Creating Lasting Change Combating Afro Hair Discrimination and Parental Imprisonment with Jemmar

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In this episode of The Student Guide, the host welcomes Jemmar, a multifaceted campaigner and writer. They discuss the impact of the Greta Thunberg effect in the organising space, and dig into Jemmar's journey in founding the Halo Collective and Collective Punishment campaigns, aimed at combating afro hair discrimination and addressing the challenges associated with parental imprisonment, respectively. The conversation covers the intricacies of policy changes, challenges faced in raising awareness, and the importance of community in creating lasting change. Additionally, the episode touches on mental health resources provided by organisations like BetterHelp and YoungMinds, emphasising the need for support and community in personal and professional development. Enjoy an insightful conversation filled with personal stories and practical advice for aspiring young campaigners!

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Transcript

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  Black and brown people are disproportionately represented in the police system. Why other kids would come up with solutions? Why they're not predominantly black and brown people who are most affected? Um, so yeah, so  there's a lot, lots of challenges. Um, just like human, just me, like I had to be very mindful what I share.

No, this is very taxing work. This is very personal. Whenever I do progress in the campaign, like whenever I get rejected, that's all someone shuts me down. Someone says, I can't achieve what I want to achieve. I, I take it personally because this is my real life. You know, like I didn't make up the story that my dad, my stepdad father went to prison.

He actually did and it actually impacted my life. Like there was a, there was a time for me where I really, um,  I was in call.  Um, my father, my mother's a court and.  My friend, bless her, her aunt is a, a lawyer for like a council in London, and she was talking to her, and my friend's lawyer is a, is, um, a lawyer, uh, well, I don't know what, if it's a barrister, I don't know what her, I think it's a barrister, um, but basically, Um, my friend was basically prepping me for the possibility of trying to make the case that I'm, that I am responsible worth enough to like, like,  you are just going to get your brother and sister because you are your brother and sister, you have to make the case to judge.

If I broke up, parents got arrested, went to prison, served their sentences, and because they're not born in this country, get deported back to the Caribbean. That was a real possibility. During the pandemic, while I was doing university online, that was a real reality of my life. 

Yeah, and while I was working full time as well, we should say, um, so yeah, that was a movie I had to see in my life, like, I can't, I can't fake that kind of trauma, that kind of pain, that kind of struggle, and as I said, there's so much more to my story, but a lot of it is not just my story, and, you know, it's my stepfather's story, it's my sister's story, it's my brother's story, it's my mother's story, it's my mammy's story, and It's, it's not my place to tell those stories.

I can make them real so much because that's what I feel comfortable with. Um, but yeah, it's a challenge doing this work. Um, but I do not doubt that within time I'm going to build an amazing team of lived experience people doing this work, a wider network, national. Cause I'm not, this is not London centric.

centric. Uh, this is not England centric, England and Wales centric. This is, I want a national campaign. I want a national community. I want to mobilize, organize and mobilize people, um, for change.  I think the one thing I just want to touch on, based on what you said, Is, um,  like he said, uh, I think people sometimes can forget that, like, whether it's a campaign, whether it's a business solving an issue, whether it's even just individuals just like sharing, like, content, like, there is that story behind it and there is the, like, those lived experiences.

Um, but I think also what's really important from what you shared was the, the, like,  the, the community aspect of, like,  You, you have to get up, like, especially if you're not from a community that's like suffering, like if you're, if you're doing work or advocacy work in an area that you're not from, or like you can't relate to.

You can't then almost act like you know the answer to all of those, like, issues or questions. And I think that's really cute what you said, because you were just like, like, also what you mentioned with the Halo, um, that it's not just like, that it's not just you. You're not like the only one deciding everything.

You're not leading, you're not the one just like leading everything. It's that,  and it's always like remembering that like,  When you've got like, everyone involved, the work will be so much bigger than like, if one person's like, the figurehead and you need them all. Um, we live in a capitalist society and I don't say that's like a secret Marxist or communist or socialist.

It's just, we live in a class society, and a part of Capitalism is individuality. 100%. Uh, and, like, especially even in the organizing space, we really love, like, I call it the Greta Thunberg effect. We really love a stand alone activist who is so intelligent, and formidable, and  influential, and wow, like, they're a once in a generation type person who's just like, out there, and it's like, Greta Thunberg does not do any of her organizing alone.