Like many others I was deeply shocked by the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, I cannot imagine what their parents, family and friends are going through.
There is a precarity regarding my British status. In short, if I do something good, I am British, if I do something not so good, I then become a person of the Island of my parents, race/culture/heritage. Even more impactful than that, I and everyone looking like me are responsible for every misdeed committed by anyone looking like me. It’s a collective punishment. The inference being that all forms of regressive and/or bad behaviour is unique to me and others that look like me.
For almost two weeks in August 2024 Black and Brown communities, particularly Muslims were in a self-imposed lockdown, due to the Islamophobia and racist/terror marches held all over the country. Simply put, all Black and Brown people we were not safe anywhere, not at work, not in the community not even in their own homes.
Some saw the tiniest glimmer of hope, when communities began to push back and support each other. These counter demonstrations enveloped most of the racist marches, rendering those hate driven and violently led riots impotent. However, it remained difficult for me and people who look like me to take complete comfort from these encouraging acts of community response, uplifting as they were, only because we have been here before, for example: –
- 2020 The murder of George Floyd
- 2012 Theresa May’s hostile environment – culminating Windrush scandal
- 2011 The killing of Mark Duggan
- 1993 Murder of Stephen Lawrence – culminating in the Macpherson report
- 1981 Brixton and Toxteth Race Riots
- 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott
The Nationality and Borders Act 2023, gives the Home Secretary authority to remove my British citizenship without any prior notice, thus making me stateless. This impacts up to 60% of the UK’s Ethnic Minorities, globally there are approximately 1.4 million who are currently stateless.
The 2021 Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) report denied the lived experience of Black & Brown people in Britain by failing to acknowledge the impact of ongoing institutional racism1. The report was widely challenged at the time and the Government eventually responded in 2022 with the Inclusive Britain Report. I ask myself the question, how do both of those reports sit with what we witnessed and what are the very real lived experiences of our Black and Brown communities.
I find myself reviewing the progress made on Race in the last 30 years in the organisations across the UK. As an example, my own 40yr career spans the BBC and the Civil Service, including; OFCOM, The Insolvency Service, Defra and the Ministry of Justice, incorporating my own role/s as representative Staff Network leader and all striving to deliver equity, diversity and inclusion. Yet, I have witnessed countless failed projects, initiatives and strategies with too many falling short of the mark. Black & Brown colleagues continue to be underrepresented at senior decision-making levels. Black & Brown staff are more likely to experience discrimination and bullying. Black & Brown talent are more likely to leave organisations when they are being downsized.
I believe we have failed to build on the gains that have been made.
We need thought leaders, willing to lead with big, bold and brave actions leading to holistic outcomes that encourages and supports inclusion, equity and social cohesion. It was Albert Einstein who defined madness as “doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result”. We need to apply our collective learning.
We have a legacy of past and present generations that have been subjected to systemic discrimination, where many were unable to achieve their full potential. This loss is ia loss for all. What August 2024 demonstrated was the emphatic need for sustained transformational change, to disrupt the status quo.
Some of the elements holding us back are:
- History is taught through a Eurocentric lens, failing to recognise the significant contributions of Global majority.
- EDI Policies without provisions to monitor, review or ensure the polices, process and practices are being implemented as intended leave behind many victims.
- Black & Brown staff absent from decision-making tables e.g. Windrush. A simple analogy, when a doctor reviews his/her patient, the patient has a significant role to play in establishing the correct diagnosis.
Unless we invest in Black & Brown voices, listen more intently to the lived experiences of Black & Brown staff and, critically, act boldly to tackle racism where it occurs, our efforts will continue to fall short.
Ultimately, my hopes and aspirations are no different to my white colleagues and friends. I want to feel safe, I want to belong, I want to experience empathy and compassion, from those that do not look like me, I want to feel trusted.
That environment will enable healthy challenge, enable me to be my creative best as part of a modern civil service. Sadly, this has not my experience, nor has it been so for many Black & Brown staff.
Indeed, Black & Brown staff feel high levels of stress due to their working environment. Black & Brown staff suffer disproportionately from mental health issues. Also evidenced by on-going personal cases involving Black & Brown colleagues, which I and the other Race Network leads are sighted on, and all have been deeply upsetting.
*Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
I want a civil service that values equity, were staff are respected and everyone is inspired to offer their very best. Now then, who wouldn’t want to stay in a place like that ?
*James Baldwin
Useful links
Citizens Advice Bureau https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Hope and not Hate https://hopenothate.org.uk.
Muslims for Great Britain
Institutional Racism