Meet the Author: June Sarpong
A few weeks ago, on hearing that the wonderful June Sarpong was speaking at a Virgin event in Hackney, I jumped in a taxi and rushed over to meet here. I wanted to get a little background on her new book, Diversify, with an hour’s notice!
On sitting down with June I had to confess that I hadn’t had a chance to read her book. Luckily she was understanding and didn’t halt the interview right away! For weeks, my colleagues had been raving about Diversify and how thought-provoking, personally challenging and educational it proved to be.
According to the book itself: “In Diversify, June Sarpong considers how we create and use stereotypes, and how they negatively impact our social interactions both overtly and covertly. Using personal anecdotes, referencing stories of success, and by introducing the ‘ISM Calculator’, Diversify encourages readers to calculate their levels of discriminative views and limiting beliefs that they can challenge or possibly conquer as they complete the six steps.”
I didn’t quite achieve reading June in the month of July, but I will definitely be reading June in August! I would love it if you would read along with me and share your thoughts. If your summer reading list is already full, you can visit diversify.org to find out more. You will also find the ‘ISM Calculator’ – it’s really interesting so make sure you give it a go.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll touch on June’s Six Degrees of Integration. June goes into the most incredible detail about our society, both in the UK and the US, and what it is to be ‘other’. I already can’t wait to read Diversify cover to cover and really encourage you to read it too.
As June says: “Here’s to creating a whole new normal…”