- Yasmin talks about co-production
Yasmin shares her experience of co-production and the impact it has on everyone!
Transcript
OK. I'm Yasmin, who has worked in coal production for donkeys' years helping people with learning disabilities, and now I'm doing into some strategic stuff, supporting production in other spaces, but here's a rub. Racism's got its claws sunk deep into me wherever I go. It ain't some old timey thing of the past or something happening far away
Nah, it's right smack bang in the middle of our coal production gigs. From sly gigs to outright discrimination. I've had my fill, and it's even happening among people I used to rate highly
There's just no escaping it. You reckon folks would have the sense to see racism for what it is, a stain that won't budge, but nah, it's alive and kicking. Making me feel like a foreigner in my own bloody homeland
In this world of co-production where we're supposed to be working together, facing up to the brutal truth of racism is like swallowing a damn bitter pill. It's as clear as day, I let out my frustration. Racism ain't some abstract notion, it's right there in front of us
But when we finally get the guts to talk about it, who's leading the charge? Mostly the white voices. Their hearts might be in the right place, but they're blind to what it's really like. Their brush off of racism just makes the whole thing worse
What we need, I stress, are real conversations led by black and brown voices. That's the only way we're gonna crack this nut of racism in co-production. But it's easier said than done
Just jacking about it won't do squat. We need concrete action. It's about bloody empathy, understanding and giving a damn about each other
Recently, while backing up someone from a similar background, I saw the ugly effects of discrimination from their white mates. It's gut-wrenching not being able to show them from such injustice. Despite all the talk about being anti-racist
It feels like nothing but hot air or promises and no substance. organisations of folks blabbing about fighting racism, yet they keep the same old biases going, paying us less, keeping us down, and silencing people of colour. I'm gunning for a future where folks like me ain't shoved to the sidelines in conversations, where being anti-racist ain't met with a shrug
How can anyone have the gall to oppose fighting racism if they reckon they're halfway decent? And it's sickening to watch white folks who do racist crap get let off the hook, even protected. The fallout from this inaction runs deep, hitting too close to home in my line of work, shaking my damn core beliefs. I'm hanging on to hope for a change
I spit out my resolve unshakeable. That's why I'm laying it all out, cause I know I'm not alone. Plenty like me have had to stomach discrimination just because of who we are, but we ain't throwing in the towel
Well, keep on yapping, keep on battling until racism's wiped out, not just in coal production, but everywhere..
