No one is born an ally. Allyship is a choice, an action, not an identity. An ally is only an ally in the moment of that action. They cannot be relied on inherently, and the word means nothing when it takes on a role as internalized identifier. Self-proclaimed allies often worry so much about the perception of being an ally that it prevents them from actually being one.

The pain of being the only Black friend is having to accept that I have spent more of my life code-switching than I have existing as my authentic self. It means that I have wasted so much time swallowing my disgust when former friends caught a glimpse of other aspects of my identity and told me that I was behaving ‘out of character’.

This is the second part of the Word to My Mother series. To read the first part, click here.

In short, parents feel like they’re at breaking point and need a break. When they see a device that hooks a child’s attention, some parents resort to handing these tools to their children. However, children as young as two are skilled in swiping apps and internet pages and become skilled players at ‘Subway Surf’ (my nephew is obsessed with it). Children manage to grasp the fundamental skills of a smartphone before learning to recite the alphabet. Perhaps, that aspect rings with a tone of worry.

Colin has been a favourite at children’s birthday parties since 1990, and ‘Colin the Caterpillar’ has been trademarked since 2009. Even if you’re firmly Team Aldi, you can see why Marks and Spencer might be more than a little protective of their caterpillar confection.

This is the third instalment of the Shadow Legends narrative. To read the second, click here

The UK has a serious social mobility issue which has become more apparent in recent years, demonstrated perfectly by the current chumocracy we see in the dishing out of government contracts to the owner of our elected official’s favourite pubs. Social mobility refers to the ability of an individual to move upward in social status, based on common social variables, such as wealth, occupation, or education level

The taboo of death in our society seems alive-and-well (excuse the pun). Most people avoid even uttering the word, instead substituting in fluffy euphemisms like ‘passing-on’ or ‘no longer with us’ to paint over the grim reality with white clouds and pearly gates.

If the events of the last year have taught us anything, it is that individual actions will not be enough to change the world. Covid-19 quarantine may have inadvertently slashed our individual carbon footprints, but the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere still peaked at a record-breaking level in May last. Why? 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since 1998. Most of these are coal and oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell.

I started cooking more inventive meals other than a fat plate of chicken nuggets and even bought a keyboard to learn - so far I’ve learnt happy birthday (which I now play twice whenever somebody is washing their hands) and a few other songs. But my progress isn’t important to me, it’s the fact that this was something I had wanted to do for years and now I had the chance and I took it.

Put simply, I don’t know. When it comes to writing my university essays, I have a framework to follow and, most of the time, I’m writing for people who wrestle with the same questions in their own work. In the same vein, there is something very plainly wrong when Asian reporters are being told they’re “too biased” to cover racially targeted shootings.