A Mile in My Shoes – Details, episodes & analysis

Steadman’s story

Produced by Eloise Stevens.

In 1981, Black communities in Brixton rose up in bloody confrontation with the Met Police – against a backdrop of racism, severe economic recession and high unemployment. They followed on from similar events in Bristol the year before, and the summer of ‘81 brought further uprisings across England – including in Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. It was a critical moment in the movement for social justice in Britain, leading to landmark recommendations for police reform and local regeneration policies, as well as, crucially, a new sense of Black British empowerment.

A Mile in My Shoes: 81 Uprisings brings together stories from people who were there at the time, and who felt the reverberations through homes, streets, and communities across the country – in ways we all still live with today. Each storyteller has donated a pair of their shoes, which you are invited to step into for an empathic journey that might change how you see the world.

Produced by The Empathy Museum and created with 81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance and the The Ubele Initiative, this series was made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. 

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In this episode, Angel tells her personal story to accompany the letter she wrote and read in episode five.

Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. They all access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.

Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ 

To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.

This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic.

More about:

Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/

The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/

Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/

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Episode 3 of 'Our Justice': a mini-series of true stories and conversations, co-produced with young people with experience of the Scottish justice system.

In this episode we hear from 18-year-old Elio, who loves theatre and is a huge fan of Doctor Who. They share their experience of growing up with a parent in prison. 

This is a Boldface Production, in partnership with Community Justice Scotland and the Empathy Museum. 

Content warning:

This episode discusses parental imprisonment, bullying, mental health-related difficulties, and discrimination based on gender. If you are affected by anything you hear, please visit the Community Justice Scotland website for a list of organisations offering support: https://communityjustice.scot/news/our-justice-podcast/

Episode production credits: 

Training: Jesse Lawson + Arlie Adlington

Editing and Sound Design: Nada Smiljanic

Mixing: Arlie Adlington

Executive Producer: Jesse Lawson

A text transcript is available at http://empathymuseum.com/podcast/our-justice

More about this series:

In Our Justice, three young people explore personal and societal issues that led to contact with the Scottish Justice System. Over six episodes, Reece, Chris and Elio take it in turns to share their own experiences, then invite significant people in their lives to join them and reflect on what they’ve been through. Our Justice is an honest and person-centred exploration of criminal justice in Scotland. Each young person received presenting and interview training, and has shaped the structure of the series.

Music and sfx credits:

Monkey Warhol - Lunar Walk - freemusicarchive.org/music/Monkey_Warhol/lunar-phases-ep/lunar-walk/

Crowander - Romance - freemusicarchive.org/music/crowander/atmosphears-experimental-atmos/15-romancemp3/

Little Glass Men - Modulation of the Spirit - freemusicarchive.org/music/Little_Glass_Men/Debut_EP/Modulation_of_the_Spirit_WB

Meydan - The Beauty of Maths - freemusicarchive.org/music/Meydan/The_Beauty_of_Maths/Meydn_-_The_Beauty_of_Maths_1361

Tomlija - Courthouse Lobby Ambience - freesound.org/people/Tomlija/sounds/101237/

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"It's a privilege to know that as humans, we are still fundamentally good."

Try on James' shoes and take a moment to see the world through his eyes. James' story is produced by Leo Hornak.

More about our A Mile in My Shoes project: https://www.empathymuseum.com/a-mile-in-my-shoes/

Find out where Empathy Museum will travel to next: https://www.empathymuseum.com/where-to-find-us/

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"A smile is an act of defiance."

Try on Yazan's shoes and take a moment to see the world through his eyes. Please be aware that this story contains adult themes. Yazan's story was produced by Melissa Viney.

More about our A Mile in My Shoes project: https://www.empathymuseum.com/a-mile-in-my-shoes/

Find out where Empathy Museum will travel to next: https://www.empathymuseum.com/where-to-find-us/

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“You shouldn’t be given health care on how good a person you are, how hard you worked or how much money you earn”

Try on Catherine's shoes and take a moment to see the world through her eyes. Catherine's story was produced by Andrea Rangecroft, and was collected with the help of The Health Foundation.

More about our A Mile in My Shoes project: https://www.empathymuseum.com/a-mile-in-my-shoes/

Find out where Empathy Museum will travel to next: https://www.empathymuseum.com/where-to-find-us/

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"My HIV status was pretty devastating."

Try on Allan's shoes and take a moment to see the world through his eyes. Allan's story was produced by Rob Eagle, and was collected with the help of The Health Foundation. Please be aware that this story contains adult themes.

More about our A Mile in My Shoes project: https://www.empathymuseum.com/a-mile-in-my-shoes/

Find out where Empathy Museum will travel to next: https://www.empathymuseum.com/where-to-find-us/

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"I think you can achieve a good death..."

Try on Sam's shoes and take a moment to see the world through her eyes. Please be aware that this story contains adult themes. Sam's story was produced by Robbie McInnes, and was collected when our A Mile in My Shoes exhibit travelled to London for the Totally Thames Festival.

More about our A Mile in My Shoes project: https://www.empathymuseum.com/a-mile-in-my-shoes/

Find out where Empathy Museum will travel to next: https://www.empathymuseum.com/where-to-find-us/

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"My one aim is to preserve life."

Try on Ryan shoes and take a moment to see the world through his eyes. Ryan's story was produced by Rose de Larrabeiti.

More about our A Mile in My Shoes project: https://www.empathymuseum.com/a-mile-in-my-shoes/

Find out where Empathy Museum will travel to next: https://www.empathymuseum.com/where-to-find-us/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.