Reclaiming the narrative: OTD launches Black History Month podcast 

The series is hosted by OTD joint managing director, Chris Cummins, and is designed to support this year’s BHM theme of ‘reclaiming narratives’, by taking ownership of the stories that define Black people. 

It features guests including Bianca Jones, managing director of EDP Training; inclusion specialist and trainer, Mamawa Turay; Nathan Dennis, director, Legacy Consultants; Ebony Bansair, senior research associate at Meridian Bioscience inc; and OTD associate business coaches, Marie Loney and Marie Gardner.

Other contributors include Denise Gooding and Richard Gooding, survivors of the 1981 New Cross fire, who feature in Steve McQueen’s seminal 2021 BBC documentary, Uprising.

Chris Cummins said: “Over the past couple of years I’ve spent time gathering interesting facts and fascinating stories related to Black history, and have shared them with our team on email. 

“This year we decided to produce our first podcast to coincide with Black History Month, which we hope people find inspiring, uplifting and informative.”

OTD’s culture and compliance manager, Lian Bemrose, worked with Chris Cummins to deliver the podcast series. She explained: “We really wanted to create a positive platform for people we know, to reclaim the narrative and tell their stories. 

“We’ve been treated to some powerful interviews and discussions about Black history, which have been made all the more inspiring by the personal experiences that our guests have shared. We’re hugely grateful for their contributions.”

While the series has been specially recorded for OTD employers and its coaching community, the first episode with Bianca Jones has been made available to view on YouTube. 

In it, Bianca talks to Chris Cummins about her professional role in mental health first aid training, race equity and allyship education, as well as her childhood experiences as a person of mixed heritage. 

Listen now: click here.