Essays

Analysis and personal essays from Sharon Hurley Hall on racism and racial justice

Racism and Identity

REBOOT: While Black: Thoughts on the Assumption of Wrongness

Sep 23, 2026

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6 min read

REBOOT: While Black: Thoughts on the Assumption of Wrongness

Six years later, a reflection on the essay that started it all

Sharon Hurley Hall

Workplace Racism

Sep 21, 2026

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3 min read

When Joy Becomes a Liability

What the white gaze costs in the workplace

Sharon Hurley Hall

Racism and Identity

Microaggressions Aren't Mistakes: They're a System of Control

Sep 9, 2026

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3 min read

Microaggressions Aren't Mistakes: They're a System of Control

Here are some to avoid

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Racism Practice

How to Start Conversations About Racism (and Why You Should)

Aug 31, 2026

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3 min read

How to Start Conversations About Racism (and Why You Should)

The 7-step process I've used myself

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Racism Practice

REBOOT: What If Being Called "Racist" Were the Start of the Conversation?

Aug 19, 2026

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3 min read

REBOOT: What If Being Called "Racist" Were the Start of the Conversation?

And not the end of it

Sharon Hurley Hall

Racism and Identity

Aug 17, 2026

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3 min read

Our Fear Is Justified? Is Yours?

Why do some people shrink from people racialised as Black?

Sharon Hurley Hall

Colonialism

Why They're Terrified of Accurate Black History Education

Aug 5, 2026

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2 min read

Why They're Terrified of Accurate Black History Education

Reflecting on banned books and the erasure of facts

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Racism Practice

Why the Words We Use About "Race" Are Never Neutral

Jun 29, 2026

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4 min read

Why the Words We Use About "Race" Are Never Neutral

Part 2: Power, Action and Practice

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Racism Practice

Jun 17, 2026

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4 min read

SARN Top Voices 2026

10 anti-racism advocates to increase your knowledge and action

Sharon Hurley Hall

Colourism

Jun 15, 2026

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4 min read

Why the Words We Use About "Race" Are Never Neutral

Part 1: Identity and Language

Sharon Hurley Hall

White Supremacy and Systems

Jun 10, 2026

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4 min read

REBOOT: Dear Person Who Misused “Woke”

There's STILL nothing wrong with being anti-racist

Sharon Hurley Hall

White Supremacy and Systems

TFW Someone Colonises Your Quote About Enslavement

Jun 3, 2026

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2 min read

TFW Someone Colonises Your Quote About Enslavement

Of intellectual property theft, indignation, and impact

Sharon Hurley Hall

Colourism

REBOOT: Self-Acceptance is Radical for Black Women

May 20, 2026

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3 min read

REBOOT: Self-Acceptance is Radical for Black Women

And it can take time to achieve it

Sharon Hurley Hall

DEI and Organisations

May 18, 2026

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3 min read

Are You Hiring Based on "Colour Fit"?

The uncomfortable truth about colourism and DEI

Sharon Hurley Hall

Colonialism

May 13, 2026

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3 min read

What the UN Vote on Enslavement Reveals

No surprises, but we can never unsee it

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Blackness

REBOOT: When Empathy Has Conditions, Some Lives Don't Qualify

Apr 22, 2026

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3 min read

REBOOT: When Empathy Has Conditions, Some Lives Don't Qualify

STILL calling out the rhetoric of dehumanisation

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Blackness

Beyond Tokenism: What True Black Representation Requires

Apr 20, 2026

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3 min read

Beyond Tokenism: What True Black Representation Requires

Looking past the optics to see what's happening in an organisation

Sharon Hurley Hall

Colourism

Apr 15, 2026

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8 min read

The Personal Cost of Racism

My exploration of pain, anger and purpose

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Blackness

Apr 1, 2026

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7 min read

"Where Are Your Parents From?"

Things White Folks Have Said to Me #7

Sharon Hurley Hall

DEI and Organisations

Mar 30, 2026

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7 min read

Unlearning Racism in Higher Education

Excerpt from a presentation to the UCL International Students' Network

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Blackness

REBOOT: The Idea of Black Exceptionalism is Harmful

Mar 18, 2026

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6 min read

REBOOT: The Idea of Black Exceptionalism is Harmful

What's truly exceptional about Black Excellence - and what's not

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Racism Practice

Unintentional Racism - Why It Doesn't Mitigate the Harm

Mar 16, 2026

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5 min read

Unintentional Racism - Why It Doesn't Mitigate the Harm

Intent, Impact and Repair

Sharon Hurley Hall

Racism and Identity

Mar 4, 2026

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8 min read

The BBC, the BAFTAs and the N-word

An Anti-Racism Epic Fail

Sharon Hurley Hall

Anti-Racism Practice

REBOOT: Some Thoughts About Black History Month

Feb 18, 2026

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7 min read

REBOOT: Some Thoughts About Black History Month

Surprise, surprise - these are still on point in 2026!

Sharon Hurley Hall

Racism and Identity

Hidden Racism in Interracial Relationships: What White Partners Miss

Feb 16, 2026

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8 min read

Hidden Racism in Interracial Relationships: What White Partners Miss

Why good intentions aren't enough

Sharon Hurley Hall

Essays

REBOOT: While Black: Thoughts on the Assumption of Wrongness

When Joy Becomes a Liability

Microaggressions Aren't Mistakes: They're a System of Control

How to Start Conversations About Racism (and Why You Should)

REBOOT: What If Being Called "Racist" Were the Start of the Conversation?

Our Fear Is Justified? Is Yours?

Why They're Terrified of Accurate Black History Education

Why the Words We Use About "Race" Are Never Neutral

SARN Top Voices 2026

Why the Words We Use About "Race" Are Never Neutral

REBOOT: Dear Person Who Misused “Woke”

TFW Someone Colonises Your Quote About Enslavement

REBOOT: Self-Acceptance is Radical for Black Women

Are You Hiring Based on "Colour Fit"?

What the UN Vote on Enslavement Reveals

REBOOT: When Empathy Has Conditions, Some Lives Don't Qualify

Beyond Tokenism: What True Black Representation Requires

The Personal Cost of Racism

"Where Are Your Parents From?"

Unlearning Racism in Higher Education

REBOOT: The Idea of Black Exceptionalism is Harmful

Unintentional Racism - Why It Doesn't Mitigate the Harm

The BBC, the BAFTAs and the N-word

REBOOT: Some Thoughts About Black History Month

Hidden Racism in Interracial Relationships: What White Partners Miss

Sharon's Anti-Racism Newsletter