UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation.
Exploring the impact of racism - scientific, metaphysical and cultural.

Transcripts available here: www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/transcripts

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/
https://twitter.com/UCL_SPRC

UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre

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Diaspora Diaries

Welcome to diaspora diaries, a brand new podcast by the Sarah Parker Remond Centre. Hosts Stephanie and Awa, MA students at the SPRC, explore the question “what does the diaspora have to say?” in a world which is constantly making things difficult for them. In Stephanie's and Awa's words: "We are here to deep dive and put our degree to good use. Diaspora diaries is about personhood and identity, about education and career, about friendships and intimacy. Basically, it's just about two girls from the African diaspora trying to negotiate with this world. We'll be drawn on politics, literature, history, pop culture, and thinkers like Audre Lorde, Mame-Fatou Niang and even a touch of Paul Gilroy to help us explore how our past shapes our present, and how we, in turn, navigate it. As this podcast progresses, you'll hear from scholars, students, poets and other voices. So, heads up, we are not the voice of the people, nor are we the voice of reason. We just want to share our thoughts with you and invite you to partake in our discussion. So, sit back, grab a drink or two, and maybe a journal, because this is diaspora diaries."

Introduction to Diaspora Diaries: A Student-led SPRC Project

In this first episode, Awa and Stephanie delve into the concept of black excellence, the challenges of imposter syndrome, and the importance of recognising and leveraging their cultural backgrounds as strengths.

Diaspora Diaries Episode 1: Black Excellence and the Impostor Syndrome

Venezuela has the longest Caribbean coastline of any nation, and yet the vibrant African musical heritage thriving along that coast has been largely ignored by the nation’s media and music industry, and remains under-recognized internationally. Hugo Chávez Frías was Venezuela’s first president with acknowledged African heritage and during his regime, Afro-Venezuelan culture achieved greater participation in the national life of this petroleum-rich nation. His rise triggered intense self-examination of Venezuela’s stark social and ethnic divisions, and a cultural renaissance as well. In this program, ethnomusicologist T.M. Scruggs, a veteran of extensive Afro-Caribbean field research, guides us through the history and music behind the present upsurge in Afro-Venezuelan consciousness. Produced by Simon Rentner.

The Rise of Afro-Venezuelan Music in the Hugo Chavez Era

Brought to you by Penguin.

'It's time we told our story too. The melanin speaks for itself.' - George the Poet

Part of a Story That Started Before Me is an extraordinary new collection of poems chosen by acclaimed spoken-word performer and social commentator George the Poet.

Taking readers on a thought-provoking poetical journey through Black British history, the anthology brings together some of the most exciting wordsmiths from across the diaspora and fascinating era-by-era notes from historian Dr Christienna Fryar.

From Africans in Roman Britannia to the first Black actor to play Othello on stage, from Malcolm X's visit to the West Midlands to highlighting an organizer of the UK's first Gay Pride, this important collection reveals unsun people and events from our past to recognize the intrinsic impact they've had on Britain today.

Featuring: Abi Simms, Adesayo Talabi, AFLO. the poet, Amina Jama, Anu Balofin, Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Becksy Becks, Benjamin Zephaniah, Bridget Minamore, Cara Thompson, Casey Bailey, Deanna Rodger, Derek Walcott, Dorothea Smartt, Dzifa Benson, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Eno Mfon, Evan the Poet, Fred D'Aguiar, FULAANI onda 3s, George The Poet, Grace Nichols, Henry Stone, Highwater Ell aka Elliott Henry, Ife Grillo, Inua Ellams, Irenosen Okojie, Isaiah Hull, Jade LB, Jeffrey Boakye, Jenny Mitchell, Jeremiah Brown, John Agard, Joseph Coelho, Jude Yawson, Kat Francois, Keith Jarrett, Kelechi Okafor, M. NourbeSe Philip, Malika Booker, Michael Groce, Miles Chambers, Muneera Pilgrim, Nick Makoha, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Nile Faure-Bryan, Olaudah Equiano, Olivette Otele, Patience Agbabi, Peter deGraft-Johnson aka The Repeat Beat Poet, Phillis Wheatley, Priss Nash, Rakaya Fetuga, Raymond Antrobus, Reece Williams, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasha, Samuel King, Sophia Thakur, Stretch the Top Boy, Thembe Mvula, Theresa Lola, Tré Ventour, Vanessa Kisuule, Wretch 32 and Zena Edwards.  

©2023 Curated by George the Poet (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Part of a Story That Started Before Me: Poems about Black British History, chosen by George the Poet, introduced by Christienna Fryar

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Narrated by Adrian Bliss, featuring the voices of Beth Rylance, Sebastian Humphreys and Kristin Atherton.

History belongs to the heroes. But to get the full story, sometimes you have to ask the side characters.

The lives of Leonardo da Vinci, Henry VIII and Queen Victoria fill bookshelves and fascinate scholars all over the world. But little attention is given to the ferret who posed for the renaissance master, the servant who oversaw the Tudor’s toilet time, or the famous horse who thrilled the miserable old monarch.

These supporting cast members have been waiting in the wings for too long, and Adrian Bliss thinks it’s high time they join their glory-hogging contemporaries in the spotlight. Fortunately, - thanks to some recently discovered ancient complaint letters, court transcripts and memoirs in bottles - now they can.

Equal parts fascinating and hilarious, The Greatest Nobodies of History is a surreal love letter to life’s forgotten heroes featuring hitherto undocumented accounts from Ancient Greece to the frontlines of the Great Emu War.

All that follows really happened, and some of it could even be true...

