Uuganaa Ramsay is an award-winning author, campaigner and advocate. In this podcast she delves into the story of how the word Mongol was misused to describe people with Down Syndrome. The activist also lays out why is it so important to proudly use the word Mongol and to speak about and celebrate Mongol identity and culture. Uuganaa shares with us the heart-breaking story of her son Billy, who lives on through her memoir Mongol.

Uuganaa's charity Mongol Identity:

http://mongolidentity.org/

Music:

The HU - Yuve Yuve Yu

Баярцэнгэл - Вансэмбэрүү цэцэг Үгтэй

Book Recommendation:

Uuganaa Ramsay's book Mongol

Angela Saini’s book Superior

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Hashim and Sangeeta chat with Fowsia and Mea from Kids of Colour- a platform that provides space for young people of colour to explore race, identity and culture and support them to challenge racism. They talk to us about their 'No Policing in Schools' campaign, the response it's received in Greater Manchester, and the impact of school policing on young people of colour. Fowsia and Mea share their next steps for the campaign and tips for engaging young people. 

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming campaign led by ARE on Campus Policing in Scottish schools!

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Hashim chats with esteemed educator from the States, Curtis Acosta. He and his students were the focus of the film "Precious Knowledge" which told the story of the Mexican-American Studies program at Tuscon Magnet High School in Arizona. We go in depth on the significance of the program, the orchestrated backlash against it from reactionary elements of the media and state legislature, and how it, Ethnic Studies, and decolonising the curriculum in general are necessary parts of any anti-racist education.

Check out Curtis and his work here https://twitter.com/CurtisAcostaLLP

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To be, or not to be racist, that's not the question. In this episode, Zeus Leonardo shares what it means for educators to pledge to anti-racism, as opposed to simply "being" racist or not racist (because one can be both).

Professor Zeus Leonardo is renowned scholar in Critical Social Theory and he draws on critical theories to make sense of oppression, dominance and liberation. In particular, his latest book, Edward Said and Education, applies the concept of Orientalism to the context of curriculum, pedagogy and education policy. In conversation with Mélina and Khadija, Zeus also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of engaging in discourses of white privilege, and his application of Charles Mills’ Racial Contract to the context of education.

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In this episode, we speak to one of the most important minds in the field of critical pedagogy, Peter McLaren. It's an incredible journey through his experiences of teaching, realising the centrality of the political contexts we operate in, and seeing how critical pedagogy can set us free. 

Check us out at https://twitter.com/AntiRacistEd

and support us at https://www.patreon.com/theantiracisteducator

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In partnership with the Scottish Association for the Teaching of English (SATE), this episode features two members of The Anti-Racist Educator, Navan and Melina, who discuss decolonial theory and explain how it can be applied to the secondary English curriculum in Scotland. 

Navan and Melina return to the theoretical roots of "decolonising the curriculum," a popular catchphrase which often risks losing its meaning. They then present examples of good practice and opportunities for listeners to reflect on how they too could apply it to their own subjects, classrooms and other learning environments.

This episode was originally recorded by SATE as a webinar with slides and live comments. Thank you to Tom from SATE for making this happen!

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After taking us through some of the key tenets of Critical Race Theory, interest convergence and counter-narratives, Professor Gloria Ladson-Billings shares her expertise in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.

There are 3 key ideas in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, all outlined in her research (see The Dream Keepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children):

- student learning (this does not always translate to what can be traditionally/academically assessed. So much learning happens at home during a pandemic.)

- cultural competence (how competent are teachers in valuing young people's culture in the classroom?)

- sociopolitical/critical consciousness (often forgotten, but crucial: how critical is the teacher of issues of power in the knowledge that is presented in the classroom? Remember that the curriculum is never neutral.)

As we see more pressure being put on schools to decolonise the curriculum in the midst of a pandemic, often with limited resources, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy can make education more inclusive and equitable. Thanks to critical consciousness, you can save a bad curriculum with good pedagogy. Gloria uses the example of race being fully-funded in society and how critical consciousness requires educators to question this and themselves in unlearning racism.

As we approach the end of the episode, Gloria shares her analysis of these uncertain times by drawing on Arundhati Roy's claim that the pandemic is a portal. According to Gloria, we are experiencing a quadruple pandemic:

- Covid-19 (a literal pandemic)

- a white supremacist pandemic (that has been going on for a while, but it has resurfaced for us all to see)

- an economic pandemic (financial crisis along with high levels of unemployment)

- a climate pandemic (similar to white supremacy, it's been going on for a while, but it's reaching its peak).

At the end of the episode, we finish our discussion with some helpful advice for people of colour feeling overwhelmed by the permanence of racism, and some useful reminders for white people aspiring to race equality.

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For this second episode on Critical Race Theory (CRT), Professor David Gillborn shares his own journey with CRT and how it helped him become a better thinker, a better scholar and a better anti-racist activist. 

CRT is a theory that predicts how race is always going to be used against racialised minorities, particularly Black people. We applied CRT to examine how apparently contradictory discourses are often mobilised and adapted to benefit racialised elites. The episode concludes with David's brilliant advice for anti-racist educators and activists: 

- Stay critical. Always be aware of how racism taints every aspect of our lives and the education system. Racism has the upper-hand and the best arguments since all things seemingly rational are tainted by racism.

- Be realistic. Accept that racism is permanent (it took centuries to build, so it won't be dismantled in one generation) and it continues to adapt and evolve over time.

- Take care of yourself. Since racism isn't going away anytime soon, our efforts will be wasted if we burn out.

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This episode is part of a series looking at anti-racist theory and pedagogy with key experts from the UK and beyond. In this episode, Dr Paul Warmington helps us unpack Critical Race Theory and uncovers some of the hidden histories of Black British intellectuals.  Dr Paul Warmington is a Black British Professor at the University of Warwick and his book, Black British Intellectuals and Education: Multiculturalism’s Hidden History, introduces the rich British history of Black thinkers and leading activists and it traces the evolving discourses in education around multiculturalism, anti-racist education and Critical Race Theory.

This episode comes with a blog post in which you will find more of the show notes (i.e. links to all the Black intellectuals mentioned and a breakdown of Critical Race Theory following Paul's explanation on the show).

Acronyms and Terminology used in the show:

CRT: Critical Race Theory

BME/BAME: Black, (Asian) and Minority Ethnic people

Political Blackness: racialised people in the UK (e.g. African, Caribbean, Asian communities)

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What, exactly, is state racism? We know what it means to be subjected to explicit, in-your-face racist abuse, but what about the racism that lives in our government and the departments and institutions that flow from it? We chatted to the amazing Smina Akhtar about her research into this topic and consider the history of British immigration policies, how anti-racist the Scottish government and local authorities really are, and the current fightback against the inhumane treatment of people living in asylum accommodation in Glasgow. 

NOTE: this episode was recorded before the Park Inn attack. 

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