The Echo Chamber

In this episode we discuss the recent furore over Billy Steele who was knocked out on a London Underground tube earlier this month after launching a tirade of racialised provocation towards black passengers. A young black man responded to Steele's taunts as he alighted the tube by knocking him out which has since had social media in a polarised frenzy. Much of 'black twitter' are applauding the actions of the young man, even resurrecting an age old mantra - "chat shit, get banged!". On the other side of the argument, some are arguing that this is no way to deal with racists.

Jade & Ez discuss the incident in depth, considering the ways in which white people gaslight black people participating in the movement by levelling criticism at the methods different people opt for in their very personal fight for racial justice. The conversation goes on to focus on Patrick Hutchinson and the ways his style of activism is being prototyped as an ideal for all black people engaged in the fight by British structures.

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In this episode we chat with Unkle K about social media. We explore our different relationships with the online space, articulate our opinions on the pervasiveness of social media in our lives, and touch on sharing the common online space with Gen-Z's.

We reminisce on our early teens and our common experiences of the online space, track our unique and changing attitude towards it, and make some predictions on how we expect our relationship with social media to continue to change.

Find Unkle K on Twitter @Unkle_K

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In this episode we discuss what freedom means to us, both in general and in relation to sex. Acknowledging our existence as Black, working class women - we imagine a world without the constraints that accompany these labels. Our hope is that we continue to journey towards our freest versions of self and we extend this hope to all, especially those in the Black, working class community.

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In this episode we discuss our journey with healing; celebrating the progress we've made since our first episode where we discussed our experiences as Black, working class women in therapy.

As mentioned in the episode here are links for some of the resources we engage with which support our healing journeys:

*Meditation:

Spinning Chakras: https://www.instagram.com/spinningchakras/

21 Days of Abundance Meditation Challenge with Deepak Chopra: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcrFl2QetIsCcbcmh5DJSJUqtaXGbjbmC

Beautiful Moojis guided meditation: Just remain empty: https://youtu.be/gMbD_ZLXeUA

*Worship music/Sermons:

Most Beautiful / So In Love (feat. Chandler Moore) - Maverick City Music: https://youtu.be/oCAY_qeDo-w

Trey McLaughlin and SOZ “God Almighty” Maranda Curtis (Cover)-https://youtu.be/V9znbj-e96s

"From Weeping to Walking" - Sarah Jakes Roberts -https://youtu.be/kz2U_p78vR4

*Yoga:

https://youtu.be/yRCUfumiqhk

https://youtu.be/4pKly2JojMw

https://youtu.be/A8eNXMTCBHA

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In this episode we discuss our experiences of fatherlessness. Acknowledging the differences in our relationship to the topic, we have an honest conversation about the ways growing up without a father impacted our experiences of the world from childhood through to adulthood. We talk about the difficulty of addressing the pain we experience in relation to growing up without one parent and the ramifications of that on our relationships with self and others. For both Jade and Ez this is a subject which has long felt as though it has sometimes single-handedly shaped their respective trajectories which they earnestly relay and gently interrogate in this episode.

They share their hopes for any children they may bring in to the world, and the relationship that they hope the fathers will seek to cultivate with the children.

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In this episode we sit down with Rhodes scholar and author @CaylinLMoore to discuss respectability politics. We touch on the various ways racism and economic deprivation have framed our views on respectability in relation to Blackness.

We discuss the racial and socio-economic hurdles we have had to overcome to access academic and professional spaces whilst Black and acknowledge the immense pressure placed on us in these environments to conform to a 'respectable', palatable version of Blackness.

Caylin touches on his experience attending Oxford University as an African American man from the hood, illuminating shared histories of exclusion for all children of the African diaspora. The conversation ends with a message of hope, appreciating the resilience and determination Black people have developed in the face of adversity, affirming that we are enough despite the odds being stacked against us; we are in fact the "legislators of human culture".

Find out more about Caylin's work including his book titled 'A Dream Too Big: The Story of an Improbable Journey from Compton to Oxford' on his website: https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/a-dream-too-big/

Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @CaylinLMoore

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In this episode we sit down with @jayyangelo to speak about Black masculinity, addressing historical tensions between Black men and women. Jay speaks openly about some of the difficulties he faces existing as a Black man and the ways this may affect interpersonal relationships between Black men and women.

We acknowledge that too often the burden of community activism falls disproportionately on Black women and explore the ways racism and capitalism construct ideas that Black men's value should be measured solely by their ability to provide financially. This was a healing conversation and we hope it blesses you, ultimately we are praying for collective and individual healing for all.

Follow Jay on Instagram and Twitter @jayyangelo

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In this episode we sit down with Grace to discuss environmentalism. Environmental activism feels like a distant and privileged world in the context of black working classness, but many intersections between race and class exist which Jade & Ez wanted to flesh out with Grace - a black woman taking up space in the very white world of environmental activism.

We deconstruct our assumptions about the people that make up the environmental movement, discuss some of the class & race related barriers we acknowledge exist for us and inform our lack of engagement with the movement, and get honest about how playing catch up within capitalist structures distracts us from the roles we can play in doing our part to protect the environment.

Keeping it honest & trill, as always!

Find Grace's work here: www.greensoulgrace.org

www.earthforall.org.uk

Follow her on Instagram @greensoulgrace @earthforall

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In this episode we spoke with journalist and youthworker Ciaran Thapar about his experience as an ally. Acknowledging the unique position Ciaran occupies as a mixed-race, Anglo-Indian man; who through his career has gained access to Black British culture. We chat about our views on the terms 'BAME/BME/people of colour' and explore the history of political Blackness in Britain whilst examining Ciaran's views on his position as an ally. This was a refreshing conversation about progressive ways for minoritised communities to engage with each other.

You can find Ciaran on Twitter @ciaranthapar and Instagram @ciaranthapar. More information about his charity Roadworks at www.roadworksldn.org and links to his written work on his website https://www.ciaranthapar.uk/

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In this weeks episode, we reflect on our conversation in episode 23 with Rebecca and what we may have done differently. We consider some of the ways we could have furthered the conversation, challenged parts of it and approached Rebecca's allyship more generally. We recount the ways that whiteness has made us viscerally uncertain of ourselves and caused us to censor in the face of it, and how this has played a significant role in the last week or so.

Enjoy this candid conversation of course with Rebecca's blessing!

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