© Adrian Bliss 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments, written and read by Adrian Bliss

In this episode, Awa and Lavin discuss diasporic consciousness, focusing on the themes of belonging, identity, and home. Drawing on their experiences and reflecting on Warsan Shire's poem "Home," they explore what it means to feel at home.

Diaspora Diaries Episode 2: Diasporic Consciousness

In this episode of Diaspora Diaries, Stephanie and her friends Sari Dom and Henna discuss the role of partying in the revolution. They explore the concept of revolution as the dismantling of oppressive systems and the importance of joy and celebration. They emphasise the need for safe spaces for marginalised groups. As well as, highlighting the political nature of partying, the importance of community, and the balance between theory and practice. They also touch on the history of inclusive Queer and POC spaces, Dom’s experience at PXSSY PALACE and the challenges of maintaining these party spaces! 

Diaspora Diaries Episode 3: Any Space for a Party in the Revolution?

In this episode, Awa and Marianne explore the concept of diaspora – is simply “being from somewhere else” enough to claim a diasporic identity? They unpack what it means to relate to a place and reflect on how diasporic experiences are shaped by history, culture, and power. The conversation also turns inward, as they grapple with the complexities of navigating positionalities within academia and the ethical implications of studying systems of oppression.

Diaspora Diaries Episode 4: Diaspora...Or Not? Navigating Positionalities

In this episode, Ellen and Awa discuss European identity building and memory politics, highlighting how national narratives shape collective memory. They emphasise the selective remembrance of historical events, and its impact on national identities. Together, they examine the silencing of racialised people’s histories and experiences within discourse on national identity and how this, in turn, plays a role in the rise of xenophobia and far-right ideologies.

Diaspora Diaries Episode 7 - Memory Politics and Collective Identities

Welcome to our Short Takes podcast series. In the first of our series, Sirpa Salenius, the biographer of Sarah Parker Remond, and author of An Abolitionist Abroad: Sarah Parker Remond in Cosmopolitan Europe (University of Massachusetts Press, 2016), is going to present some elements of Sarah Parker Remond’s life in Europe, and show why we felt it was such a wonderful thing to be able to use Sarah Parker Remond’s name to express the spirit and the character and the direction of the work that our centre is going to conduct in the future.

Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/transcript-words-sarah-parker-remond

Please note, this recording uses various pronunciations of Remond's name (Europe-US).

Speaker: Sirpa Salenius, University of Eastern Finland
Image: Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Producer and Editor: Kaissa Karhu

www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/podcasts

SPRC Short Takes: In the words of Sarah Parker Remond

One of the most amazing publications of the last few years in the broad field of Black Studies and African American Studies has been Bénédicte Boisseron’s book Afro-Dog: Blackness and the Animal Question, published by Columbia University Press. In the second of our Short Takes series, Boisseron joins us now to talk about Afro-Dog, and to discuss the places where the study of racism and racialisation intersect with Animal Studies, and why that connection is important for both areas of specialisation in the Humanities.

Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/transcript-afro-dog-blackness-and-animal-question

Speaker: Bénédicte Boisseron, Associate Professor of Afroamerican & African Studies, University of Michigan
Image: Afro-Dog: Blackness and the Animal Question (Columbia University Press, 2018)
Producer and Editor: Kaissa Karhu

www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/podcasts

SPRC Short Takes: Afro-Dog: Blackness and the Animal Question

In this episode of Short Takes, we’re joined by Joy White, author of the eagerly anticipated book Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City, published recently by Repeater, and Joy is going to talk a little bit about the arguments in her book and introduce the urgency of this intervention, particularly now in the context for our political culture created by the Covid emergency and racialised police brutality.

Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/transcript-terraformed-young-black-lives-inner-city

Speaker: Joy White, Sociologist, Ethnographer and Researcher
Image: Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City (Repeater, 2020)
Producer and Editor: Kaissa Karhu

www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/podcasts

SPRC Short Takes: Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City

We’re joined by Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Professor of Geography in Earth and Environmental Sciences at CUNY, for a conversation on the current crises of Covid-19 and state violence, touching on the desire for learning as a means of activism, the political geography of mobilisation and double consciousness.
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Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/transcript-conversation-ruth-wilson-gilmore

This conversation was recorded on 7th June 2020

Speakers: Paul Gilroy, Director of the UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre // Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Director of the Center for Place, Culture and Politics at CUNY Graduate Center
Producer and Editor: Kaissa Karhu

www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/podcasts

SPRC In conversation with Ruth Wilson Gilmore

Alondra Nelson, President of the Social Science Research Council in the US and Harold F. Linder Chair in Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, joins us to question who is assumed to be the disposable demographic, and the politics of genetic data and racial biology being used to understand the ‘black body’ during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/transcript-conversation-alondra-nelson

This conversation was recorded 8th June 2020

Speakers: Paul Gilroy, Director of the UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre // Alondra Nelson, President of the Social Science Research Council and Harold F. Linder Chair in Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study
Producer and Editor: Kaissa Karhu

www.ucl.ac.uk/racism-racialisation/podcasts

SPRC In conversation with Alondra Nelson

The IAS is a space dedicated to intellectual freedom where disruptive thinking is not only allowed but encouraged and supported. It is a centre of advanced research, debate and dialogue across any kind of boundary, intellectual or institutional. It’s a forum where difficult, even intractable, social questions can be exposed to the scrutiny of rigorous critical enquiry from a variety of perspectives

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Note on the logo: the blue and green background is a detail of a banner (300x120cm; oil paint, oil pastel and compressed charcoal on canvas) that artist Lucile Haefflinger produced for and which is on display at the IAS.

Diaspora Diaries Episode 7 - Memory Politics and Collective Identities

UCL Institute of Advanced Studies