodge  'Every voice raised against racism chips away at its power. We can't afford to stay silent. This book is an attempt to speak'. The book that sparked a national conversation. To order click here.
• In Black and White: A Young Barrister's Story of Race - Alexandra Wilson ‘A compelling and courageous memoir forcing the legal profession to confront uncomfortable truths about race and class. Alexandra Wilson is a bold and vital voice. This is a book that urgently needs to be read by everyone inside, and outside, the justice system.' To order click here.
• I Am Not Your Baby Mother - Candice Brathwaite “Blogger Candice Brathwaite is known for her beautifully constructed and refreshingly straight-talking Instagram captions, so we can't wait to read her urgent part-memoir, part-manifesto about black motherhood” To order click here.
• Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging - Afua Hirsch “Brit(ish) brings together a thoughtful, intelligent, accessible, informative investigation on Britain as a nation not only in the midst of an identity crisis but in denial of what it has been and still is.” To order click here.
• Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain - Peter Fryer “'Encyclopedic, courageous and passionately written there is no more important and no more ground breaking a book on Black British history than 'Staying Power'. Everyone who has researched or written on the subject since its publication in 1984 owes something to Fryer' --David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History” To order click here.
• Black Tudors: The Untold Story - Dr. Miranda Kaufmann “Enlightening and constantly surprising... Far too many popular studies of the Tudors return the same faces. To its great credit, Black Tudorspresents fresh figures and challenges the way we look at them.” To order click here.
• There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation - Paul Gilroy “This classic book is a powerful indictment of contemporary attitudes to race. By accusing British intellectuals and politicians on both sides of the political divide of refusing to take race seriously, Paul Gilroy caused immediate uproar when this book was first published in 1987. A brilliant and explosive exploration of racial discourses” To order click here.
• White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Robin DiAngelo Fear. Guilt. Denial. Silence. These are the ways in which ordinary white people react when it is pointed out to them that they have done or said something that has - unintentionally - caused racial offence or hurt. But these reactions only serve to silence people of colour, who cannot give honest feedback to 'liberal' white people lest they provoke a dangerous emotional reaction. To order click here.
• Caste: The Lies that Divide Us - Isabel Wilkerson - With unflinching rigour and moral urgency, Isabel Wilkerson makes the game-changing case that beyond race, class or gender, our lives and societies are shaped by caste. That is, arbitrary but deeply-entrenched hierarchies, which are imposed by the dominant group in a culture as it seeks to maintain its own power. Caste systems divide and categorize populations in many ways, but they always work to maintain the status of the dominant group, and suppress those ‘below’ it. To order click here.

To watch

• 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
• American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
• Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975
• Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
• Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu)
• Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
• Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler)
• I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
• If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)
• Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
• King In The Wilderness  — HBO
• See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
• Selma (Ava DuVernay)
• The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
• The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.)
• When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
• Terror Lynching in America
• The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
• Teach Us All
• When They See Us
• Trial of the Chicago 7

*** These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. External links are selected and reviewed when the page on our website is published. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, we are not responsible for any of the content of external websites, or the accuracy of such content. ***