Kudzai Chinembiri, Emily Hartley and Cora Parkinson, all in their final year at Leeds Trinity, have been involved in co-presenting and producing a global series of television programmes to explore different aspects of racism alongside university students in Canada, the Netherlands, the US, China and South Africa. 

The series, Let’s Talk Racism, has been produced by students from Leeds Trinity University, Ryerson University, Breda University of Applied Sciences, California State University, Fresno, Hong Kong Baptist University and the University of Johannesburg. 

The series was founded by Marion Coomey, Associate Professor in the School of Media at Ryerson University in Toronto. It was launched following the death of George Floyd and the global response to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The aim of the series was to create a dialogue around racism and its roots in different countries, with Kudzai, Emily and Cora co-presenting and recording interviews on racism and experiences in the UK. 

Kudzai Chinembiri, final year Broadcast Journalism student at Leeds Trinity University, said: “The reason I got involved with the project is because I have a real passion for speaking out against racism. Racism is constantly happening and affecting people’s lives all over the world and that needs to be acknowledged. I felt heard when I was discussing similar experiences with international students. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone. Overall, I learned the importance of being united in the active fight against racism, and the message I want to get across is to continue standing up for what is right.” 

Emily Hartley, final year Broadcast Journalism student, said: "I really enjoyed participating in the programmes, it was great to collaborate and interact with people all over the world, especially at a time when most of us can barely leave our houses. I found it a positive experience to be given the opportunity to speak to so many other students from so many different countries and watching the final programmes back gave me such a sense of achievement." 

Katherine Blair, Broadcast Journalism Programme Leader at Leeds Trinity University, said: “The idea for Let’s Talk Racism came about after the killing of George Floyd in the US last May and the worldwide protests about systemic racism. This is an issue that is so important to highlight – working on it allowed our students to tell the stories of people who have experienced racism. It also allowed students across the world to work together on this important project.” 

She added: “At a time when the pandemic has dominated our lives, these programmes allowed our students to see how racism is being discussed in other countries, and by other young people. I’m so proud of our involvement and in the way Leeds Trinity third year journalism students rose to the challenge of working across borders and time zones to produce these programmes.” 

In November 2020, Leeds Trinity became the first university in Yorkshire to receive the Race Equality Charter Bronze award, in recognition of its commitment to achieve race equality and promote inclusion. The University is now focusing on embedding race equality at all levels, including eliminating the attainment gap for BAME students, increasing the number of BAME academic staff and supporting their progression to senior roles. 

Professor Charles Egbu, Vice-Chancellor of the University, will be also be speaking at the University of Bradford’s Centre for Inclusion and Diversity during the inaugural Race Equality Week (1 – 7 February 2021), a UK-wide initiative between organisations and individuals to address issues affecting ethnic minority employees.

Let’s Talk Racism is available to watch online on Ryerson University’s School of Media Youtube channel.