How do you define normal? Is it in your use of language? Your religious beliefs? How is it that we can be at the centre of our own universe, yet in orbit in others whilst interacting with entirely different epistemologies, lived experiences and perceived normals? In this episode, we will explore how universal truths are affected by subjectivity as we step into the pluriverse.

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Britain’s education system, a system based on oppression and subjugation, has done little to nothing to positively impact upon the British Caribbean community. From the categorisation of Caribbean children as ‘educationally sub-normal’ to the cycle of exclusions, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and ultimately prison, the educational outcomes of British Caribbean children is the lowest of any ethnic group in Britain aside from Roma Gypsy children. The pedagogical practices currently being employed, epistemologically Eurocentric, do not reflect or represent the British Caribbean children in the classroom. An African-informed pedagogy can help African diasporic children access education in a more culturally informed and meaningful way. An appreciation of multiple epistemologies and centring other cultures can create an environment of criticality and growth.

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PRUs are an alternative education provision for those who have been excluded from school or are unable to attend mainstream education. This pipeline metaphor is used to identify the process through which students are pushed out of schools into alternative education provisions and then, ultimately, for some, into prisons. Today we will discuss the factors that contribute to the PRU to prison pipeline in the context of the British Caribbean experience. These disciplinary actions put students at higher risk for negative life outcomes, including involvement in the criminal justice system.

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Over the course of my master’s degree, the concept of assimilation came up time and time again and I found myself questioning why that was the case. What is it about assimilation that has troubled so many communities, individuals and institutions? In order to understand this concept, I have been looking at it from a number of angles, in this episode, we will discuss the positionality of being an indigenous outsider.

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The ways in which a particular culture formulates its knowledge is intricately bound up with the very identity of its people, their way of making sense of the world and the value system that holds that world view in place. Epistemicide, as the systematic destruction of rival forms of knowledge, is at its worst nothing less than symbolic genocide. In this episode, we will discuss the detrimental effects and impact of epistemicide on communities of the global south.

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The English language is far from perfect. Not just in the context of being unable to express love in as many ways as some others, but in the stickiness of our titles. Be they diagnoses or racial stereotypes, in this episode, we are going to discuss the impact of labelling and the weight of words on African diasporic shoulders.

BBC's London Olympics 2012: 'Nature vs Nurture' Film Shown at the 200m Sprint Final

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqdiwqgFqMg

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Whilst extreme forms of racial segregation have not been enforced on Britain’s shores, other insidious forms have been integrated into the culture. One such form of segregation operates from very early in the life of many twenty-first century Black Britons; as early as the age of six, school year two, for many children as ‘sets’, ‘streaming’ or ‘attainment grouping’ (Taylor et al. 2018), named by some schools, group children based on their abilities to complete tasks in specific lessons. In this episode, we will be exploring educational segregation as a means to subjugate.

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In this episode, we seek to explore how modern Britain’s interpretation of diversity manifests with global majority faces leveraged as a method of demonstrating inclusivity in the educational institution whilst their voices are silenced both in the classroom and in the literature of the curriculum. Ultimately, we will unpack the question, is diversity a misnomer used in place of tokenism?

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a coffee! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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 In the United Kingdom, the month of October is dedicated to Black history; a month to celebrate all of the contributions that black Britons have made to the country. Whilst it is of course an important part of the calendar, there are limits to its potency. In this episode, we will explore the value of black history and try to unpack the question, through the use of black history month, are we still being mis-sold our history?

 I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a coffee! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls.
Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes 

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In the final episode of Season one, we dive into the poignant novel The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon in order to discuss how the illusions of Caribbean migrants were shattered upon their arrival and over the course of their settling into the culture of the country.

Dabydeen and Tagoe-Wilson state that The Lonely Londoners 'deals with the shattering of the illusion of belonging' (1988, [2012] A230, p.187). They outline this illusion by placing it into three categories. '[..] firstly, a material dream about the wealth of England [..] with work well-paid and readily available' an illusion that both Moses Aloetta, the main protagonist, and Henry Oliver, Sir Galahad, have shattered. 'Secondly, [..] an illusion about the courtesy, hospitality and human warmth of the English' an illusion characterised, but not necessarily shattered, by Sir Galahad's exploits. 'Finally, the illusion of England involves a romantic sense of English history [..] and the illusion that the West Indian could participate in this history', something that can be seen in the affection shown to famous names throughout the novel.

