About Josephine
“Like many black people, I am tired of explaining my daily experience only to be dismissed. So, then I wondered whether if we heard more stories of white privilege, it would help those who don’t understand or believe our experiences to stop and think? Even being listened to, believed and understood is a privilege many black people simply don’t have! Often people ask me what they can do? This is an opportunity for the many decent, white people to be allies and to stand in solidarity with their black and brown brothers and sisters. This is why I am calling upon white people to share personal stories that highlight and help others understand white privilege.”
Josephine (Founder, White Allies UK)
White Allies Podcast episode one: Interview with Josephine: Listen
Josephine Namusisi Riley's Blog "An invitation to white people to be active allies": Read
Reflections one year on - Josephine Namusisi Riley: Read
Josephine
Photo by Jamie Muir
Josephine is a wife and mother of three children aged 22, 17 and 15 years. She started her career in the UK as a volunteer and subsequently as an Advisor with the Citizens Advice Bureaux. She then worked in the HIV voluntary sector for 15 years supporting individuals and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. She moved on to work for 7 years for a children’s education Charity School-Home Support and currently works for Citizens UK as a Project Lead for the PACT (Parents and Communities Together) project in South London.
Josephine cares deeply about human relationships and describes herself as an intuitive learner. She prides herself in listening to self and others; and to responding honestly, in most cases anyway! This is how the idea of White Allies was born.
“In the end we remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends”
Martin Luther King Jn.