Black Lives Matter

The sad thing about the Black Lives Matter movement, even aside from the tragedy that is the loss of George Floyd’s life, is why isn’t all of this so very obvious? What, people need to be told that they should be promoting human decency? How long will it take for white people (and others) to advance? Yes, it’s true that not all white people are racist, but the lack of acknowledgement of the plight of others is almost as bad. Black people have been vocal about our oppression for hundreds of years and still the progress of change has been embarrassingly slow. This is why the Black Lives Matter campaign is so important

I’ve often thought about why there is such a stigma against my race. I’ve tried to somehow rationalise what cannot be rationalised- to say, it’s pure ignorance and a lack of understanding about our culture and the way we express ourselves. To say that we are a minority and therefore (for some reason) other races find it difficult to relate to us and therefore participate or allow unconscious racism to proliferate. You know what, it’s not good enough! No matter a persons rationale, the fact is the oppression exists. It’s significant, omnipotent and systemic.

My experiences of racism have thankfully never been violent or as overt as some have experienced. What I can attest to is the ignorance and insensitivity of people. One such memory was taking out my hair brush at school and someone saying that it is the same as ones used for dogs. Or how about the “joke” someone told in the classroom, I’ll never forget – “if you walk in to a room and see your tv floating, what do you say?”, “Drop it N*****” I couldn’t believe this was said at the time. I did nothing about either incident because even then I was aware of the only thing worse than sucking up these comments, being labelled as pulling the race card.

The dreaded “race card” was the fight back of our oppressors when we began to vocalise our discontent of negative behaviours. It was a tool used once again to silence us and make us feel like we are overreacting. Not so! I feel similar when in response to a black lives matter message some feel the need to point out that all lives matter. Yes, that is true, but this is a very specific issue of long-standing abuse and it is insensitive to dismiss that grief.

How about in the workplace? Racism, especially in the UK, is a lot less in your face. It manifests itself in the form of a lack of progression and less pay than your counterparts. The amount of time’s I’ve heard family and friends say how they’ve been passed over for promotion and someone else has been brought in who they have to train to do the job. Now tell me, if you have been in a job for years and then find yourself training your own boss, how would you feel? How does it feel to be told that your passion is aggression? How does it feel to be unsure if you didn’t get the job because of a lack of ability or perhaps it was the colour of your skin? Worse still, how does it feel to not even be invited to an interview- is it my name? Is it too black? Am I too black?

These are just some of the things that have crossed my mind as a black woman. They don’t even touch the surface of the issue really. That said, if you want to understand white privilege, part of it is the fact you don’t have to think about these things in your everyday life. You can go for the interview and know that it is likely only your skills are being considered. You can go in a shop and voice your upset with the service being offered without being labelled aggressive. You can get in your car and rest assured that the police will have a reason to stop you before you get pulled over (instead of sighting the misuse of drugs act or some other crap).

Check out these sources for great essential reading around the Black Lives Matter movement:

• Booktable
• Vogue

Finally, although some may find this post helpful. It is no longer (actually never should have been) up to black people to train white people about racism. Simply look around your everyday situations and ask yourself where are the people of colour. Ask yourself what sort of societal injustices may lead to a disproportionate representation of black people in low paid jobs. Ask yourself why black people are over represented in the population of people dying from covid-19. These sorts of questions can help us all to address the systemic failures that have helped racism to flourish and for black people to be simply be exhausted in the effort to experience change.

On a positive note, I pray that George Floyd can be a catalyst for change. I pray that #blackouttuesday is not a flash in the pan. I pray that #blacklivesmatter can become a truth.

T

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