Fighting Racism Matters

The experience of being discriminated against and abused because of your race in societies that you have been born into and grown up in is unique to people of colour. The longstanding nature of racial discrimination has meant that it has become innate and systemic in most western societies. This doesn’t deny the efforts of some groups to combat and make amends for it. However, it is counterproductive to continue to argue that the existence of systemic racism is not an issue. It means that the history of racial prejudice and discrimination is not taught comprehensively in communities or schools, and it poses a real danger to people of colour and social cohesion. 

As Black people and persons of colour we are not a homogeneous group. This is despite a lot of individuals from majority populations not being able to tell people of colour apart. Whether we are Asian, from the Pacific Islands or African, including by birth or heritage we are all very different people. In fact people from any two different African countries are very likely to be nothing alike and have little in common. However despite all these differences our experience of racism, prejudice and discrimination remains singularly uniiform. If you take a look at America any group of persons of colour may differ in culture, norms or perspectives but will still face the absolute same experience when it comes to discrimination. In fact if a being from outer space landed in America today it is most likely to be more welcomed than a hard working, well spoken and educated person of colour. 

People of colour need to go on a journey of self development that means they are able to support themselves and give back to their communities. We need older people to do more to promote socially aware values that espouse empowerment and self awareness. Young people need to feel inspired to develop themselves and adopt lifestyles that allow them to be independent and enlightened. We cannot wait for reparations before we recognise and repair the rifts in our own communities. Even reparations will not initiate the empowerment and solidarity that people of colour need to uplift their communities in majority White societies. The discussion of reparations might trigger some opportunities to highlight the challenges of striving for racial equality. However, right wing governments and politicians are extremely ready to vigorously deny the space to even have the discussion in a public arena. Any attempt to raise and pursue the issue of historical and systemic racism is seen as a threat rather than an opportunity to work towards a better understanding of the needs and challenges of minority communities. 

The recent racial criticism and abuse of English footballers who participated in the 2021 European Football Championship says a lot for how racial intolerance is very much alive in high society and underbelly of the nation. There might have been any number of players who underperformed during the tournament but it was the Black players who were particularly singled out for abuse. It made no difference that the Black players had represented their country with pride and distinction. The sort of racism they have been subjected to is not isolated or a rare occurrence. It is the sort of prejudice that people of colour experience on the streets, in school, in the workplace and during interactions with public institutions. This speaks to a level of institutionalised racism that needs to be acknowledged in order to be addressed. 

How do you solve a problem like Nigeria?

It is incredible that the current Nigerian government that is widely seen as ineffective and unpopular fails to see the benefits of social media in promoting reform and recovery. In Africa in particular, having a vibrant social media is one way to sustain economic and social development. It does appear that the current government has been mulling over ways to curb the use of social media in the country and Twitter deleting a tweet by the president has given it the excuse to take action. Unfortunately, this seems to be a shortsighted and ill conceived move. 

The Nigerian government may claim to be taking action against Twitter but it’s its own citizenry that it is actually disadvantaging. If the government was unhappy about Twitter’s moderating of content it posted then it should have engaged with Twitter to resolve whatever misunderstanding of its communication and motives it might have deemed to have occurred. Depriving people of using the platform seems like the exact type of overreaction one would expect from a dictatorial and totalitarian government. Certainly it isn’t consistent with the actions and spirit of a modern democracy. 

In spite this being the 21st century Nigeria is still driven by an extremely traditional and deeply conservative culture. In personal interaction age and social status limit the nature and style of communication between individuals. With the growing pervasiveness of the internet and social media some sections of Nigerian society believe the open access has undermined their entitlement and ability to control and restrict the way communication flows between people and institutions. Rather than see the freedom as an opportunity for development for a people who are mired in poverty and deprivation; they consider it as a swamp that festers with disrespect and allows equality. Truth be told, some people in Nigeria do not like to be held accountable and balk at any suggestion of being subjected to scrutiny.

Given Nigeria’s dire economic circumstances the government has been out begging for loans and grants to maintain its revenue requirements. This type of repressive government behaviour is unlikely to be seen as promoting an environment that bodes well for external investment. In fact, the facility to profit from corruption seems to be one of the key factors currently driving consideration of investing in Nigeria. The amount of effort the government is putting into policing Twitter seems significantly greater than what it has done to curb internal insecurity issues. 

