A Mile in My Shoes

Linda Bellos’ story. Produced by Joshan Chana. In 1981, Black communities in Brixton rose up in bloody confrontation with the Met Police – against a backdrop of racism, severe economic recession and high unemployment. They followed on from similar events in Bristol the year before, and the summer of ‘81 brought further uprisings across England – including in Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. It was a critical moment in the movement for social justice in Britain, leading to landmark recommendations for police reform and local regeneration policies, as well as, crucially, a new sense of Black British empowerment.A Mile in My Shoes: 81 Uprisings brings together stories from people who were there at the time, and who felt the reverberations through homes, streets, and communities across the country – in ways we all still live with today. Each storyteller has donated a pair of their shoes, which you are invited to step into for an empathic journey that might change how you see the world.Produced by The Empathy Museum and created with 81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance and the The Ubele Initiative, this series was made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

Steadman’s story. Produced by Eloise Stevens.In 1981, Black communities in Brixton rose up in bloody confrontation with the Met Police – against a backdrop of racism, severe economic recession and high unemployment. They followed on from similar events in Bristol the year before, and the summer of ‘81 brought further uprisings across England – including in Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. It was a critical moment in the movement for social justice in Britain, leading to landmark recommendations for police reform and local regeneration policies, as well as, crucially, a new sense of Black British empowerment.A Mile in My Shoes: 81 Uprisings brings together stories from people who were there at the time, and who felt the reverberations through homes, streets, and communities across the country – in ways we all still live with today. Each storyteller has donated a pair of their shoes, which you are invited to step into for an empathic journey that might change how you see the world.Produced by The Empathy Museum and created with 81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance and the The Ubele Initiative, this series was made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. 

In this episode, Angel tells her personal story to accompany the letter she wrote and read in episode five.Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. They all access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic.More about:Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/

In this episode we hear a letter written and read by Angel.Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women: Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. All three access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic. Transcripts are available at https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/More about:Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/

In this episode, Rita tells her personal story to accompany the letter she wrote and read in episode three.Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. They all access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ Content note:This episode involves brief discussion of racial discrimination and financial abuse.To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic.More about:Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/

In this episode we hear a letter written and read by Rita.Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women: Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. All three access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic. Transcripts are available at https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/More about:Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/

In this second episode of the series, Elizabeth tells her personal story to accompany the letter she wrote and read in episode one.Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. They all access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ Content note:This episode involves discussion of physical abuse.To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic.More about:Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/

In this first episode of the series, we hear a letter written and read by Elizabeth.Down the Rabbit Hole is a series of letters and personal stories from three women, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel. They all access The Beth Centre – a space supporting women living in Lambeth who are at risk of, or affected by, the criminal justice system.Take a look at a beautiful book of images made to accompany this series: https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/ To create this audio storytelling project, Elizabeth, Rita and Angel worked with course facilitators Jesse Lawson, Donna Everett and Brenda Birungi through 10 weeks of workshops on storytelling, writing, public speaking, recording techniques, and more.This project was produced by Boldface in collaboration with Women in Prison, a charity working to end the harm caused to women, their families and our communities by imprisonment. The audio was produced by Jesse Lawson and Nada Smiljanic. Transcripts are available at https://www.empathymuseum.com/podcast/down-the-rabbit-hole/More about:Boldface: https://www.boldfacecic.org/The Beth Centre: https://www.lambethandsouthwarkmind.org.uk/directory/the-beth-centre-women-offenders/Women in Prison: https://womeninprison.org.uk/