Diaspora Collective

This week we will speaking about race and reality TV!
It’s that time of year when Britain showcases it’s newly developed top export, the Love Island series.
We have some die hard reality tv show fans in this joint, and this week we’ll be exploring how we view and experience reality tv shows as Black women. Does the way reality tv producers interact with race and diverse or "un-diverse” casts determine how much we can enjoy our reality tv?
How do these choices reflect wider patterns with racial socialisation and concepts of desirability in general? Is looking to interact with racial discourse in Love Island reviews a barrier to our hot girl summer? Or is it naive to think we can ignore blatant racial undertones in reality tv? Tune in to hear our thoughts!

In this week's episode, we'll be doing a little “newsround” format. We'll be discussing 3 topics in current news, and our thoughts and opinions on them largely relating to the theme of accountability. This week you can hear out thoughts on the Grenfell tragedy, In the Heights casting controversy, and the Twitter ban in Nigeria.
Can minorities communities move forward without our oppressors taking accountability? We explore this question and how it relates to various facets of our lives, from what we read on social media, see on our tv screens and hear from our governments.
This week was also our 1 year anniversary as a podcast! So a huge thank you to everyone who has listened, commented, followed and interacted with us!

This week we will be discussing a long awaited episode (well at least for us) all about HAIR!
During this episode, we explore the subject of hair and what it means to us as Black women. How has our relationship with our hair changed over time? And what was that Blue Magic sh*t we used to grease our scalps with? We also dive into the Natural Hair Movement and the scars racism, slavery and, intergenerational trauma have left in our attitude towards our natural hair. Listen to us bare our hearts (and our scalps) as we pose questions to each other on the much-debated and spoken about topic of Black hair with key excerpts from Emma Dabiri’s “Don’t Touch My Hair”!

In this week's episode we continue our 2 part mini-series and discuss blackfishing. The term refers to individuals that use products to create and enhance features in order to intentionally appear Black or racially ambiguous.
We explore the reasons why people may engage in blackfishing behaviours and how this act links to unsavoury historical legacies from the Jim Crow era and the way it is used to obtain social and cultural capital today.
We also delve into how Black features have been commoditised in marketing campaigns and monitiesed by certain influencers on social media to generate personal income. Why are typically Afrocentric/Black features only appreciated when they appear on non-Black women? How does this adversely affect Black and racially minoritised women? Listen to find out.

Have you ever encountered someone who presented themselves as a liberal, anti-racist, intersectional feminist, oat milk drinking activist? But the more time you spent with them, the more you started to notice racist, misogynist and homophobic comments they make - whether it was justified as a joke, offhanded comment, or something that their friends tolerate. Well, we hate to say it but you may have been wokefished. In this week’s episode, we discuss the concept of “wokefishing”, a term originally coined by Serena Smith. We explore it’s origins, how it can play out in different social settings, such as work, dating and friendships, and how to catch them out.

In this episode we unpack the incredibly triggering, exhausting and nightmare-fuelled issues and events that have surfaced over the course of the past month. We were joined by Habiba, a representative from a Legal Observer organisation who was able to provide insight into the legal right to protest. We discuss the recent protests, state sanctioned violence and gendered sexual violence. We essentially reflect on the shifting narratives around vigils vs protest, the purpose and efficiency of the police force, the nuances between experiences of white, non-Black women of colour and Black women, and the role of legal observer organisations. If organisations like legal observers exist to “police” the police, has the institution failed?

In this week’s episode we couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk about the recent interview from Oprah with Meghan and Harry, the magnitude of the topics discussed and delving into the structure of the Commonwealth. We also talk about our current views on Reparations. What are they? Who are the benefactors? How have they typically been used in the past and are they are effective?

In this episode we speak about the recent announcements from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the media response. We’ll be framing this by exploring the relationship between the monarchy and race, and considering whether you can be pro-Black and pro monarchy. How can we navigate conflicting identities as a Black British individuals? Is supporting or aligning with the establishment a prerequisite to British identity? Is it possible for the monarchy lean itself towards Black liberation?

In this episode we speak about the Golden Globe nominations saga where Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You was snubbed for a nomination in favour of Emily in Paris. We’ll be linking this to the notion that Black people have to “work twice as hard to get half as far”, and exploring how this relates to institutional inequality and limited access to opportunity.
Main Episode Focuses:
- The concept of working “Twice as Hard”
-Links to access of opportunities
- Institutional Issues that perpetuate inequality (the institutions that hand out recognition)
- Solutions like separatism and affirmative action

This week we discuss the recent Love Island debacle between Yewande Biala and Lucy. We outline the meaning of microaggressions and relate it to racist stereotyping, double consciousness and misogynoir. We interrogate the destabilising effect that microaggressions have on interpersonal experiences, explore their role in both reality tv and broader society, and frame their existence in the hierarchy of racial violence. What is so micro about microaggressions? When will we stop minimising and invalidating Black peoples experiences of everyday racism?

This week we provide a brief intro back into what we have been up to at the DIASPORA HQ. We take a look back at 2020, and discuss New Years resolutions and what we hope to achieve this year. We want to say a huge thank you to all our listeners. If you’ve listened to 1 episode or all 13 from last season we appreciate you taking the time to hear us and support us.