It has become clear that until Nigeria starts having honest politicians it will not have good political leadership. After sixty years of independence the country does not have functional institutions that will ensure sustainable economic and social development. The country is becoming increasingly fractured along tribal lines. Unfortunately, there isn’t the leadership to unite and heal all the divisions. If the current government could focus on internal security that at least would be something that everyone could benefit from. 

The View from the Top

© Guardian 

The U.K. government’s commission on race equality produced a report that concluded that institutional racism was no longer a thing in Britain, and Britain is an exemplar nation for race equality and integration.  It should probably be enough to delve into the membership of the commission to roundly discredit its findings and its situational blindness. However, this is not the season for picking low lying fruit. Let’s take a good look at the world according to this group of astute social historians. 

The report asserts that people from minority ethnic groups have an equal chance of success as long as they work hard. Note that it says equal rather than greater chance. This clearly takes no account of generational wealth. It does however, play up to the racist trope that as long as they keep their heads down and do as they are told people of colour will do just fine. The nature of the British honours system serves to further to entrench inequality and exclusion amongst minorities. Titles bestow status and access on holders and these are mostly passed on to cronies and cohorts of the majority White political establishment.

Unfortunately, the reverie about the sweet life minorities are living in the U.K. is broken by studies showing that Black youths are three times as likely to be unemployed than their White compatriots, and the grieving mother of a lost Black boy whose mother has complained that her initial reports of him being missing were not taken seriously by the police before he was found dead. The Windrush scandal still blights the lives of Black Britons.

There are some simple truths that have to be faced no matter what perspective one chooses to look at institutional racism from. In 2021 people of colour are still facing discrimination and violence at the hands of institutions and individuals. The legacy of racism in this country has generational reverberations through Black communities. It has created communities steeped in poverty and deprivation. A consequence of this has been that in some communities of colour people have internalised the racism they have endured. Some people do not see themselves as being able to succeed, or even survive, just by following the rules. So we have low achievement in education, and often a derisory attitude towards regular employment.

Great Britain has not solved the problem that is racism; and it really doesn't have cause to pat itself on the back. There is still a lot to be done, and a lot of people suffering on the margins of society. There is a place for people of colour in the UK and they have made, and continue to make, tremendous contributions to their communities and society as a whole. However, if your knee is on my neck it would be impossible for you to see or recognise my pain and suffering.

Society versus Black People

© Emanu

At what point would a police officer stopping a Black person not feel threatened? We know it isn’t when the Black person is unarmed. Certainly not when putting hands up and complying with policing orders. Not when the Black person is handcuffed and pinned to the ground. Not when the Black person is running away. Not even when it’s an unthreatening Black senior military officer in uniform. Not when a Black person is in their own home and reacting to an unauthorised entry by a police officer. There is clearly a problem with policing in America.  It’s not just the case of a few bad apples. The police approach policing Black people with the mindset of a farmer stalking a predatory animal on farmlands.

For those saying Daunte Wright wouldn’t have been shot if he wasn’t resisting arrest; even if that had saved him what about the next Black person killed while not resisting arrest? There is always another excuse or reason to use violence rather than de-escalate incidents involving Black people. The fact that the police are killing unarmed suspects is a sign this is about a lot more than just the high incidence of crime in Black neighbourhoods or armed criminals. There is a deeper issue here and it reflects something that is instilled, or at the very least reinforced during police training and induction. It is literally the standard response to a dispatch call involving Black people for the police to violently engage. 

The fact that the police believe that in all cases of deaths from an interaction with a Black person they are unlikely to be convicted, if ever charged has encouraged a ‘shoot first’ mentality. It almost doesn’t matter what the circumstances are there is almost always an assumption of justified killing. And in almost all cases this is backed up by the justice system. So now we have a situation where not only is police behaviour inherently illegal; there is almost no way of holding it to account through the justice system. In too many cases the District Attorney chooses not to prosecute. And where the cases go to court the jury rarely comes forth with a guilty verdict. 

