Using your place at the table

In solidarity with everyone fighting racism, we’ve given our platform to Shauna Hutchison today. Shauna is a Resident Engagement Officer in one of the biggest Housing Associations in London and was voted Young Leader of the Year 2019. Read her call to action and plea to us all to use whatever place at the table we have to make a difference.

As I type this, there are two things I am sure of:

One, I'm writing this from a place of privilege being of dual heritage with a racially ambiguous name.

And two, I am writing this as someone who is part of the wide-ranging group simply classified as BAME.

I don't know if I should be writing this as Shauna ‘the person’ or Shauna ‘the professional’.I don't know if I should be writing this from the perspective of my family, my friends and my colleagues who experience injustice, invisible barriers and are stereotyped on a regular basis.Or do I write from my perspective where the racism I've experienced has been covert and subtle. Things that might be completely throw-away to you like ‘What’s this head wrap about?’ or ‘Can I touch your hair?’ when I choose to have it naturally curly instead of being fried bone straight.

What I do know is that, just like you I have a voice. And since winning the 24 Housing Young Leaders Award for 2019, I have a platform. I have experiences and I care about what happens to my loved ones and strangers, like George Floyd and Belly Mujinga.There is so much going on in the world at the moment, a pandemic and a reignited spotlight on the Black Lives Matter movement, which never went away, you just heard nothing about it.It’s uncomfortable, making comments on this because I don’t know what to say.

What I will say though is this:I don’t know how to feel. I feel everything, and nothing at the same time. I feel powerless but simultaneously empowered. I feel quietly vocal. And that’s okay.From what I’ve witnessed online and discussed with people on how we can make a change - the small things like promoting black businesses, protesting (as safely as possible), donating to charities and signing petitions are just small differences we can all make. But it doesn’t stop there!I was having a conversation with a stranger, on Instagram, a few days ago (yes, I slid into their DMs). They’d made a comment calling out a post that would negatively impact black people. The popular page owner replied, ‘You can't say anything, you're not black, I’ll change it when a black person tells me to.’.

This reply triggered something in my head that said, you don't need to be black to say when something is wrong.Everyone has a voice to call out when they see prejudice and racism, everybody should be considerate when making decisions for other people. You don’t need to feel guilty for your presumed privilege because you should use it to make a difference.

Whoever you are, if you have a seat at the table, make suggestions for positive change based on thoughtful decisions. Have your friends, your colleagues, your partners, your neighbours and your children in mind.Please don't be jaded and think that there are only issues in America, that's just a snippet of what's being televised at the moment.

Diversify the media you consume, call out the lack of diversity in the organisations you work in, take time to educate yourself about why there is social unrest and continued inequality in the number of black people in senior positions. Stop and search, recognise black performing arts. Be a listening ear for your black colleagues if they want to talk about how they feel right now and their past experiences so when you’re able to influence decisions you have some understanding of the potential impact. Sure, you might feel awkward asking them but imagine how awkward they feel having to talk about an impassioned matter.

I don't want my legacy to be that I’m known as the black’ish” person who only raises awareness around inequality. I want to be known as somebody who, by having a seat at the table being able to make suggestions and raise people’s concerns, made a small difference and succeeded irrespective of my race, sexuality, religion or gender.

So, there you go, I had a platform. I used it. What are you going to do?

Shauna Hutchinson

Here’s some resources we’re exploring:

Books

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F SaadSo

You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma OluoThe Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty First Century by Grace Lee Boggs

Podcasts

1619 by the New York Times

The Diversity Gap