outsourceeasilycom Blog

What Cicely Belle Blain Teach Anti-Racism from their Living Room

Oct 19, 2023

The activist, writer and thought-leader Cicely Belle Blain (they/them) is in the business of driving strong conversations and effect changes. This is accomplished via their anti-oppressive and anti-racism activities through Bakau Consulting Inc.--and the online courses that they designed under their umbrella.

In addition to providing vital DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) training to organizations through online and live workshops and education, Blain is noted for founding the Vancouver Chapter of Black Lives Matter and being listed as one of Vancouver's fifty most influential people according to Vancouver Magazine, BC Business"30 Under 30," and one of Refinery29's Powerhouses of 2020. They're also the author of the first collection of poems, Burning Sugar (Arsenal Pulp Press 2020) that helps readers understand the connections between their past and oppression system-wide.

Being a descendent of an extensive line of feminist teachers, they developed a passion for social justice early on during their life. After graduating from University of British Columbia in 2016they joined an organization that supported queer, trans and Two Spirit youth across the province of BC. "I am extremely passionate about creating inclusive environments specifically for people who are 2SLGBTQ+," Blain says. Blain.

Their favourite part of the job was workshop facilitation. "I believed that it was something I was looking to explore in greater detail," they continue. "And I also was looking to incorporate an anti-racism as well as anti-oppression lens into that work ."

They decided to create their own consulting company, eventually becoming Bakau Consulting. Bakau Consulting is a full-service equity integration, anti-racism and inclusion consulting business based in Vancouver, BC. Since launching the company at the end of 2018, it has helped thousands of clients spanning different sectors, including non-profit organizations, corporations, and universities. "Lots of various types of organizations seek our advice and consultation on creating more accessible, equitable, and inclusive working environments," they say.

Today, the business provides four courses online--with further coming in the near future to help facilitate the liberation of all people. In June of this year, Blain launched a fourth course--Living Room--which offers a transformative journey for practitioners of DEI and anti-oppression-centered work in a small, intimate setting. Here's how:

  Skip ahead  

Then they shifted towards online learning

In addition, it was the year that covid-19 hit all over the globe, but it also was the year in which innocent Black people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor as well as Ahmaud Arbery were killed, bringing movement for freedom and work against oppression to the forefront. This in turn meant that DEI work was a greater priority in many workplaces. "2020 was a major awakening for lots of folks," says Blain. "Since, DEI is an industry that has seen a dramatic increase in its ."

When the pandemic happened, the Bakau team quickly redirected its attention into virtual learning. Team members collaborated to launch four self-paced, recorded courses: Disrupting a Culture of Appropriation as well as Combating Anti-Asian Racism, Locating Patriarchy, and RISE: Exposing Racism and Sexism. Intersections that are Racism and Sexism.

The courses serve as a foundational learning for Bakau's clients. "They help to reduce the work load of Bakau's staff; we also encourage our clients to enroll in these courses and allow us to do more," says Blain.

Blain chose to provide courses over other elearning platforms because of how user-friendly it is.

"I enjoyed my experience with the platform as a student as it was easy to use," they say. "We had a student from Adler University's social justice department conduct a study of the various e-learning platforms as part of an internship we had with them that allowed for maximum customization as well as simplicity when uploading content. It was clear that uploading content would be more difficult for us since there isn't a technology team. We felt that was the easiest option for us. ."

They built a supportive group-based community

Blain was looking to create a program to allow people to grow closer than on their own. So, the group-based Living Room course was introduced this year to help folks get together, talk about the things they're going through as well as form a community of support. "The concept of Living Room had been percolating inside my head for a long time," they explain.

"There's plenty of information out there specific to certain areas, including discrimination against people of color, disability justice or 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion," continues Blain. "For myself, Living Room is more focused on the "how" of doing the job, for example, how do you manage your own needs? What do you do to facilitate your life with a certain method? How do you navigate the power you have or control which you don't? What are you doing to deal with the emotional aspects of talking about issues that might be personally important to you and the viewers are reacting with emotion as well? ?"

