Race Reflections AT WORK – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In today's episode Guilaine responds to an email sent to her about the differential treatment of people of colour in the workplace, and why Black people are treated more harshly. This question was a response to a thread she made about the idealisation of Black people, and so this episode is also a follow up to the last episode where she spoke on that topic.

She begins with an aside considering hierarchies of Racism under White Supremacy, particularly in relation to the UK, France and the USA.

She then goes through examples of differential treatment across racial lines and shares some thoughts on the reasons why these patterns are engrained within white supremacist society.

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In today's episode Guilaine reflects on how, seemingly paradoxically, when Black people (and other marginalised groups) are idealised in the workplace it can put them at risk, and result in their denigration and/or devaluation.

She begins by looking an an example, a Black doctor mentioned in Black Skin, White Masks by Franz Fanon: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/313127/black-skin-white-masks-by-fanon-frantz/9780241396667

She expands on this concept to detail the ways that this doctor might be exceptionalised and idealised due to being a competent and skilled person from a group that is not seen to have those qualities. And how this sets them up to fail when any mistake is made on their part resulting in a pendulum swing where they are often seen as betraying the person or institution that was idealising them.

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In today's episode Guilaine reflects on how covert racism functions, in particular within the cultural context of the UK.

She begins by defining covert racism as a form of racialised bias/discrimination that is not explicitly, overtly and obviously manifested. This results in the people experiencing it being faced with issues of deniability, ambiguity and a near impossibility for redress, becoming mired in questions of what is counted as specific evidence of motivation for the racism.

This topic was inspired by the work she is doing for her new book about whiteness in the workplace. She expands on experiences she documented in her book Living While Black and on reflections she had with her book White Minds.

She then poses the question of how we get to a place of mutual understanding and of recognition of covert racism. She considers the ways to prove convert racism and locates three forms of proof:  

1. Historical resonance
2. Empirical data
3. Lived experience

She concludes that by thinking about systems, statistics and probabilities it is possible to prove covert racism if there is a real desire to do so, and wonders if the ways we have to try to achieve justice are an obstacle in terms of finding and using this proof. 

Living While Black: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442992/living-while-black-by-kinouani-guilaine/9781529109436

White Minds: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/white-minds

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In this podcast we discuss  side hustling when black or brown or otherwise marginalised and therefore likely to encounter inequality, injustice and oppression at work. We think about why side hustling matters and why it can act as a buffer to adverse work experiences. 

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To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

In today’s episode we think about the dynamics at play in someone finding themselves in the role of being "The Black Advocate" (or any other position of advocating for marginalised groups) in the workplace. 

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To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

In this episode we think about the treatment of the Black players in the England team after the Euro 2020 final. We think about the parallels between all of this and the struggles people navigate in more conventional workplaces. We consider the conditional humanity afforded to Black people and people of colour, the colonial notion of gratitude and how Black people are objectified.

Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/KGuilaine/status/1414842699119796225?s=20

Related episode: Location of Disturbance and Scapegoating https://www.buzzsprout.com/1623760/episodes/8127268

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To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

In today’s episode we take the recent Tiktok trend of "white women fake crying" as a jumping-off point to consider a slightly different take on intersectionality in relation to white womanhood. We consider the reasons why black people and people of colour find these videos disturbing or triggering, and explore "toxic femininity" which we define as when white fragility meets the constructions of white femininity.

More on the TikTok trend: https://www.nylon.com/life/white-women-crying-on-cue-tiktok-trend

Living While Black: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Racial Trauma is out: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1442992/living-while-black/9781529109436.html

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To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

In today’s episode we think about how the so called "deadly sin' of envy can play out in the workplace in relation to racial dynamics and inequality. We consider the distinction between envy and jealousy and the underlying motivations behind these feelings and what they look like within the contexts of whiteness and work.

Further reading:  Neuroses of whiteness, white envy and racial violence

Living While Black: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Racial Trauma is out: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1442992/living-while-black/9781529109436.html

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To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

In today’s episode we consider surviving the workplace while black. We reflect on the workplace conditions of previous and current generations of black people, particularly black women.

We think about three strands that are navigated when working while black:

1.  Inequalities and structural racism which impacts physical and mental health.

2. Experiences of discrimination, interpersonal racism and bullying which intersect with structural issues.

3. The internal and external pressures put on black people by themselves, their family and community, to work twice as hard to overcome these oppressive systems.

Living While Black: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Racial Trauma is out: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1442992/living-while-black/9781529109436.html

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To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk

Today we do something a little bit different because Living While Black: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Racial Trauma is due to come out very soon! So this episode is dedicated to thinking together about the book, considering the relevance of LWB to the workplace and sharing an exclusive extract from the book's introduction. You can preorder living while black here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/144/1442992/living-while-black/9781529109436.html

Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

To send us your queries, questions and dilemmas please email atwork@racereflections.co.uk