It must be said that this a deeper reflection of the society we live in. One where White people still cross the road or clutch their valuables at the sight of a Black person. Depictions of Black people in the media still echo the stereotype of drug crazed criminal gangbanger from way back. It is no surprise that the percentage of Black people in prison far exceeds that of White people. It says something about why a higher proportion of Black people are subject to compulsory mental health orders. It is undeniable that health inequalities and deprivation are higher in Black neighbourhoods. And not due to a lack hard working individuals. 

It cannot be denied that we live in times where the police see Black people as dangerous threats, the justice system sees us as deserving of punishment, and the White majority see us as ill intentioned intruders. In the workplace employers do not want to promote career advancement for Black people.  In education Black students are routinely told to limit their aspirations. In business Black proprietors often find it difficult to break into mainstream markets. But strangely enough, society is content to see us excelling at singing and dancing; and running and jumping. So I guess things can’t be that bad.

With things being the way they are people will have to get used to Black people marching and agitating to make things better and get a fair shake. As long as we are here, and there have been no lack of effort put towards getting rid of us; there has to be a place for us. And we deserve the opportunity to make the place ours. We want to save the planet and protect endangered species but we also want to see Black Lives Matter.

 

Really Recognising Racism

If people really want to know what racism really is how about checking out the growing trend of whole swathes of people referencing Black Lives Matter whenever there is an issue with law enforcement or some criminal situation has become a topic of discussion. It is almost as if these people believe that because Black Lives Matter society has become a chaotic lawless dystopia. Or peep the fact that ever since the idea and movement that Black Lives Matter has entered the public consciousness all of a sudden people seem to be discovering all these other things that matter; as long as they aren’t Black lives. 

If we are absolutely determined to have our heart strings pulled at the evils of racism suffered by celebrities then we can easily reference Harry Belafonte, Spike Lee, Serena Williams, Colin Kaepernick, Ray Fisher, Gabrielle Union or Holly Robinson-Peete. These are people who have suffered from abuse, exclusion, blacklisting, objectification and loss of employment because of their race. Racism is no longer manifesting subversively or in dark corners of society. The KKK no longer need to wear hoods, except when they dress up for the annual Christmas party. There are many tales to tell to highlight the mental anguish racism is causing but I guess those interviews would be unlikely to net Harpo a $9m payday from the news networks.

Every person of colour has probably experienced racism in some general or unique way but it is not necessarily true that every experience of a person of colour is attributable to racism. We should be able to distinguish the experience of racism from other negative or damaging experiences that manifest as a standard, if largely unwelcome, part of the human life. While we need to be acutely aware of the inherently racist nature of western society and culture; we also need to watch out for instances where claims of racism is being used to further people's self interests.

There certainly is racism in Britain. The U.K. government’s “hostile environment” policy and the unjust deportation of ‘Windrush descendants’ has been a targeted effort to scapegoat and deprive Black people of their lawful rights and entitlements. Consider the way people of colour have been disproportionately affected by the covid-19 pandemic. In spite of the evidence pointing to the fact that as a result of deprivation, exclusion, poverty and health inequalities people of colour have been more at risk from infection and death by the virus the British government censored an official report into the impact of the pandemic on minorities and declared that race had no effect on infection or mortality. When it became clear that there was a higher incidence of infection in people of colour rather than mandate risk assessments for staff from minority ethnic groups the NHS management indicated that staff had to individually request for risk assessments themselves. Now that’s your illustration of institutional racism.

Every day we have cases of young Black people being racially profiled by the police. This has led to a disproportionate number of them being stopped and searched; and even killed while being arrested or in custody. Children of colour are being marginalised in the educational system all the time. Too many of them are being pushed towards unskilled employment, sports or show business and away from academics and highly skilled professions because they are not considered to have the aptitude for it by their teachers. British culture and institutions are inherently racist. You get a different level of care depending on which hospital, school or bank you go to. Inevitably access to these establishments is determined by status or wealth. This naturally excludes almost all people of colour. The value placed on circumstance of birth, ancestry and social title speaks to a society that seeks to perpetuate privilege and exclude those who are different, and thus less worthy.

Is the British royal family a racist institution? Absolutely, without a doubt. How can an entity built on the notion of birth being a basis for status and authority; and built on the back of imperialism, colonialism, oppression, murder and prejudice not be discriminatory? As long as it maintains its slavish adoption of birthright entitlement then it will remain racist. They may talk about fulfilling a duty of public service but public service should be a personal calling not something imposed autocratically by a select group of class determined elites. The royal family is also misogynistic, chauvinistic, anachronistic, privileged, entitled and semi-literate. But if you are going to marry into it then you need to draw a line in the sand and set out your terms for a dignified and free relationship before your nuptials. You can't expect to joyously sign on the dotted line then happily thrive in the warm embrace of a hateful legacy.

