In this wide-ranging episode, Hashim spoke with Karim Mitha back in October 2020 about the influence of racism on mental health, with a focus on Muslim communities in Scotland.

Karim is a speciality registrar in public health medicine with expertise in ethnic health inequalities, social determinants of health, and migrant communities and mental health.

Find out more about Karim's work here and follow him on Twitter @_KarimMitha

Further Resources:

APPG Islamophobia definition:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/599c3d2febbd1a90cffdd8a9/t/5bfd1ea3352f531a6170ceee/1543315109493/Islamophobia+Defined.pdf

Minority stress and mental health:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022146518814251

Overview on impacts of racism and mental health by Kam Bhui and Dinesh Bhugra:

https://synergicollaborativecentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/The-impact-of-racism-on-mental-health-briefing-paper-1.pdf

A presentation I did at the World Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race, and Health:

https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/28/suppl_1/cky047.013/4973057

"No problem here - Understanding Racism in Scotland" https://www.luath.co.uk/politics-and-current-issues/no-problem-here-racism-in-scotland

Data on inequalities in mental health treatment:

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06988/

Scarlet Harris' article on the obscuring of institutional racism in writing about Muslims in Scotland: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0306396818793583

Mental health inequalities experienced by minority communities in Scotland:

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/more-research-urged-into-mental-health-of-bame-scots?top

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-45565034

Experiences of Islamophobia experienced by Muslim doctors:

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/islamophobia-nhs-patients-muslims-religion-abuse-discrimination_uk_5f567984c5b62b3add4442b6?utm_hp_ref=uk-islamophobia

Music: Che Lingo, 'Bobbing for Apples'

In this episode, Melina interviews Michelle Codrington-Rogers, the first (known) Black female president in British teacher trade union history. Michelle shares with us her journey from truly knowing herself thanks to Saturday schools, to getting hooked to activism as the Black Students Officer, and rising even higher in the teacher trade union ranks in the midst of a global pandemic and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Michelle is a Black British queer teacher of citizenship and PSHE at a large secondary school in Oxford. As a teacher, she first became a member of the NASUWT – the Teacher’s Union which is the only UK-wide union exclusively for teachers. In the NASUWT, Michelle started off as a school rep, then a local secretary and Oxfordshire Federation secretary. In 2011, she was elected to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Race Relations Committee and she chaired the annual TUC Black Workers’ Conference in 2018. Also in 2018, Michelle was elected as a national officer for the NASUWT and, in April 2020, she became the first Black President in the union’s 101-year history.

Some of those special people (that Michelle didn't want to embarrass!) who kept those doors open for Michelle and more to continue rising: NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT National Officer for Equality and Training Jennifer Moses, NASUWT Birmingham Local Association Secretary Ava Verrier, and many more...

References and staying in touch:

NASUWT - The Teacher's Union, and its annual Black Teachers' Conferences (UK-wide).

Political Blackness

Michelle Codrington-Rogers: @oxcityNASUWT and @MNasuwt on Twitter.

Decolonise the Curriculum for Education: @Dtc4Uk and recorded conference

Impact of Omission: @impactofomission

Jayaben Desai who led 100 mainly South Asian women in a dispute against the Grunwick photo processing factory in Willesden, North London, in 1976.

TUC Black Workers' Conferences

Rhodes Must Fall: The Struggle to Decolonise the Heart of the Racist Empire

In this second episode on our mental health series, Ellie and Amy from IYS (Intercultural Youth Scotland) talk to Melina and Sangeeta about the launch of IYS specialised mental health service for Black and POC young people. We discuss the impact of racial trauma on young BPoC and the barriers to accessing mental health services for BPoC youth.

The IYS Mental Health Service is available to Black and PoC people between the ages of 12-24 who are Scottish residents. You can complete a self-referral form on the IYS website: 

References:

Dr Isha Mckenzie Mavinga  - Black psychotherapist who talks about recognition trauma.

