Passionate pleas for reform, poetic, eloquent words said with vigour – these five TedTalks only scratch the surface when it comes to the discussions around racism, colourism, and black oppression, but each tells us three important things: how we can learn from what has been, how we can purposefully take action and how we might move forward in the months to come, across a variety of vital topics.

Interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter

“Black Lives Matter is our call to action. It’s a tool to reimagine a world where black people are free to exist, free to live. It is a tool for our allies to show up differently for us. I remember one of the questions I had as a child was Why? Why us? Black Lives Matter offers an answer to the why.”
Here, the movement's three founders, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, share what they've learned about leadership and what provides them with hope and inspiration in the face of painful realities and how to address the problems at the root. Their advice on how to participate in ensuring freedom for everybody: join something, start something and "sharpen each other, so that we all can rise."

“We need a human rights movement that challenges systematic racism in every single context.”

The Danger of A Single Story

Our lives and our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice – and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Her words are, as ever, incredibly potent. She explains, “how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children” as she details trying to change her understanding of what literature could be as a young girl so that she could look for – and tell – her own story.

I Am Not Your Stereotype. I Am Not My Hair

Debunking stereotypes on natural hair, encouraging self-acceptance and sharing African views. Zodidi Gaseb is the owner of African Naturals, an initiative de...

Zodidi Gaseb, owner of African Naturals, an initiative dedicated to the cultural preservation of the African aesthetic, reminds us that black women have faced persistent social stigmas regarding their hair. Here, she explains how she set out social experiments to entice debates and a different view of natural hair. It’s about, she says, illuminating perspectives, debunking the stereotypes, and challenging the norm to get away from society’s standard definitions of beauty.

How We Can Make Racism A Solvable Problem & Improve Policing

In an especially prevalent topic, Justice Scientist Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff says when we define racism as behaviours instead of feelings, we can measure it – and transform it from an impossible problem into a solvable one, in this actionable talk. He also shares his work at the Centre for Policing Equity, an organisation that helps police departments diagnose and track racial gaps in policing in order to eliminate them. What we can’t do is fix racism by trying to change “defective hearts and minds” or “combat ignorance.” He argues that fixing racism, whether in a police force or a corporation, requires the measurement of behaviours and action in order to change them. A very interesting watch given the times we are in.

The Urgency Of Intersectionality

We know it's important to look at the reality of race and gender bias – and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this hybrid. This refers to the notion that a person’s identity is often shaped by multiple constructs – race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status – yet rarely does life or the law account for the complexities of these overlapping experiences. It’s time for a change in how we view the full human picture.

“We have to be willing to bear witness to the often painful realities… that many black women have had to face.” She emphasises the importance of doing social justice work through an intersectional lens to uplift the narratives of black women in this insightful talk.

Also see our suggested reading lists for kids/teens and adults and a selection of movies and documentaries in our current culture series designed for learning more about black voices, culture and struggle…