British racism and anti-oppressive practice

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley speak with Dr Rick Bowler about his paper ‘Whiteness, Britishness and the Racist Reality of Brexit’ (read Rick’s paper here). Rick has retired since we recorded this interview, but at the time of the conversation Rick was working at the University of Sunderland as a Senior Lecturer. Rick has a background in a range of professional fields, including mental health, youth justice, substance misuse, youth work and community development.  Rick’s paper (and this podcast episode) focuses on the ongoing reality of British Racism and explores this within the context of Brexit. Rick challenges the racial frictions that are woven into the Brexit debate and offers insights into how to “trouble” and push back against a privileging social system of whiteness. This conversation is a must listen for social workers within which we talked to Rick about racism, the power of words and meaning, and the role of the critical practitioner as a social educator to retain an ethical commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice. Transcripts are available on the Portal Podcast Website: https://wp.sunderland.ac.uk/portal-podcast/ Click here to view Rick’s other publications. Click here to follow Rick on Twitter.The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here). Production and editing by PaperGhosts.  The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.