They Walk Amongst Us: Two Years On, What Have We Learnt — and What Have We Changed?
In August 2024, I called upon people to stand in the light as Britain witnessed racist violence and hostility. Two years later, I revisit that article through the Six Stages Framework, examining what we have learnt about escalation, psychological states, social environments and the conditions needed for meaningful change.
My Dear Black Friend: A Response to the Letters
After four My Dear White Friend letters, the conversation changes direction. An imagined white friend reflects on what it means to listen, confront defensiveness and allow learning about racism to change behaviour.
My Dear White Friend: Please Don’t Make Me Your Textbook
When you ask a Black friend to explain racism, who carries the cost of the lesson? Letter Four explores self-education, emotional labour, defensiveness and a harder question: does your allyship extend to Black people you do not already know?
My Dear White Friend – Letter Two: The Discomfort of Looking Within
What happens when friendship, allyship and inclusion no longer reassure us, but ask us to examine ourselves? Letter Two explores racial bias, institutional silence and the difficult work of looking within.
My Dear White Friend: A Note Between Letters – Are My Letters Reaching You?
Before writing Letter Two of My Dear White Friend, I find myself needing to pause. Reflections on belonging and the public discussion surrounding Professor Arday have resurfaced memories, emotions and questions I thought I had put away. This is a note from the space between the letters.
My Dear White Friend
Understanding racism intellectually is one thing. Sitting with it when it becomes personal is something else. In Letter One of My Dear White Friend, I reflect on friendship, White privilege, bias, belonging and what happens when the lens turns inward.
From Awareness to Action: When Systems Know What to Do-but Struggle to Do It
This week’s headlines reveal a widening gap between awareness and lived experience. Through the SSF Lens, Dr Shungu explores why recognising problems is only the beginning—and what it takes for systems to move towards meaningful change.
The Cave of Symptoms: The Hidden Conditions Behind Behaviour, Attendance and Disengagement
What if behaviour, attendance and disengagement are not the real problem, but symptoms of something deeper? In this SSF Weekly Reflection, Dr Shungu M’gadzah explores the Cave of Symptoms—a Six Stages Framework metaphor for the way schools, organisations and systems often focus on visible outcomes while overlooking the conditions beneath them. From anxiety and unmet need to psychological safety, belonging and systems change, this reflection invites readers to look beyond surface explanations and ask what it truly takes to create environments where people can learn, contribute and thrive.
SSF Weekly Reflection #1: Moving from Certainty to Curiosity- The Cave of Simplification
https://youtu.be/JeoTylZlhf0 As I reflected on the conversations, case discussions, articles, podcasts, and resources developed this week, a common thread emerged: The Cave of Simplication: How do we remain open to complexity when we feel pressure to choose a side? Across education, leadership, inclusion, workplace culture, and current affairs, we repeatedly encountered the tension between certainty […]
