Tobi Oredein’s real life experience of shopping is the basis for her idea about how the dynamics of the media, and as a consequence society, views and treats women based on race. In this thought provoking talk Tobi suggests that If the media prioritised the views of black and minority ethnic women, society would be more forth coming when having a conversation about race, racism and the differing lived experiences.

Tobi Oredein is a writer and an international public speaker from London. A graduate from Kings College London, she started her career in entertainment journalism working for TV Times, Daily Mail and Look magazine. In that time, she interviewed an eclectic range of famous faces including her journalism idol Trevor McDonald, Dermot O’Leary, former Doctor Who companion Jenna-Louise Coleman, and British diver Tom Daley.
In June 2014, alongside her co-founder, she led a small team to launch Black Ballad, a publication that seeks to tell the human experience through the eyes of black British women. Tobi and her team pride themselves on making Black Ballad the leading lifestyle website for black British women by covering issues such as black women and disability, black women and mental health, as well as the relationship blackness has within private education, beauty and fashion. The site has also interviewed high profile British names such as Kidulthood actor Aml Ameen.


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx