Sun Kissed Youth

Last weekend the team hosted a panel at the National Education Union’s () Anti Racism Conference.

The event was an amazing opportunity to share the work we are doing and discuss important themes such as identity and the present state of the education system.

Thank you to all Sun Kissed Youth members and panellist that participated in the event. The day was a huge success and we look forward to seeing these discussions flourish.

Watch this space more updates to come soon!

As we move through the new year we wanted to look back at one of our proudest achievements from the 2020.

We are always happy to work alongside schools that are really trying to improve the diversity at all levels within the education system, from curriculum and governing body to the teaching staff and students.

St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School has always been a proactive school regarding its approach to diversity and inclusivity. As such we were especially happy when SMRT asked one of our members Omar Douglas and later TEDx 2020 speaker, Aisha Thomas, to become governors at the school.

Since then we have had the opportunity to work with the school to ensure the History (and other humanities subjects) curriculum is inclusive and engaging in recognition of the wide variety of student backgrounds the school encompasses.

Designer, Aaron expresses how the important the difficult truths exposed in the award-winning 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' by are vital to any conversation about the experience of black people in the UK.

“As a young Black man, I believe that it is imperative to learn how the world of work and also how the education system is geared against us; on an academic level of understanding.

“We must continue to arm ourselves with the fundamental knowledge that can be found in Reni’s book to protect against the misinformed and the misinformation surrounding the reality of Black people in the UK, and our contributions to this Country’s History.”

Georgia describes her take from ’s ‘Malcolm X' and the themes that have stuck with her.

"Spike Lee’s Malcolm X made me realise that ‘black’ is a loaded term. ‘The definition of black’ is a scene from the film that has always stayed with me, where a character compares all the connotations of the word ‘black’ with those of the word ‘white’. Under the word black, the dictionary reads ‘hostile’, ‘enveloped in darkness’, ‘fouly or outrageously wicked’, ‘disgrace’, ‘dishonour’, and ‘culpability’. Comparatively, white is described as ‘innocent’, ‘pure’, ‘without evil intent’, ‘harmless’, ‘honest’ and ‘honourable’.

“To use words with these kinds of connotations to categorise people is proof of the insidious nature of racism. Without realising, these connotations inform our understanding of ‘so called’ black people, suggesting they are ‘outrageously wicked’. Brown and yellow are seen as derogatory terms, so why do we still use the word ‘black’?

“This film also initiated my interest in Spike Lee’s films. Although his depictions of women are at best, problematic, his films tell the black experience from a black man’s perspective. Black people aren’t just hustlers, slaves, rappers or gangsters, they are three dimensional people. Best of all, they aren’t just waiting for a white man to come in, ten minutes before the end, and save them. Da 5 bloods has recently come out on Netflix if you want to start your Spike Lee education."

Lewis, an activist and organiser tells us about Malcolm X's breakdown of the world he lived in and the social issues surrounding him, but also his foresight, all present in book 'By Any Means Necessary'.

“This Malcolm book is special to me for many reasons. This is a collection of different speeches from the last two years of Malcolm's life. Some of them are classics that most of us know, others are speeches made at conferences or meetings that weren’t captured on camera/through a recorder. There is something powerful about reading the transcripts of Malcolm’s speeches.

“His ideas and concepts speak to you in a way that his voice doesn't, and you get the chance to recognise his genius wordplay because it is literally spelled out for you. Malcolm is almost always misunderstood by thinkers/translators of his work.

“This book contextualises him incredibly well, because it is in his own words. His stance on concepts like patriarchy, socialism and Black Nationalism evolve in such a small amount of time that it is sensible (in my opinion) to view Malcolm as a constant work in progress that was always refining and sharpening his ideas and opinions. He is a shining example to us all during this time.”