They created a warm, inviting learning environment--virtually

Living Room mostly attracts people working in and around anti-oppressive strategy and the mobilization of social justice.

While Bakau's content is notably very approachable, Living Room is presented in a relaxed and welcoming manner. "As someone who's kind of an introvert, I really enjoy working at home, and I believe many people do too," they continue. "I was wondering if it could be possible to feel connected with people, feel like you're part of the family and learning virtually ."

It is evident through the website's wording as well as in the material itself. For example, the about part on the Living Room landing page reflects the inviting vibe that the course imparts.

They are able to write:

      "I want to invite you to my living room.  

      I am a neurodivergent introvert and is somehow able to do an emotionally tense front-facing job in my home, the living room is my sanctuary.  

      The walls are adorned with artwork that inspires me. A sepia photo of my mum's hands, cuddling my little baby fingers, a bespoke photo that I and my companion created by one of my most favorite local artists, a print of my best friend's film photography, a "no police the pride" poster.  

      Every corner is unique and has its own vibe and a meaning. The window seat is covered with an incredibly soft pink blanket ideal for reading your favorite YA novels with a candle. Another corner houses your dining room table (because there isn't anyone with an extra dining space these days?) and soft yellow chairs. I usually paint and create collage (dinner is almost always in my lap, isn't yours? )  

      My favourite corner is to the right to the right of the fireplace. It's a memorial altar dedicated to my dear Nana, Jean. I honoured her with a ray of sunlight; a warm, yellow shelf decorated with her most loved glasses, her books as well as trinkets and other items from her numerous journeys and even a gold vase."  

The name was chosen for "Living Room" because of it's dual signification. "It represents a cozy room in addition to a room to live; we are making space for us to breath and be together" Blain explains. Blain.

They disrupted the traditional method of learning

Further, the way they display their information is a bit different than the norm. "With Living Room, I tried to break the traditional way that we learn. The focus is more on reflection and connecting than contents," they say.

As their objective is to transpose their ideals into a welcoming virtual world, Blain recorded themselves talking into their phone--mimicking the style of Instagram Live, rather than uploading their videos using Powerpoint.

"I discovered that if wanted to convey an informal vibe I needed to approach things differently," they say. "Sometimes I'd speak when wearing my makeup, or doing random stuff as I read the text. Then, I'd put that video on an image slide and then add notes and captions. ."

"This wouldn't work in our classes where we're trying to pitch corporate clients" continues Blan, "but in this instance, I felt it would be refreshing for people to have something other than an ordinary PowerPoint presentation. I had lots of fun making it ."

Further, when Blain would write an instruction in text within the course, they treated it as if it was an article on a blog. "I believe that the student finds that more fun and approachable because it's different from reading a textbook," they add.

They curated the content of other sources

In addition to developing new ideas - which Blain believes is essential in the role of an online course creator also curate other content for learners.

"It's important to be able to generate original ideas," they say, "but it's also a good ability to have an expert in curating resources also. It's amazing to come to a class where someone else has put together everything that you need to know in one space, even if they created it themselves. ."

Plus, curating content allows Blain to incorporate new perspectives and personal experiences into their course. "I recommend that students take advantage of other information that is in the world," continues Blain. "You don't have to think up every idea yourself; you could credit someone else for their efforts. ."

While creating content and curating it, Blain created everything directly within Course Builder. "It seemed like it took out the process of doing a lot of writing and formatting on the format of a Google doc and after that copying it and reformatting," they say. "That's personal preference however, I believe it has reduced anxiety and provided me with more instant gratification ."

They provided a variety of delivery alternatives

When the Living Room was launched, Living Room, Blain offered various options to deliver the course.