There is huge amount of work that needs to be done to address the issue of systemic racism in the UK. However, nothing in the recent discussions and exclamations does anything to get to the heart of the matter. And certainly time spent wishing the royal family integrates people of colour is wasted and unlikely to end in anything productive. Providing those people excluded with greater opportunities for education, fairness in employment, safe and secure living, reducing inequalities, tackling deprivation and avoiding poverty are where efforts need to be directed.

Seeing the Vision Through

Every great plan requires a dream, vision or insight. It is these that shape how we make the intangible concrete. A dream, vision or insight are absolutely necessary for progress but they are not all that is needed. You need to survey the landscape, take stock of your resources and establish what tools you need to proceed. These are the building blocks needed to achieve your objective. Having a vision is never enough all by itself. You need to have knowledge of what is required to make it a reality, and then the smarts to actually put all the pieces together  

In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. had a much revered dream. It is a dream that I still hold dear to my heart. However, in 2021 the reality is that I am still not judged by the content of my heart. In fact, I am just as likely to be abused, shot, suffocated, reported as a threat, or considered to be a menace as I am to be greeted “hello”. As it turns out there is a lot more planning and execution required before even the essence of that dream becomes a meaningful part of our lives. 

A good idea is nothing but a signpost if there isn’t a great plan to execute it. You can have a great vision but unless you have the stomach to stand the struggle; and the legs to take you on the journey you will see far afield but never quite make it there. The Winklevoss twins might have had the sweet notion of a social network for hooking up with girls but it was Mark Zuckerberg who came up with the blueprint for an exploitative globally dominant billion dollar social media empire. 

Great ideas change the way people think but great plans are what alter the course of people’s lives. 

Vaccination Vacillation

It is no secret that Black people have a chequered history with medical innovation and experimentation. While there is no denying the myriads of Black people who have been pioneers in science and medicine; it is mostly the experience of Black people as the subjects of experimentation and investigation that are most notable. Even preceding the slave trade western ethnographers were doing their utmost to prove that Black people lacked souls or were sub-human. It is a testament to their genius that most of them concluded that Black people were in fact no more intelligent than forest beasts. You have J. Marion Sims who experimented on slaves, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments on Black men, and the forced sterilisation of Black women in the US, which lasted into modern times. So it is no surprise to find many people of colour highly apprehensive about taking a vaccine that has been hurriedly approved and is largely untested.

There may be elements of the covid-19 vaccine development process that arouse some concern. The vaccines will not be 100% safe for all people; and won’t be 100% effective in all cases. The vaccines have been tested on very small samples but have been found to be highly efficacious. Under normal circumstances that might not be enough but right in the middle of a global pandemic it is a lifeline to grasp and hold onto. The vaccines are designed to offer both protection and a reprieve from the disease for most people. For Black people this is what is most important right now. In a world where individually and systemically we are usually subjected to discrimination and oppression we need to protect ourselves, our families and our communities during this pandemic. Some of us cannot afford the luxury of working at home or staying at home to avoid infection. Unfortunately, too many Black people are not doing enough to protect themselves and the people around them. Wearing a face covering, social distancing or complying with infection prevention measures seem to be optional for too many of us. This means that in addition to our inherent deprivation we are also more at risk of infection and from serious illness due to covid-19.

Some people have expressed serious reservations about the vaccines and have indicated their intention to refuse to take it should they be offered. It is a matter of personal choice whether one wants to take the vaccine or not. However, there are vulnerable and elderly people who could be in serious jeopardy from covid-19 if they have no protection from the disease. For those people it is important to be more circumspect about fostering an atmosphere of fear about getting vaccinated. Instead of reinforcing conspiracy theories, misinformation and half truths people should encourage them to make a well informed choice. They can get vaccinated, avoid serious illness and stay out of hospital; or they can risk it all with dire consequences. This is not about doing what the government says or following the rules. It’s simply a matter of staying safe and protecting those around you.