4 Anti-Racism Educators Pushing For Change In A Post-George Floyd World

May 25^th makes two years since the murder of George Floyd. When thinking about social change in the last decade, many of us think in terms of pre and post George Floyd, and how much that horrific video impacted the world. Though there were a lot of pledges and promises during what can be classified as the re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter era, systemic changes are still needed within much of corporate America and beyond. While we honor the life of George Floyd, we should also reflect on how we got to this point and what work must be done to eradicate the systems that continue to oppress. When contemplating solutions, there is a lot of value in enlisting the help of external entities to move the needle forward and strengthen workplace DEI and anti-racism efforts. Deconstructing and dismantling the systems of harm will take a group effort—no one practitioner, consultant, or organization can take on this daunting task solo. It is important to hold on to the words of award-winning writer Reni Eddo-Lodge who once wrote “every voice raised against racism chips away at its power.” This article highlights four anti-racism and justice educators that are doing the work to chip away at racism’s power.

1. Joquina Reed. Joquina Reed classifies herself as a JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) practitioner. Reed has spent nearly two decades “helping individuals and organizations identify their cultural incompetence and biases, assess organization structure, design interventions, and move forward with holistic strategies that support organic change.” In addition to helping individuals and organizational leaders understand how to remove barriers that create inequities, Reed also creates content for her Instagram page and podcast. One of her goals through her consulting work is to help workplaces understand how to provide protections for the most harmed employees through critical compassion and transformative transparency.

2. Shereen Daniels. Shereen Daniels is the author of the new book and Amazon best-seller The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace. Daniels is a U.K.-based anti-racism educator that hosts a podcast, Advancing Racial Equity 4.0 and a conference of the same name. She is an internationally-recognized human resource expert who uses her knowledge and experience to advance the conversations around racial equity. Daniels provides tailor-made video content, keynote talks, and facilitates listening sessions for corporate clients.

3. Sharon Hurley Hall. Sharon Hurley Hall is the creator of Sharon’s Anti-Racism Newsletter, a bi-weekly resource that includes perspectives from three decades of work in different countries, interviews from anti-racism writers and activists, and tools for fighting racism. The Barbados-based writer decided that she would use her journalism background to chip away at racism, one article at a time. In addition to her writing and newsletters, Hall has developed anti-racism courses and workshops and she creates content related to anti-racism and diversity for corporate clients. She also helps workplaces with the development of their diversity-related policies.

4. Michelle Nicole. Michelle Nicole is a criminologist turned public scholar and educator who centers her work around providing the education and tools for justice. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. that focuses on the police-community relationship and created a 5-day self-paced mini-course with the goal of “empowering you to create racial equity in your communities of influence, combat oppression through sustainable action, and boldly use your power to activate positive change.” In addition to the racial justice mini-courses that she has designed, she also created the Activating Advocacy Academy to combat oppression and create equity for Black and other marginalized folks. Nicole works with individuals as well as organizations to help them disrupt and dismantle systems of injustice and provides thought-provoking content on her Instagram page.