During this episode, we will be discussing developing government mistrust in the Black, and minoritised communities, particularly with the release of the COVID-19 vaccine and increased efforts to focus on “BAME” communities. We’ll also be touching on the recent deportation flight to Jamaica on Wednesday 2nd December, and the Joint Committee of Human Rights report on racism released on twitter on 11th November. Our focus will be exploring mistrust in institutions; where does it come from, and how do we move forward?

A couple of disclaimers before you listen:

We want to stress that in this episode we are NOT going to discuss whether or not anyone should be getting the vaccine. We want to emphasise that health services, science and medical institutions are full of wonderful technologies and individuals who strive to create improvements to global health. Choices on how to respond are personal opinions which we will not comment on. However, we have noticed an increased distrust from our community that we want to delve into and analyse.
In some cases we will be using the term BAME, any one who knows us knows we do not agree with that term, but when referring to public documentation that has been titled using ‘BAME’ we will align with that for clarity. However, personally we will emphasise the term minoritised communities in the context of the UK.

A huge thank you to those who sent in their opinions for this episode.

During this episode, we will be discussing yet another controversy - this time focusing specifically on the Sainsbury’s advert. Why is it more controversial to centre a Black family in a Christmas advert than a family of carrots and aliens? We discuss racist assumptions about Black families and the relationship between representation, racism and capitalism. We delve into the important distinction between representation in front of and behind the screen and discuss the recent backlash in the context of the lingering racist lineage that the advertisement industry still perpetuates.

During this episode, we will be discussing how everything is political in light of the most recent US election and the End Sars movement. Is it sometimes okay to be apolitical and do race and ethnicity have a stake in politics?

Continuing with our focus on Black History Month, we’ve decided to do an episode on Black Girl Magic and “Her”stories; getting a little bit nostalgic and shining light on #InternationalDayofthe Girl. As an ode to Black creatives, story lines and journeys, we all watched Rocks on Netflix and will be relating key themes in the film to our lives growing up as British British girls. Side bar, it’s also our 10th episode! So a big thank you to everyone who has tuned into any of our episodes, encouraged us and inspired us to make it to 10!

Happy UK #BlackHistoryMonth! During the ninth episode of the Diaspora Collective Podcast we discuss Black excellence in light of Black History Month: its focus on specific members of Black history and what it means for the Black community today. We also discuss pivotal moments in the history of our own cultures. In this episode, we discuss how much we actually know about Black British History, where did we learn it from? And why is it important to us? We also explore the ways in which we all can authentically partake in BHM to make sure this month counts!

We asked and you answered - in this weeks episode we respond to discussion points sent in by our listeners! We posed the following questions: Do you think we’ve made progress and if so why? What else can be done? Are you talking to family and friends more about these issues? Have you maintained the changes initiated by the protests and unrest? We were met with more questions than answers but during this episode we address whether reading about anti-racism makes you anti-racist; How to extend your anti-racist activism beyond interpersonal conversations and social media; and whether BAME educators should be paid for their labour. Tune in to hear the Diaspora Collective’s thoughts

Patois, pidgin, slang and AAVE - in this episode we discuss the importance of language in communities who face oppression and how it can be used as a facet to affirm identity and agency. We discuss the power dynamics of how language gets co-opted by brands and celebrities for monetary gain, the adverse impact of how slang is perceived during education and THAT Adele video

What’s the importance of ‘cancel culture’? Is it used fairly and effectively in deplatforming individuals? Are we living in the age of 'oppression olympics'? This episode we discuss the power of ‘cancel culture’ and the importance of de-platforming individuals, corporations and industries who endorse and perpetuate, racist ideologies, hate crimes and oppression against communities. We relate this discussion to extremely frustrating current events including the racist actions of Wiley and the BBC.

From the almost unbelievable story of how he got into Medical School, to asking “where are the mandem?” on campus, and eventually co-authoring a clinical handbook to facilitate the diagnosis of skin conditions on black and brown skin, Malone Makwende sits down with the Diaspora Collective to have a frank discussion about Medical racism and the necessary impact bridging the gap will have on the future of healthcare

Imagine if we could “swipe left” on racism? This week we’re discussing the impact of algorithms that help maintain racist structures in society. From Jalaiah Harmon’s renegade dance controversy to dating, work and leisure, in episode 4 of the Diaspora Collective podcast, we address the impact of algorithms in maintaining racist structures in society. Tune in to hear us address these issues in technology and how we need to do more to combat racism on these platforms.

In light of the circulation of articles surrounding the term “BAME” episode 3 of the Diaspora Collective podcast addresses the contentious terminology. We discuss identity, a little bit about ourselves and how we identify, what is to call multiple places home, labels such as BAME, POC and BIPOC, and intersectionality.

This week we are joined by artist, curator, business owner, and creative producer Stacey Olika. Her work centres around representation and social change. In this episode we discuss the removal of the Edward Colston statue, museums as institutions of knowledge, why preserving racist statues aren’t synonymous with preserving history, and decolonising the curriculum.

In our first episode recorded on the inaugural #blackouttuesday, Aba, Delali, Melissa and Dominique discuss the current events which have exposed the global crisis of racial injustice and systemic racism. We react to the response of civil society, corporates, governments, brands and friends/neighbours family. This was our attempt at a proactive discussion about what authentic allyship is and trying to pave a way forward admist the trauma felt by the Black community.