In October 2021, I had the absolute pleasure of sharing the stage with acclaimed Actor, David Harewood, MBE for an exclusive, intimate and honest conversation at the National Theatre and it was rather special. The last time I was on stage at the National Theatre was in 2006. I was auditioning for a musical called Caroline or Change. I was down to the last two for a part called Emmie - I didn’t get it & it was not long after that I left the acting industry, for good. That clearly wasn’t my path. Back on this stage (with less than a week to prepare a-hem) in a different role, with incredible actor - & now fellow author David Harewood (who I fondly like to call Mr Hollywood). Nova Reid in Conversation with David Harewood was stripped back,…
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And just like that.... after three years in the making and however long researching, The Good Ally is finally out in the world and available in hardback, ebook and audiobook and I can't wait for you to have it! The Good Ally is an urgent call to arms to become better allies against racism and provides a thoughtful approach, centering collective healing, to do so. It is a book for those against persistent racial injustice, hungry to expand their knowledge and understanding of systemic racism in Britain and beyond. It uncovers the roots of racism and its birthplace, anti-Blackness. It is for those who not only want to be able to better recognise both subtle and overt forms of racism in action, to examine their powerful role in it, but who want to know…
Delighted to be asked to write for British Vogue. Talking about when racism shows up in friendship circles and how to tell a friend their behaviour is racist. Click for the article
The summer of 2020 was quite an extraordinary time the will go down in the history books. Amongst the surge of interest in anti-racism work I have been quietly working behind the scenes on a project for sometime. I have longed to bring anti-racism work to as many people as possible and now, finally that dream is being realised. On the 3rd July I formerly announced my debut book; The Good Ally will be published in September 2021 by HQ Stories of Harper Collins and is now available for pre-order from your favourite book stores. The Good Ally will be the answer to all those cool cats like you who have started to really engage with their own privilege, prejudice and isms, and are asking ‘what next?’ Drawing on my experience in mental well-being, consulting…
Conversations with Nova Reid a podcast series was launched during spring 2020 to keep listeners company during the global pandemic and beyond. Season two launched in spring 2021. You can expect raw, unedited, challenging and human anti-racist conversations with me and incredible human beings navigating this funny thing called life through the lens of race. Be prepared to hear truth bombs, be prepared to be held to account, to listen to personal stories and be motivated to be part of an urgent and powerful tidal wave of change. Featuring guests from leading campaigners such as Gina Martin, to Lady Phyll, to healers and therapists like best selling times author Resmaa Menakem, to students on my anti-racism course talking about their anti-racism journey. New to the podcast? Join me on my first solo episode to…
This time last month I had the pleasure of speaking at TEDx in Frankfurt Germany. What an experience. Overwhelmed, humbled, a bucket list item firmly ticked off. It was exciting, but it was also an undertaking. Which caught me off guard because I have been a professional speaker and performed on stages for years. But a Tedx stage is different. I spoke about microaggressions. Talking about how to address inherent racism to a sold out auditorium of approximately 600 majority white audience, is no easy feat. I didn’t think about the magnitude of this until moments before my talk. I wanted to vomit. But my friends say I have the courage of a lion, so I just took a moment to breathe, leaned into my nerves and vulnerability and stood on stage firmly and…
Absolutely delighted to be invited on the TV sofa again, this time for Yahoo new online series presented by Kate Thornton - The Royal Box We’re talking The Duchess of Sussex, bias and the relationship with hidden racism in Britain and it’s a corker. I also share a little about what it was like to attend the royal wedding in sunny Windsor in May 2018. Since joining the Royal Family, Meghan Markle’s every move has been scrutinised. So much so that when Prince Harry started dating Meghan in 2016, he issued an unprecedented statement about the commentary of his then-girlfriend in the press, referring to “the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.” Nova Reid tells Yahoo UK’s ‘The Royal Box’: “We…
Absolute pleasure to be featured in an article on Virgin discussing how to turn frustration into innovation. Frustration affects the best of us. Even the most creative and innovative. Whilst frustration can paralysing, it can also be an “excellent state” to motivate us into new action. Thought is not fact. Unhealthy thought patterns can lead to heightened responses to stress, which affect our ability to process information and think clearly. As Henry Ford said, ‘Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right'. You can read more of my musings in the full article here .
Our sociopolitical climate is changing. We are feeling the effects of that. Various reports show a significant rise in race and religious hate crime since Brexit and the Trump administration and it is anticipated that we will receive a further rise when we leave the EU in March. But many wonder where this increase in hate is coming from and feel powerless to stop it. From the more overt acts of verbal racism being captured closer to home to devastating violent attack to the Jewish community in America I see a lot of people posting about how sad and abhorrent it is and that we should all pray. A similar sequence of events happens on social media whenever there is any attack, major or minor. An outpouring of love, perhaps a trendy new hashtag and…
It's no longer enough to put a rainbow flag on the front of your building or to give your logo a rainbow makeover for one month It's easy to assume that people in different minority groups can easily empathise with each others experience. It is easy to assume that everyone will believe better equality for one group means better equality for us all collectively. The truth is if you fall within more than one minority group, or protected characteristic under the Equalities Act 2010 - you WILL experience even more discrimination, which makes it even harder to access equal rights. Many people in the LGBTQ+ community who are also an ethnic minority can attest to this with Racism a huge concern in the LGBTQ+ community. This recent report 2018 Pride Matter survey reveals low levels…