What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy the fact that when I wake up each day, I want to go to work. I’ve had jobs in the past where I’ve had to convince myself to get out of bed. That’s the worst feeling. I’ve never had that gut sinking feeling throughout my 11+ years at Raw. A simple answer I know - but for me, how I feel about my job is just as important as the job itself.
That’s almost certainly because I work alongside people I respect, but also enjoy the company of. That’s rare. We’ve had great conversations, shared moments, and learnt a lot from many of them over the years.
What Black creators, organisations, or movements inspire/empower you?
Many of them. But I don’t get too caught up in all the different groups to be honest. Ultimately, we all want to see that there is a place for us in this world… that we belong…. Which can be difficult for Black people. So, I think it’s great when Black people come into their own – full stop.
Whatever they create. Whichever organisation they build or movement they inspire the world with. Its empowering that so many more of us are becoming role models for one another… or the first black person to do XYZ… People who are not of colour will never grasp the difference this make to our sense of self. I can only imagine what this is doing and will continue to do to young black minds in the generations to follow. It is exciting to think about really.
Have you ever experienced barriers due to your ethnicity?
When we say “being Black aint easy “we’re not exaggerating. In terms of TV - I don’t know a Black person who hasn’t experienced some kind of barrier or a situation they needed to navigate and overcome because of their race…. We don’t have that luxury. This can be anything from being overlooked, not trusted, peers having low expectations of you… all the way up to blatant racism. I’ve experienced all of these things throughout my working life. So, I’ve learnt to believe in myself, own my choices, stay focused and be fairly strong willed when necessary. In doing so, rather than being called confident, efficient, savvy… I’ve instead been labelled as aggressive, confrontational, scary… these labels are a barrier in themselves.