S03E07 - The Colonial Project

This conversation might make you feel a little uncomfortable and it might be the most important podcast you listen to.

I first came to know of Martha Awojobi during an online conference when she got up on a soapbox and blew my mind! One of the first things Martha will tell you is that she does not work in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion space. Martha has their feet firmly planted in the anti-racism space.

 Martha Awojobi, is Founder, Director and fearless leader of JMB Consulting. After spending ten years working in the charity and philanthropic sector, she was disappointed to find that the space that she believed could be truly transformational in bringing about the liberation of oppressed groups also perpetuated horrific racism.

Leaders were slow to innovate, resistant to name structural racism and reluctant to meaningfully include Black and Brown people in decision making. Instead, they were preoccupied with being seen as ‘good people doing good work’ at the expense of confronting and dismantling the very real racism that their organisations perpetuate.

 

Martha works in coalition with organisations who share her goal of liberation from oppression through her work at JMB and through #BAMEOnline series which supports fundraisers and founders of colour to navigate the philanthropic sector and generate sustainable income.

In this episode talk about the importance of really understanding the harm that systemic racism continues to cause and our respective roles in supporting that system. We talk about how most Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work is performative and that we need to back up the train and really take time to understand what racism is and our respective roles in perpetuating systemic racism in the charitable sector.

If you would like to get in touch with Martha you can reach her through her website here: https://www.jmb-consulting.co.uk/

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