Adrienne Maree Brown

Afrofuturism novels: N K Nemisin and Octavia Butler.

Ellie Muniandy's Linked In 

In this first episode on racial trauma, the founder of Black Learning Achievement and Mental Health (BLAM), Ife Thompson, speaks to Melina and Sangeeta about the BLAM's work and her understanding of the impacts of racial trauma on young Black British people. 

Amongst the strategies for healing, Ife discusses the importance of teaching Black History, adopting anti-racist education practices and spreading Black joy.

References:

BLAM UK - improving outcomes for Black Britons

Black History Bites

Dr Joy DeGruy and the Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome

Dr Guilaine Kinouani

Racial Trauma

Audre Lorde

Sonia Sanchez

Black, African and Asian Therapy Network

No Police in Schools

Cops on Campus ARE Campaign and podcast episode

Zuri Therapy

Transformative Justice

Some of Ife's Recommendations to Spread Black Joy

Who Killed Malcolm X?

Black Lightning

Lovecraft Country

One Night in Miami

Godfather of Harlem

Hunters

The Remix: Hip-Hop X Fashion

Uuganaa Ramsay is an award-winning author, campaigner and advocate. In this podcast she delves into the story of how the word Mongol was misused to describe people with Down Syndrome. The activist also lays out why is it so important to proudly use the word Mongol and to speak about and celebrate Mongol identity and culture. Uuganaa shares with us the heart-breaking story of her son Billy, who lives on through her memoir Mongol.

Uuganaa Ramsay is an award-winning author, campaigner and advocate. In this podcast she delves into the story of how the word Mongol was misused to describe people with Down Syndrome. The activist also lays out why is it so important to proudly use the word Mongol and to speak about and celebrate Mongol identity and culture. Uuganaa shares with us the heart-breaking story of her son Billy, who lives on through her memoir Mongol.

Uuganaa's charity Mongol Identity:

http://mongolidentity.org/

Music:

The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu

Баярцэнгэл - Вансэмбэрүү цэцэг Үгтэй

Book Recommendation:

Uuganaa Ramsay's book Mongol

Angela Saini’s book Superior

Hashim and Sangeeta chat with Fowsia and Mea from Kids of Colour- a platform that provides space for young people of colour to explore race, identity and culture and support them to challenge racism. They talk to us about their 'No Policing in Schools' campaign, the response it's received in Greater Manchester, and the impact of school policing on young people of colour. Fowsia and Mea share their next steps for the campaign and tips for engaging young people. 

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming campaign led by ARE on Campus Policing in Scottish schools!

Hashim chats with esteemed educator from the States, Curtis Acosta. He and his students were the focus of the film "Precious Knowledge" which told the story of the Mexican-American Studies program at Tuscon Magnet High School in Arizona. We go in depth on the significance of the program, the orchestrated backlash against it from reactionary elements of the media and state legislature, and how it, Ethnic Studies, and decolonising the curriculum in general are necessary parts of any anti-racist education.

Check out Curtis and his work here https://twitter.com/CurtisAcostaLLP

To be, or not to be racist, that's not the question. In this episode, Zeus Leonardo shares what it means for educators to pledge to anti-racism, as opposed to simply "being" racist or not racist (because one can be both).

Professor Zeus Leonardo is renowned scholar in Critical Social Theory and he draws on critical theories to make sense of oppression, dominance and liberation. In particular, his latest book, Edward Said and Education, applies the concept of Orientalism to the context of curriculum, pedagogy and education policy. In conversation with Mélina and Khadija, Zeus also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of engaging in discourses of white privilege, and his application of Charles Mills’ Racial Contract to the context of education.

In this episode, we speak to one of the most important minds in the field of critical pedagogy, Peter McLaren. It's an incredible journey through his experiences of teaching, realising the centrality of the political contexts we operate in, and seeing how critical pedagogy can set us free. 

Check us out at https://twitter.com/AntiRacistEd

and support us at https://www.patreon.com/theantiracisteducator