Webs we weave

I had a bit of a grumble on Twitter about the Met Police Commissioner's rejection of the term "institutional" used in the Casey Review. He said the term has become politicised and means different things to different people. So what shall we say instead?

I find this very frustrating and so does Louise Casey

The Macpherson report defined institutional racism as: The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.

It's hard to see how Mark Rowley can accept the Casey Report without accepting the institutional nature of the discrimination within and throughout the Met.

There's quite a lot that's bad about Twitter, but I will always be grateful for the friends I've made and the stuff I've learned there. Even now, five months after Elon Musk bought it, it's still my go-to social. The other day, a glitch in my phone's Twitter app meant I couldn't open any links from tweets. I deleted and reloaded the app which fixed it but for a few hours I thought it was terminally broken, especially as it was just after this. Those few hours made me realise just how much I rely on it to highlight things I might not always know about.

But with the changes to "verification" blue ticks and only paid-for accounts being amplified from Apr 1, I really think we're nearing the end of its usefulness. I'm not paying Elon Musk a single penny. So I'm going to have to experiment with other ways of curating the news.

Interesting and useful links 🖇️

This is an interesting article about one organisation's experience with flexible working. I would certainly value the "work from anywhere" policy!

Here's a useful tool for thinking about the many different dimensions of diversity.

R U OK? is an Australian public health promotion charity that encourages people to stay connected and have conversations that can help others through difficult times in their lives. They publish useful conversation guides.

Day of the Week 📆

A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility | The White House

Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates the joy, strength, and absolute courage of some of the bravest people I know — people who have too often had to put their jobs, relationships, and lives on the line just to be their true selves. Today, we show millions of transgender and nonbinary Ameri…

The White HouseThe White House

What am I reading? 📚

I'm reading Derek Bardowell’s book ‘Giving Back: How to Do Good, Better' at the moment. It was recommended to me by Thomas Lawson. It is a call for radical change in philanthropy for a better world.

What am I watching? 👀

I can't pretend I'm not watching the final series of Succession.

What am I listening to?👂

One of my favourite podcasts, Reasons to be Cheerful, did a feature on the indie bookshop world and featured some bookshops I admire most, Juno Books (run by my friend Rosie) and Round Table Books, who I used to work with in Brixton. Hooray for books!

Joy-giving things 😍

My dad found some old black and white negatives and my friend, Kelly, colour-tinted one for me. Look at my joyful, teething-cheeked face!

Have a lovely weekend

Lucy

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

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Thank you!

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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