Uju | Author of Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World
| Founder of the parenting blog Babes about Town and digital consultancy Mothers and Shakers | Screenwriter | Loves arts and culture, movies, music, dancing, food, hanging out with friends/family | London, UK.
Instagram: @babesabouttown
Twitter: @BabesaboutTown
Facebook: @BabesaboutTown
Book on Amazon, Waterstones and other good bookshops:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2YomkHM or Waterstones: https://bit.ly/3hgyvyY
1) THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS?
Becoming a published author! I wrote Bringing Up Race: How to Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World and it’s been a dream to get such wonderful feedback so far and to see the book on actual shelves, alongside authors like Maya Angelou!
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2) THE WORST THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS?
Falling out and becoming estranged from someone once very close to me. It was a massive shock to my system but has taught me a lot about my own resilience, setting proper boundaries and the people I can truly count on.
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3) YOUR BIGGEST WISH FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?
I hope that lots of people read Bringing Up Race and connect with its message and share it far and wide. We need more people of all ethnicities to join the conversation around race and raising antiracist kids for a more inclusive world.
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4) YOUR BIGGEST WORRY FOR THE NEAR FUTURE?
My biggest worry is the pandemic and how we will get it under control. I pray we can soon whether through effective vaccination, medication or some miracle breakthrough. We are losing too many people to this virus.
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5) A CONTEMPORARY WOMAN YOU CURRENTLY ADMIRE?
I think Chimamanda Adichie is an exceptional writer, a beautiful woman and a great ambassador for Nigeria (my birth country). Her TED talk on The Danger of a Single Story is brilliant and should be required watching in schools.
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6) A ONE-SENTENCE MESSAGE TO OTHER WOMEN?
Raise your voice. Tell your story. There is so much power in female expression.
A few more questions about the current situation (covid-19, lockdown, black lives matter protests, politics, finances, mental health, health, and so much more):
You can also send one single answer to the 3 questions combined.
7) THE WORLD HAS BEEN CHANGING DRAMATICALLY IN RECENT MONTHS, HOW ARE YOU COPING?
I’m taking it day by day. I do my best to switch off the news when it gets too much and binge on Netflix instead.
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8) WHICH CHANGE HAS AFFECTED YOU THE MOST / HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU PERSONALLY?
Lockdown was intense but I think the global Black Lives Matter protests have affected me most emotionally.
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9) WHAT ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE MOST?
Racism. It’s the oldest and longest-running pandemic so we need to cure that if we have any hope of curing the planet.