Resources - 'White Ally'
Patrick Ottley O'Connor & Pran Patel: the DM group Patrick set up & recommended resources on how to be an ally
Happy New Year!
This - your regular, midweek episode resources follow up - is the last newsletter from Series 2 of the We Are In Beta Podcast. But the first of many in 2020.
There won’t be any *new* episodes until the Spring, while we research and record stories for Series 3.
But I will be in touch very soon to ask you about the kinds of stories you want us to tell and how you can nominate and submit them.
Watch this space.
Until then, if you haven’t already, catch up on the second part of our recent double bill on BAME leadership in education and check out the best ‘In Beta’ bits from the episode below.
🎧 Listen to ‘White Ally’ here.
Patrick Ottley O’Connor - Executive Principal, North Liverpool Academy- shares his journey to becoming a White Ally for his BAME colleagues. Allana Gay, who told her story in the first episode of this double bill, shares what needs to be done to improve diversity and representation in schools and why. Pran Patel, encourages us to look at race and ethnicity through a different lens.
What’s in store this week?
What you’ve been saying about their episode
The best ‘In Beta’ bits - key resources that have come up via their episode - at the bottom of this post
What have people been saying?
Check out Patrick’s & Pran’s story
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The best ‘In Beta’ bits
As promised, and with a big thank you to Patrick, Pran and others, here are the resources (and their thoughts about them) that have come up via their story and some others, which have influenced their journey significantly:
Patrick Ottley O’Connor
The DM group Patrick set up to…
…to ask how to best be an ally for BAME colleagues in preparation for the podcast.
“I reached out to members of the @BAMEedNetwork including @MrPranPatel, @ASTaupportAAli, @AllanaG13, @AbdulChohan, @Penny_Ten, @RrUnsworth. All welcomed my support as an ally and the notion of recording the podcast to promote and encourage allyship from others.”
“All provided advice on what they wanted from an ally & signposted me to a range of other resources.”
Here’s a list of the resources shared by members of the DM group:
A blog by Clare Nicholls about what men can do to be an ally for women. Although it doesn’t give advice about how to be ally for BAME colleagues the 8 pieces of advice she gives are transferrable.
The Pyramid of White Supremacy.
The term ‘white supremacy’ conjures up sinister images in the mind and can understandably deter people from engaging in the conversation, but when considered as one extreme of a scale it can help us understand what racism looks like in different forms and when to challenge it.
Why Diversity Matters (McKinsey, 2015).
Research makes it increasingly clear that organisations with more diverse workforces perform better financially.
Members of the DM group also stressed diversity is not just a question of economics. It’s one of ethics. Increasing diversity is the right thing to do.
Allyship - The Key To Unlocking The Power Of Diversity.
Although written about allyship in the tech industry, this article applies to education. It outlines what allyship is and gives advice on becoming actionable allies.
White Sanction in England: towards a theory of BME progression.
In this video, recorded at the BAMEed Network’s conference in 2017, Professor Paul Miller explores his research into how and why BAME educators progress in education.
A collection of resources and links about 'whiteness’.
This video on ‘Deconstructing White Privilege’ by Dr. Robin Di Angelo will get you thinking.
An infographic about how to be an ally.
Adapted from a tweet thread by Dr Munda Abdi, the BAMEed Network created an infographic with 10 ways you can be an ally.
Pran Patel
His favourite piece of research…
“... oooh so many.... “
“But literature-wise: The Color of Supremacy: Beyond the discourse of ‘white privilege’ by Zeus Leonardo.”
“Why? because it frames privilege on the wider scale.”
His suggested reading list…
“There is a reading list on my website - Akala’s book ‘Natives’ talks through a UK experience - but a great book to start with is ‘White Fragility’ - it’s tough reading but I certainly had some ‘oh yeah’ moments. Ibram X. Kendi’s book ‘How to Be an Antiracist’ is also a great starter read.”
If you found this collection of resources useful and thought of someone who would too, hit the button below to share it with them and encourage them to sign up.
Thanks for playing your part in making education the place we all know it can be.
Speak soon,
@NiallAlcock
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