The Red Bulletin December 2020 (UK)

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Sophie Williams Starting the conversation The author and activist has been talking about race for as long as she can remember. Now, she says, people are listening Words RUTH McLEOD Photography REBECCA PETTS DAVIES Sophie Williams is back at her flat in London after recording the audio version of her new book, Anti-Racist Ally. “As a child, I’d listen to an audiobook every night,” she says, “so it’s funny to find myself reading out the ‘written by Sophie Williams, read by Sophie Williams’ bit.” The situation is all the more surreal for Williams because at the start of 2020 the book wasn’t even part of her plans. In January, the former chief operating officer (COO) in advertising started an Instagram account to build a community for Millennial Black, her guide for Black women and business owners, out next April. On May 28, she posted a set of slides defining the difference between being non-racist and anti-racist, and offering advice for would-be allies. It blew up. “I saw the number [of likes] go up and up,” she says. “You can see on my Fitbit stats, there’s an evening where I’m going to bed, all chilled out, then I get a message: ‘Is this your post on Justin Bieber’s grid?’ My heart rate spikes!” Since then, Williams, 33, has gained more than 180,000 followers and, among many other things, run a poster campaign in London, set up an online merch store in aid of mental health charity Black Minds Matter, written for The Guardian about world change, and finished both books. But, as strange as this year has been for Williams, she was ready. “I’ve never been good at picking my battles. I’m someone who’s always had these conversations. The change now is that people want to listen.” THE RED BULLETIN: What was the strategy to get your message heard? SOPHIE WILLIAMS: Actually, the reason I felt able to start posting is because I didn’t think anyone was listening – I had only a couple of hundred followers. I really don’t know what changed that. I made my first post because the day after the murder of George Floyd I spent the day crying. Bad stuff kept happening to Black people, things that were literally costing people their lives. Then there was the conversation about COVID and how that was disproportionately affecting Black people, and it all felt like too much. And that led to Anti-Racist Ally… Yes, it became clear there are people who want to start their ally-ship journey, and I wanted them to have something physical to refer to. It’s a deliberately small book, 180 pages, as cheap as my publisher would allow. I want people to treat it as a shareable resource. It’s a beginners’ guide. Every other page has a graphic statement like, ‘Not being racist is not enough,’ along with advice. It’s broken down for people who want to be part of this but haven’t yet been able. Or for those who have started and want to keep up the momentum. How do we keep it up? What I’m seeing now, which is scary, is that people are already losing momentum in this conversation. It makes me so sad; it feels like the only thing that keeps people galvanised is a new video of a Black person being murdered. I don’t want any more videos, but I do want people to stay interested. I ask them to change oneoff actions into habits. So if anyone is donating, I ask them if they can make it a standing order. You can make a template for people to write to their MP – that will help many others. You can form an accountability group: on my social, I ask what people have done that week. Being able to check in with others and have them check in with you is really valuable. Millennial Black addresses issues faced by Black women at work. Was personal experience an influence? Yes, I wrote it because I needed it. I was a Black COO in an ad agency and people didn’t know what to do with me. When third parties came in, they’d presume I was the person who’d be taking notes or making the coffee. [With this book] I wanted to first of all say [to Black women], “You’re not alone.” And I wanted to tell business leaders, “This is the business benefit of including this group of people.” I’ve found that the most effective approach. What I didn’t want the book to do was tell Black women they need to change themselves to succeed. I ended up speaking to many amazing people, like [model and transgender activist] Munroe Bergdorf, [author and influencer] Candice Brathwaite and [Star Wars actress] Naomi Ackie – inspirational Black women from different industries and backgrounds, with different experiences. Can you see change happening? We’re in a civil rights movement, and people ask, “How will we know when we’ve won?” There are no quick wins. I’m having the same conversations my mum did, and her mum before that. These are multigenerational struggles. But hopefully, together, we can make iterative changes over time. I just ask that people read about race, understand race, and understand white people are not raceless people. Letting something happen and not speaking out is an action, too. I hope that change happens – and I want to be part of it. Williams’ book Anti-Racist Ally is out now, published by HarperCollins. Instagram: @officialmillennialblack; @sophiewilliamsofficial 24 THE RED BULLETIN
“Letting something happen and not speaking out is an action” THE RED BULLETIN 25
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