10: Discussing Diversifying your Bookshelf, School Literary Texts & Being "Well Read" with Rach aka The Black Book Blog!

Episode #5 - the final one of the mini series! We talk to Maya Tutton, who co founded the Our Streets Now campaign with her sister, Gemma. We discuss how the HE launch has gone, share some of the work from the HE Ambassadors and talk about how the OSN campaign has evolved since it's launch.

Episode #4 is with Meggie, a OSN Higher Education Ambassador for SOAS University in London, discussing her role. Ellen & Helena will also talk about how you can get involved in the Ambassador programme at your own University.

Episode #3 we talk to Queenie a participant of 'Snapshots of Sexual Harassment' a collaborative photo series with photographer, Eliza Hatch originally released as part of the #16DaysOfActivism campaign with @ourstreetsnow and @UNWomenUK. All of the photos were taken by Eliza Hatch, founder of Cheer Up Luv and can now be viewed as an online virtual exhibition and you can see Queenie's image and written testimony linked in the show notes.

This mini series is a collaborative project with Our Streets Now to coincide with the launch of their #StudentsNotObjects Campaign, which highlights the issues around Public Sexual Harassment in higher education institutions. Episode #2 we talk to Architecture Student and founder of The Gender Step Gap, Pippa. We discuss travel, transport and the built environment in relation to PSH and Pippa's award winning dissertation which centres on her personal research on how architecture has the ability to positively impact the experiences of women and marginalised genders in public space.

This mini series is a collaborative project with Our Streets Now to coincide with the launch of their #StudentsNotObjects Campaign, which highlights the issues around Public Sexual Harassment in higher education institutions.

On today’s episode I talk to the lovely Rach who is the founder of The Black Book Blog, which you’ll be hearing more about in this episode! We discuss childhood reading including the books that influenced us, and discuss the lack of black representation in the stories we read growing up. We talk about why there needs to be changes in the school curriculums regarding the literary texts we study and how problematic past choices have been. Rach explains why she started The Black Book Blog and talks about the importance of reading diversely. She also shares her thoughts on 75-80% of the publishing industry being white and we discuss ways this is changing. We do also have a discussion around what’s been happening online between feminist authors Florence Given and Chidera Eggerue. *A quick note that things have progressed since we recorded this episode (On 11th Dec) and further statements have been released including one from Florence*.

Today I am joined by the wonderful Eliza Hatch! She’s probably best known for her online campaign Cheer Up Luv which is a photo series that recounts incidents of street harassment from the survivor’s perspective. Since her original campaign launched it’s gained an enormous response and has gone global! Eliza has since partnered with multiple organisations and charities to continue campaigning against street harassment, she has written for numerous publications, done a tedX talk and most recently started her own podcast! She has many strings to her bow and it was a delight to talk to her about the brilliant work that she continues to do!

On today’s episode I have two wonderful guests talking all about refugee rights. I am joined by Basma who came to the UK seeking asylum and wanted to share her story and talk about her lived experience as a refugee. In addition to Basma I have the lovely Sol, founder of social enterprise, Give Your Best, which you’ll hear more about in the episode. She is someone who is passionate about bridging the gap of misunderstanding around migrants and trying to re frame the negative media portrayals that cause so much stigma.

On today’s episode I talk to Youth Activist, University Student and all round mega babe, India. We discuss the difficulties of moving to University during a global pandemic and why it’s so important to reach out and seek help if you’re feeling like it’s impacting your mental health. India talks at length about her 'accidental' activism around Anti Racism and Black Lives Matter that has lead to her continuing to vocalise her views and use her platform to speak up against racism. In this episode we discuss her thoughts on the reactions to the Sainsbury’s Christmas advert and why she wasn’t shocked by it. India talks about why we need to acknowledge racism within the UK and how being shocked isn't enough if you aren't going to act. We also talk about the online platform she co-founded called The Speak Up Space, which is a safe space for people to come forward about their experiences of sexual violence & harassment. At the end of this episode we have a bit of laugh about how not funny

On today’s episode I talk to the incredible Deeba Syed about her work as a harassment and discrimination lawyer and the incredible organisation she works at, Rights of Women. We talk at length about sexual harassment - what it is, how it’s defined and why it’s so rife in the workplace. Deeba also shares her thoughts on #MeToo and how the pandemic is affecting women’s confidence in reporting incidents of harassment in the workplace.