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Talking Race Podcast Returns
Following the killing of George Floyd in 2020 the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality (CRED) organised a series of webinars entitled, “Let’s Talk About Race”. All four webinars were very successful and attracted a good number of teachers, academics and activists interested in engaging in debates about race and racism.
These webinars highlighted the need for more work, resources and information to be available to an audience of scholars, professionals, activists, students and academics on the topic of race, identity and racism. Whilst there is an audience hungry to engage in debates about race and racism it is also become apparent that there is a need to educate people less familiar and not sufficiently well versed in these subjects.
There is a need to provide easily accessible materials which can be consumed to develop the understanding of those who are non-specialists yet want to read and learn more beyond the media discourses of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia.
The podcast series is led by Professor Vini Lander, Director of CRED and Dr Daniel Kilvington, Senior lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies based in the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities.
The first podcast series consisted of five episodes:
- Critical Race Theory? – in this episode, Lander and Kilvington speak with Professor David Gillborn about Critical Race Theory (CRT). He was one of the first people to use CRT in Britain. He discusses where CRT comes from, whether it is a ‘theory’ or not and how it gets under the skin of racism. Gillborn talks about the salience of racism in education and how CRT has become a global approach.
- Race and Children’s Literature – this episode examines the absence of race in children’s literature. Guest interviewer, Dr Emily Zobel Marshall, talks with Darren Chetty and Lisa Stephenson about the reasons why minoritised ethnic children think stories are about White people and why in a tiny minority of books for primary school children feature minoritised ethnic characters or protagonists. They discuss the positive role played by the Story Makers project in addressing this absence.
- Race and Education – in this episode, Lander speaker with Kauser Jan, a primary school teacher in Leeds, and Daniel Kebede, Vice President of the National Education Union (NEU), about personal and professional experiences of racism. They discuss how racism is embedded in society and its institutions. We need to understand racism in order to dismantle it through education to establish an inclusive society.
- Race and Football: Where are the British Asian footballers? – Kilvington talks with British Asian footballing pioneers Permi Jhooti (Fulham), who was the inspiration for the film Bend it Like Beckham, and Anwar Uddin (Barnet FC). Both guests offer great insights into British South Asian female and male experiences in the ‘beautiful game’.
- Race and Cyberspace: A new space for racism? – in our series finale, Kilvington talks with Rachel Boyle and Professor Jessie Daniels about race and racism on the internet. We explore the significance and impact of race online, how the internet has provided a new platform for racism, and the motivational factors encouraging online racism. We end by offering solutions on how online racism should be prevented and challenged.
In 2020, amid the pandemic, and in 2021 we have continued to witness the ugly manifestations of racism in our society: from the denial of institutional and structural racism in the government initiated report by the Commission on Ethnic and Racial Disparities led by Tony Sewell, to the vile racist abuse of our three Black England players on social media following the European Championship Final. In Series 2 of the Talking Race podcast, which launches Monday 4 October, Professor Vini Lander and Dr Daniel Kilvington explore some new topics across a six episode line-up:
- Black British Feminism with Professor Heidi Mirza.
- Race in Britain Today with Professor Les Back.
- Race, Education and Activism with Dr Rita Kohli.
- Race and Mental Health with Professor Frank Keating.
- Race and Sports Commentary with Dr Paul Campbell, Sam Matterface and David McGoldrick.
- Race and Sports Media with Nelson Kumah and Leon Mann.
Our primary aim in producing these podcasts is to educate listeners about how race and racism operate within our society and how they can contribute to eliminating racism through anti-racist action and allyship. The podcast is an excellent resource for educators and activists, while the episodes are also designed for anyone who wants to learn more about race and racism.
You can listen to Series One of Talking Race on the platforms below. Series Two will be available in early October.
Professor Vini Lander
Dr Daniel Kilvington
Dr Daniel Kilvington is Reader and Course Director in Media, Communication, Cultures. His teaching and research specialism explores race/ethnicity, racism and anti-racism in sport and new media spaces.