First was the cohort tier, which was the full access program. With this program, a group of 15 learners were gathered over five weeks for going through live workshops on topics like navigating capitalism and intergenerational storytelling and the guest speaker series. The group were also given access to a recorded class on intergenerational storytelling  along with an online community called Slack. "We're only in the initial phase of this program, however, I'm very pleased with how the first cohort went and I'm very excited to discover its possibilities," shares Blain.

The next group was originally planned for January 2024, they're reconsidering the delivery of Living Room, and considering turning it into a membership program instead. "Five weeks weren't enough time," Blain says. Blain. "The connections that were developed were so valuable. It's possible that this could be a more year-round offer that allows users to continue having access to the community and can have these types of conversations or perhaps, the content on the internet will grow as well ."

The next tier offered was the flex learning option. It allows students to join only for the online course and get the opportunity to attend two key lectures. "It's a less intensive way to be a part of the program if folks don't have as the time," says Blain.

The third level consisted of a pre-recorded online class on its own.

They weren't overselling themselves.

Blain was able to offer the cohort tier on the rate of a sliding scale. The regular price was $599 CAD. Then there was the "generous rate" that was $899 CAD. "The generous rate is the case for companies that provide them with scholarships to attend," says Blain. "This allows me to give an array of scholarship choices to individuals, like a complete scholarship as well as a handful of 50% scholarships. ."

The flex learning tier cost $199CAD, and the online course itself was $99 CAD.

For pricing their classes, they looked at what other organizations were charging--but they said that prices were "all over the place."

"We could not come to a conclusion of the price that was typical," they say. "We considered charging a lower price point to make it a quick access type of things for the general public, however as we thought about how much effort we had put into it, as well as the quality of the material, we knew that this should be more of an cost-effective investment ."

Be careful not to diminish the value of DEI work, the team determined the Living Room wasn't priced too low. "We landed on a price of roughly the similar to the price if you were attending a series of workshops with us," they say.

To collect payment to process payments, they use Stripe with .

They relied on their email list to market their courses

Blain says the Living Room attracts both individuals--like activists, community organizers volunteers, humanitarians and just individuals who are interested in learning about other people's experiences--as and organizations that require assistance with this kind of work.

They get the word out regarding Living Room through their live workshop facilitation in conjunction with Bakau Consulting. They also market it by promoting it through workshops that are conducted live through Bakau consultation, the Bakau monthly newsletter that is subscribed to by more than 2,000 people, as well as Blain's own Instagram account. "When we advertise the course on platforms like Instagram, this generally draws people who have signed to the course by themselves," they say.

The newsletter can be used to promote their courses in addition to speak about events like Pride Month or Black History Month.

"Our newsletter is the most effective ways to encourage readers to check out our website," they say. "I think we have a pretty consistent and loyal following of folks there ."

If Blain could go back and change anything, they would be more organised in their approach to promoting not only Living Room, but their other classes as well. "We're working on looking at the strategy we use to market our courses," they say. "For so long we've had an excellent experience, based on word of mouth but never put much of a budget in marketing. The next thing we need to do is to maintain the consistency of promoting our digital products to ensure that our users continue to come to our site, adjusting to changing times, and making sure that our content is relevant and engaging. ."

This marketing strategy will remain top of mind in the coming months as they begin their next program, Processing Rage -- which will be hosted at and available to pre-register.

They worked with a team

While Living Room was mainly created by Blain the rest of the classes within Bakau were a collaborative, group effort. Bakau has multiple team members, ranging from facilitators, strategists, to research analysts. "We have been working on them since in November, and basically went on a break for two weeks, met in person and conducted lots of brainstorming," they say.

If Blain thinks back about the process of creating Living Room, they're excited for the future--and the potential positive change that it could bring to folks. "In looking back at my satisfaction with the first cohort and the positive feedback I hope it will expand to become more of a portion the community of Bakau," says Blain.

If you're looking to take on an online course creator position, don't hesitate. The world needs to hear from you. Sign to join today at no cost.