Sharon Hurley Hall's Blog, page 7

Reboot: Have a Global Majority Partner?

Hello {{ first name | friends}},

I thought it was time to bring this article back to the surface. Unsurprisingly, it stands the test of time, so I've updated a few links and am otherwise running it as originally published.

Have a Global Majority Partner?

Many of you will be aware that I have a white husband. That’s never been a secret. Some people have used that fact to try to discredit my focus on anti-racism (newsflash: I’m still a Black woman who’s spent a heck of a lot of years in white majorit...

REBOOT: Remembering George Floyd

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Today is the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, which was one of the catalysts for this newsletter. In an era of a backlash against anti-racism and DEI, I keep wondering what’s changed. Here’s an updated version of the poem I wrote on the first anniversary

IT’S BEEN FIVE YEARS

It’s been five years

Since George Floyd’s murder shook the world

Nine minutes and 29 seconds of videoed trauma

Making Black Lives Matter, but only for a moment

Five long years

It’s been f...

We Shall Not Be Erased

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For some reason the song We Shall Not Be Moved has been reverberating in my brain. This often recorded Civil Rights protest song started life as a spiritual sung by enslaved and formerly enslaved people. It speaks of defiance, resistance and solidarity.

So it probably makes sense that it's coming to mind as we see rollback on DEI commitments, mealy-mouthed language, performative chickens coming home to roost, and literal attempts to erase Black people's history, c...

Where Are You From?

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It's weird, but every so often I realise I've been processing my feelings about racism for longer than I thought. This work in progress, for example, is from mid-2019.

I've been having conversations with some of my friends recently and it turns out that, though we're all racialised as Black, we feel differently about the question "where are you from"? For me, it's often about the intent behind the question. When the point is to other me, it can be painful, which i...

The Hope We Needed - SARN Minis #65

The Hope We Needed - SARN Minis #65 Transcript

Hi, I'm Sharon Hurley Hall. Welcome to the Sharon's Anti-Racism Newsletter podcast, SARN Minis.

If there's one thing that was a theme throughout the start of 2025, especially after 47 took office and started dismantling all the things, it was the need for hope.

Because this work is hard, harder when attacked and even harder when your life is at risk. Hard when you lose jobs and contracts. Hard when your family is threatened. Hard when you could be pic...

Review: "Origin"

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Almost a year ago, I watched Origin, the film about the creation of Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, a powerful book which I've reviewed in this newsletter.

It traces the development of Isabel Wilkerson's research as well as some of the core concepts of the book, making it a powerful introduction for anyone who hasn't made time to read the book. And for those who have, it's a reminder of exactly why the book was so impactful.

To begin at the end, the author states:

"The go...

When Black Women Ask For Money

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There's something I've observed time and time again. And before you ask, no, not everyone does it. But enough people do it for it to have made it to my awareness.

I recently posted about something I was offering, and got rapturous comments about it from people of varying identities. They slid into my DMs, asked questions and got answers, but when it was time to part with the cash they suddenly went quiet.

"The Help" Expectation

It isn't the first time. I'm beginning ...

"I Think of You as White"

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I'm grateful to Shanti Joy Gold for bringing this story back to light. Although I've shared it a few times, I've never done so here.

It was the late 80s and I was living in the South of France. I was spending a year as a teaching assistant in two secondary schools, and at the gathering for all of those assigned to the region, I met LG who was also going to be in Nîmes. Since neither of us fancied dorm-style living in the schools, we opted to share a flat. It's the ...

An Update From Sharon - May 2025

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April turned out to be a busy month, with podcasts, client work, new offers and all the things. Here's how it played out.

The Newsletter

As you know, every so often I do a writing sprint to keep the SARN content bank full. It's helpful when I don't have any immediate inspiration. Since I had just one piece left from my previous sprint (and that may never get published as it was overtaken by events), I decided it was time for another. I kept my goal slightly more mod...

Anti-Racism Reading List April 2025

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This month we've got a mixed bag from perspectives on the attack on DEI, to reflections on Black women and equity work, to the rise of fascism in the USA and more. Ready to dive in?

1. War on DEI: White Fragility’s Shameful Obsession with Black Excellence by Kirk Baltimore

Prepare to have your buttons pushed if you are racialised as white, but then consider the merits of the piece, which looks at how the history of the USA plays out in the current harmful politica...