Trying to remain hopeful

It’s been a difficult week but I’m trying to remain hopeful.

Welcome new readers! And hello again, less new readers.

June is Pride Month which for many LGBTQ+ people is a time of commemoration, celebration and community. Work for equality doesn’t stop until all of us have equal freedoms so I’m a fan of the Progress flag above. It was designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018 to incorporate the Blue, Pink and White of the Trans flag and also Black and Brown to highlight LGBTQ+ People of Colour, who were central to the Stonewall riot. Read about the “Stonewall lesbian”, Stormé de Larverie, and Marsha Johnson. If you’re interested in the history of the Rainbow Flag, there’s a good etymology here.

It’ll be a peculiar socially-distanced Pride season this year but our sense of community is more important in 2020 than ever.

I’m also trying to remain hopeful because, even though the devastating effects of white supremacy continue, anti-racist books are being bought, people are asking me to lend them copies of books I have or for recommendations of further reading, and donations to inclusive publishers' appeal have increased massively. I’ve also had a good week for newsletter sign-ups which is a hopeful sign of interest in the topics I write about. But reading needs to lead to action, of course.

And that action needs to be meaningful. Yomi Adegoke talks about empty performative solidarity here.

ChangeOut is working on two equality, diversity and inclusion programmes at the moment, supporting a range of charities, with another one kicking off next week. So that is hopeful too.

Here in Lambeth, Labour passed an emergency motion in support of Black Lives Matter at Lambeth’s Full Council on June 3. My colleague, Sonia Winifred’s speech, is referenced here.

“We must all of us challenge racism and discrimination at all times, as only then, will we begin to make positive and visible changes in our communities and wider society today.”

I know from the work we are doing as a council that this isn’t an empty gesture.

It also gave me hope to see Pastor Lorraine from Brixton youth charity, Dwaynamics, commend the police’s lowkey presence at the Black Lives Matter march here this week.

I thought this article by Iesha Small, Exposure to racism is trauma, makes some very important points. Well worth a read. Please look after your friends and colleagues.

As I’ve mentioned in previous weeks, I’m doing some work at the moment exploring “lived experience” and how people are able to tell their own stories or lead change. I’m still gathering input to the survey here.

As part of the project, I’ve also had some fascinating in-depth discussions this week with Sound Delivery, Voice of Migrant Workers and Expert Citizens, all providing leadership in this area. This article about how journalists frame stories is worth a read too.

What else am I doing? Just before lockdown I was booked to do a smartphone film-making course with my friends at Mile 91. This was converted into an excellent virtual course which I completed this week so I’ve been spending my spare moments editing instead of reading. The team is running these courses regularly and I recommend them. Info here.

What am I listening to?

Here’s a tune I discovered (courtesy of this 😳) from a guitar-based rock band, Caveman. I do like a guitar-based rock band.

Joy-giving things

When I was a child (in the 70s), my grandparents had an enormous Swiss Cheese plant AKA Monstera Deliciosa at their house. It was my job to dust the leaves. One of my birthday presents was my very own Monstera. He was a bit big for his boots so I decided to repot him.

The Big cheese gave birth to three little baby cheeses. My indoor jungle is growing.

Happy weekend all ❤️

I write this newsletter because I believe in sharing progressive ideas that help us work towards a truly equal world.

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ChangeOut is created by Lucy Caldicott. You can find more about my work at ChangeOut.org. If you’re looking to have a chat about culture, leadership, purpose, equity, or a facilitated team discussion about any of those things, get in touch. You can also find me on Bluesky, Instagram, and, LinkedIn.

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