Salford-based company Walk the Plank and the Working Class Movement Library have released the final episode of their ‘Begin the world over again’ podcast series.
The podcast, which focuses on Black Lives Matter and issues surrounding racism, was launched a month ago and consists of six different episodes.
This series explores the radical collection of material at the working-class movement library (WCML), aiming to promote new thinking by exploring different themes lead by six artists commissioned from Walk the Plank and six members from the writing group at the WCML.
Previous episodes have explored themes of what the welfare state should look like in the 21st century and challenging institutionalised racism within the context of Black Lives Matter, as stated on Walk the Plank’s website.
Fifth in podcast series out now, and one more to come next week….essential lockdown listening, available via Spotify “Begin the World Over Again” #radicaltimes https://t.co/lFZA05G2JB
— Walk the Plank (@walktheplank) December 5, 2020
Walk the Plank is one of the world’s leading and award-winning outdoor arts specialists with 27 years’ experience. The WCML is also Salford based and known for its records of more than 200 years of organising and campaigning by ordinary men and women.
The final episode releasing today explores the important question of: ‘How do we continue the fight against institutional racism in Britain today?’.
A volunteer who has previously worked on multiple projects with Walk the Plank, Jemma Bromley, has been working on this final episode.
Jemma explains: “In the final episode we tried to compare Black Lives Activists from 1945 compared to Black Lives Matter today – have things changed? Have things progressed?
“It has been an extremely eye-opening experience – It’s made me realise basically how much society buries it’s head in the sand and pretends that things are better now but really they’re not; it’s just under the surface and how important it is for racism to be called out!
“I would hope that anybody that would listen to our podcast would be inspired to be brave enough to find out more, and to actually listen to what black people are saying rather than assume that they already know.”
Jemma adds: “I speak as a member of a minority group myself, so I know what I feels like to be misunderstood and how frustrating it could be.
“As I’m apart of the crazy transgender minority group which I found very interesting because I was taking myself out of my world and actually working and fighting for the cause for somebody else’s world and it gave me a fresh perspective on my world.”
Helen Jackson is a member of the writing group at the WCML, who collaborated with Sarah Llewellyn in creating the very first episode.
‘Inspiring Women and Women Who Are Inspiring’ is the first episode of our new podcast ‘Begin The World Over Again’, created by composer and sound artist @TonalMusicCo and @JacksonHM.
Find it on @applepodcasts @spotifypodcasts + more#radicaltimes pic.twitter.com/57Ka8v2J59
— WCML (@wcmlibrary) November 20, 2020
Helen adds: “It’s about racism and making a change and we’re not going to make a change to lives if we don’t put an end to racism as it occurs on the street, but also systemic racism.”
Helen also talks about how she felt after the release of her episode: “It was some very intense but really fantastic times.
“For a few days after the launch, I was high as a kite!
“The feedback was overwhelming – it really, really was. People were ringing me up days and days later too.”
She adds: “We wanted to emphasise the power of Salford, as these are very much the voices of locals.”
Jemma also emphasises: “I think the listeners should take joy in the fact that all episodes are completely different too.”
“After listener’s listen to this final episode, in a small way, I would hope that they might actually be some organised discussions where people can ask questions to their friends and find out what it really feels like, and work out a way to discuss issues of racism without feeling embarrassed or guilty.
“And these important messages need to be repeated as many times as it can.”
You can listen and subscribe to the podcast here and to check out the final episode you can click here.
Recent Comments