To me, racism is the institutionalised, social, mental and economic oppression of ethnic minorities.
Unfortunately, the death of George Floyd is not a surprise to me. As black people, seeing our brothers and sisters being legally killed is nothing new. For example the Jim Crow laws, during that period black people were legally lynched in public. Not one person was ever prosecuted for this.
As a black person, it is so common, some may even say mandatory, that you sit down with your parents and watch slavery movies such as Roots. I remember the first time I saw this movie at the age of 12 and was forever scarred from seeing what happened to my ancestors.
What does it mean to be black?
Being black is being afraid to write your full name on an application form.
Being black is feeling pressure to perm your hair so you ‘fit in’.
Being black is being unable to drive a nice car without being stopped or people questioning how you could afford it.
Being black is having to work twice as hard for the same degree/job as your white counterparts.
Why do we go through this?
Because the system was never designed to protect us. Laws such as the Equality Act that aimed to protect ethnic minorities were only established 10 years ago! And we all know it takes longer than that for laws to actually be integrated into society.
The truth is ethnic minorities are not adequately protected because we don't have enough withstanding laws to protect us.
We are used to walking in a room and being the only black person, or people asking us "Where are you from?" even though many of us youngsters were born in Britain. How often do u ask a white person ‘where are u from, what’s your ethnic background?’ Each time I say, "Does it matter? I was born in Britain". This may sound harsh but the question was harsher. Feeling as if you're some foreign object and must explain your own ethnic background and how my family arrived in the UK is invasive and degrading.
Nowadays it’s trendy to have a fake tan, big lips and a big bum... At one point, black people were laughed at and mocked for these features (e.g blackface). But as soon as a white person do it, all of a sudden it’s acceptable (e.g. blackfishing seen above). Or music... wrongly associating songs such as ‘Work’ by Rihanna as reggae music, when it’s not even close.
To move forward, non-black people need to take it upon themselves to educate and learn about black experiences and be sensitive to this issue. It is not black people’s job to fix your ignorance. We are not here to pour our hearts out in order to fix ur lack of education on black issues. One of the best ways to start this conversation is by making topics about racism mandatory in PSHE, History, English and Geography lessons. All employees should be required to complete a ‘non-bias’ test to gauge their acceptance and understand ethnics minorities in the workplace.
Today's feature writer is Cheé! She is an incredibly driven and passionate woman that I have always admired. When we were in English Language I admired the way she spoke so confidently, especially when discussing the topic of Language and Race. If it weren't for Cheé's great advice this blog would still be a dream, not a reality. I want to say a huge thank you to her for pushing me to do this and I want everyone to head over to her blog for fashion tips and inspo!
Cheé's blog: https://cheegordon.wixsite.com/cheejola
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