Prof Jason Arday - Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the Dominant Discourse

How do stereotypes about Black masculinity influence the lives and aspirations of Black men and boys today? What impacts do they have on individuals and institutions - and how are people of colour challenging such prejudices? How should white people - and especially white men - respond, and what should they do to support the struggle against racism? We explore these questions and much more with Professor Jason Arday, who is based in Durham University’s Department of Sociology like Stephen and Sandy, and is about to move to the School of Education at the University of Glasgow.Jason is a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading Race Equality Thinktank, and the British Sociological Association. He also sits on the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) National Advisory Panel and the NHS Race and Health Observatory Academic Reference Group, as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He holds Visiting Fellowships at several institutions including Ohio State University.You can find out more about Jason’s work at https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/jason-a-arday/. He has a book coming out soon through Palgrave Macmillan called ‘Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the Dominant Discourse’. He has written the book ‘Cool Britannia and Multi-Ethnic Britain: Uncorking the Champagne Supernova’ (Routledge, 2019): https://www.routledge.com/Cool-Britannia-and-Multi-Ethnic-Britain-Uncorking-the-Champagne-Supernova/Arday/p/book/9781138217409. Jason and Prof Heidi Mirza have co-edited the book ‘Dismantling Race in Higher Education: Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018): https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-60261-5We cover the following topics in this episode:The ‘Colston Four’ verdict and removing statues of colonial figuresResponses to the Black Lives Matter movement in the UKHow Black masculinities are viewed, and the effects this hasStruggles around ‘talking to white people about race’Resisting racist stereotypes, and Jason’s upcoming book ‘Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the dominant discourse’How Jason got involved in researching these issuesJason’s experience of growing up and dealing with disability as a Black manThe role of the education system in tackling race inequalityHow Covid-19 has interacted with structural racism in the UKPrinciples for white people in becoming genuine allies Music which reflects the challenges Jason has facedResources of interest:Reni Eddo-Lodge’s book ‘Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ (Bloomsbury, 2018): https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race-9781408870587/Lemn Sissay’s book ‘My Name Is Why’ (Canongate, 2019): https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-name-is-why/lemn-sissay/9781786892362Guardian documentary ‘The Circle’, directed by Lanre Malaolu, about masculinity, racism and brotherhood on a Hackney estate (2020): https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/jul/15/the-circle-masculinity-racism-and-brotherhood-on-a-hackney-estate-videoSteve McQueen’s recent ‘Small Axe’ film series (2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p08vxt33/small-axeExplainers:The ‘Colston Four’ case: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/05/four-cleared-of-toppling-edward-colston-statutePriti Patel described taking the knee as ‘gesture politics’: https://inews.co.uk/news/priti-patel-taking-the-knee-what-say-tyrone-mings-stoking-fire-racism-explained-1100801More information about Kemi Badenoch’s comments on critical race theory: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/aug/11/kemi-badenoch-never-far-from-controversy-in-brief-political-careerGlasgow was previously described as Europe’s ‘murder capital’ by the World Health Organization: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-45572691Professor Heidi Mirza: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/may/spotlight-professor-heidi-mirzaLinto Kwesi Johnson: https://lintonkwesijohnson.com/linton-kwesi-johnson/Professor Paul Gilroy: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/aug/05/paul-gilroy-britain-scholar-race-humanism-vital-guide-age-of-crisis