Duo join us for Race Ahead

Why is anti-racism important? One of the biggest issues with systemic racism is that it is all around us.

It’s not enough to say that we’re “not racist”. Individually and collectively, we need to do more.

We recently welcomed Bianca Jones of Empower Develop People and our own, Jayne Saul-Patterson for Race Ahead, a programme that tackles race, racism and its effects on mental health in the workplace. Together, we looked at a range of issues from language and common terms of racism, to the impact of racism in different sectors and considered what it means to become an anti-racist ally. Afterwards, we spoke to Bianca who told us more about her career, the link between racism and depression and why more people are listening to her message than ever before:

“I was previously a facilitator but suffered from postnatal depression,” said Bianca, who is a qualified MHFA England Instructor.

“The experience made me passionate about mental health and for the last eight years I’ve devoted my time to empowering people.

"I’ve always been interested in how racism impacts on mental health but there was never a demand for that kind of provision from corporates - George Floyd changed that."

Bianca

Jones

Companies increasingly need and/or want to be culturally confident in the workplace, which has provided Bianca with a much more receptive audience.

She has since combined mental health first aid with anti-racism, as part of Race Ahead.

“We spend so much time in the workplace but employers aren't retaining their people, as they don't feel like they belong,” adds Bianca.

“Race Ahead contains some hard truths that are uncomfortable, even overwhelming and challenges participants in different ways. Reaching the equity everyone deserves is something we absolutely all need to experience.”

Bianca

Jones