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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The pandemic of 2020 shone a light on a deeply divided workplace: the highly paid, salaried graduate elites on one side, and the workers in dead-end jobs, lacking basic rights or entitlements, on the other. Those who were able to work from home (on average richer individuals) were significantly less likely to be furloughed or lose their jobs.

The impact upon the lives of children is just starting to be seen and understood. How much did privilege pay a part in the continued education of the nation's children?

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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Throughout history, we have seen language used to discriminate, humiliate and subjugate people of colour. So today, we will explore: Do we subjugate ourselves with our language?

**Warning: The 'N' word is used in this episode. **

Just listen to many rap or hip hip artists and you will hear many racial stereotypes flying around along with the extremely prominent use of the ‘n’ word. In all honesty, I am a fan of both rap and hip hop as I view them as modern forms of poetry which highlight many of the problems faced in black communities. However, on the surface they can appear abrasive to black society and seemingly work to perpetuate the images that have been used to hold black communities in the economic and social hinterlands where they have been bound since the pre and post slavery hierarchies were established. In order to appreciate the significance of this use of language, let’s take a look at the history surrounding BAME communities, in particular Caribbean, and the ways in which language has impacted upon them.

Much of this episode has been researched through the work of Daynalí Flores-Rodríguez, Franz Fanon, Albert Memmi, and many other studies and works of literature.

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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On today’s show, we will discuss CRT.
What is it?
What is its purpose and why do we study it?
Should we study it?

CRT is a thoughtful and multi-faceted approach to understanding how racism operates across society, including through both individual actions and structural processes that shape the everyday reality in education, the health service, the criminal justice system and politics.

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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On this show we will discuss a topic that is mentioned and covered in great detail throughout the UK in our educational institutions, the media, books and countless films. We will explore how the second world war has affected and continues to affect the curriculum as we seek to explore the question, do we give the war too much coverage in our schools?

First and foremost, I am not anti the teaching of the second world war, in fact, I feel that it is important to teach our children about it and for them to understand how we have reached the point we are currently at in time. This is the most important part for me, though, the actual teaching of the war. We all know that the winners always write the history books and that the viewpoint will be influenced by the bias of said winners. My query is whether this emphasis on the war has any underlying purpose and if so, how deep does it run?
What is the general feeling about the war in the UK?
How does this impact upon the mindsets of British citizens?

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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I was reading through the report by Ainscow et al: PRIMARY SCHOOLS RESPONDING TO DIVERSITY: BARRIERS AND POSSIBILITIES (2015)

In the report they stated that we need to ask three key questions:

- How effective is the English primary school system in responding to pupil diversity?

- What are the barriers to progress?

- What needs to happen to move the system forward? 

So on today’s podcast, we will explore these questions a little further.

has this ‘whole-system reform’ that ‘encompasses both profound structural change and rigorous attention to standards’ transformed our education system yet?

I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

If you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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Hello and welcome to season one of Coloured Souls. Here is as brief introduction of what this podcast is all about!

The ultimate goal for this podcast is to contribute to and continue the ongoing conversation surrounding diversity, identity, critical race theory and decolonial thought and I would love for you to join in the discussion by emailing me at jamie@colouredsouls.co.uk

When we consider the meaning of critical race theory and decolonial thought, we are not talking about changing history, completely rewriting events from the past or making anyone feel guilty for the actions of their ancestors. In fact to the contrary, we are looking to embrace that history, as a nation own it and most importantly, learn from the events that have influenced the chasms we see between cultures and the oppression often written into law. 

So if you are interested in learning more and joining the debate hit that subscribe button through your favourite podcast app to be notified each time I post a new episode or visit www.colouredsouls.co.uk/podcast. If you would like to support the podcast then please buy me a book! Visit buymeacoffee.com/colouredsouls. Every penny will directly help the research that goes into making these episodes.

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