As we self-reflect on how much more we could be doing in the fight for racial equality, we hail educator Rachel Elizabeth Cargle for her brilliant, illuminating Insta feed.
The world may have partially woken up to the extreme injustice of open bigotry and violence on the basis of race in the last century, when inspirations like Dr Martin Luther King fought tirelessly and at the ultimate person cost for the right just to be safe.
And yet those of us who do not live continued daily discrimination have, unquestionably, allowed ourselves to become complacent. Open or extreme racism may be widely condemned in our communities, but we have collectively permitted ourselves to turn blind eyes to the barriers still firmly in place against true equality. Now, in the aftermath of the tragic murder of Floyd George in Minneapolis, it feels like the world is slowly, at last, waking up. There is much work to be done.
That is, in part, thanks to social media, and those on it who use their voices to educate their followers on the ongoing reality of being a black person in the west. Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is an academic who, as her bio reads, is ‘building an intellectual legacy through teaching, storytelling and critical discourse’. Read her piece in Harpers Bazaar on why you need to stop countering the #blacklivesmatters cause by saying all lives matter (seriously, if you do say that, please stop). Listen to her Revolution Now public address. Join her for her The Great Unlearn self-priced course, in which she invites experts ‘to guide us through unlearning our whitewashed colonised understanding of the world. With downloads, live events and resources each month you really get a chance to dive into things you didn’t know you needed to unlearn — you will exist differently in the world as a result.’
We need to do better, and education is key. Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is not there to spoon-feed or give out gold stars. She’s not there to sugar-coat. She’s showing up to do the serious hard work of unpicking a narrative way too long entrenched. For this, Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, you are a hero. Thank you.
By Nancy Alsop
June 2020
READ MORE
How To Support Black Lives Matter
Insta Hero Of The Week: Holly Tucker
Internet Hero of The Week
And yet those of us who do not live continued daily discrimination have, unquestionably, allowed ourselves to become complacent. Open or extreme racism may be widely condemned in our communities, but we have collectively permitted ourselves to turn blind eyes to the barriers still firmly in place against true equality. Now, in the aftermath of the tragic murder of Floyd George in Minneapolis, it feels like the world is slowly, at last, waking up. There is much work to be done.
That is, in part, thanks to social media, and those on it who use their voices to educate their followers on the ongoing reality of being a black person in the west. Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is an academic who, as her bio reads, is ‘building an intellectual legacy through teaching, storytelling and critical discourse’. Read her piece in Harpers Bazaar on why you need to stop countering the #blacklivesmatters cause by saying all lives matter (seriously, if you do say that, please stop). Listen to her Revolution Now public address. Join her for her The Great Unlearn self-priced course, in which she invites experts ‘to guide us through unlearning our whitewashed colonised understanding of the world. With downloads, live events and resources each month you really get a chance to dive into things you didn’t know you needed to unlearn — you will exist differently in the world as a result.’
We need to do better, and education is key. Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is not there to spoon-feed or give out gold stars. She’s not there to sugar-coat. She’s showing up to do the serious hard work of unpicking a narrative way too long entrenched. For this, Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, you are a hero. Thank you.
By Nancy Alsop
June 2020
READ MORE
How To Support Black Lives Matter
Insta Hero Of The Week: Holly Tucker
Internet Hero of The Week
