Don't be paralysed by white guilt: Teach yourself & your children about racism

My article published in today's Irish Independent:

https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/dont-be-paralysed-by-white-guilt-teach-yourself-and-your-children-about-racism-39277149.html

Full blog version below 👇

The night before George Floyd was killed, I watched the scene in Normal People where a group of attractive young white students sat around a table somewhere fabulous in Italy sipping champagne. One of the assembled made a racist remark, which was laughed off by half the gathering and ignored by the other two, who fled the scene leaving a contrail of white privilege in their wake.

What bothered me, even more than twenty somethings swilling fizz, was the missed opportunity of a contemporary drama, written at a time when fascism is on the rise globally, to call out racism. The wherewithal and moral conviction just wasn’t there.

Knowing how everyday racist remarks can lead to everyday job discrimination, everyday racist abuse and sometimes murder, I was vexed. I thought of all the normal people whose lives have been brutally torn asunder by racism. Such as Stephen Lawrence, whose mother Doreen, I met when I was advising the Metropolitan Police on institutional racism. The grief laden eyes of a woman whose life was normal until her teenage son was murdered by racists in London, haunt me.

I built a life in England which ended ten months ago when I returned home as a Brexit refugee. The epidemic of far right bigotry unleashed by the EU referendum morphed into daily race hate attacks directed, not against immigrants like me, but those of a darker hue.

A Leave voting mother approached me at the school gates assuring me that “people like me” (white), didn’t vote to kick “people like you” (also white) out. It’s the “other” foreigners she had a problem with. The juxtaposition of Brexiteers issuing imaginary asylum passes to white immigrants while concomitantly ordering black and Asians, many of whom were born and bred in Britain, to “go home” was as surreal as it was sinister. I replied, “If the black and brown immigrants get kicked out, I’ll be right behind them”.

Racism exists in Ireland too and, with black voices amplified in recent days, we are hearing heart-breaking stories, such as that of Trés Jones. The 11 year old who recounted racist abuse, from adults and children, calling him the “n” word and telling him to go back to Africa.

The words of civil rights activist, Angela Davis, have been widely invoked since George Floyd’s death.  “In a racist society, it’s not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist”. For white people wanting to know what to do in this moment, anti-racism groups are urging us to educate ourselves and our children about black history and racism.

I’ve been teaching my twelve old about black history, mostly through stories, since he was four. When his teachers talk about Florence Nightingale, he says, “What about Mary Seacole?”. In the last year, we’ve watched The great debaters (not suitable for younger children), Just Mercy, the spectacular dramatization of Malorie Blackman’s ground breaking novel, Noughts & crosses and Dr Who’s re-enactment of Rosa Parks’ story.

None of the above made it easier for my son to comprehend how George Floyd could die under the knee of a white police officer who ignored his anguished pleas, “I can’t breathe” and “Momma, I’m through”. It just helped him understand the anger that comes with generations of pain and oppression.

There’s a plethora of educational resources online but these are no substitute for listening to black voices in this country, now. For leaders of institutions like Trinity College, for example, that involves hearing the everyday racism experienced by black and ethnic minority students on campus, and stamping it out. For agents and publishers, it’s about commissioning black stories and talent.

As well as educating and enabling, anti-racism requires the courage to tirelessly challenge racist behaviour, wherever we encounter it. Our children watch how we respond to racist “jokes”. Silence is tacit approval.

Not sure if someone is racist? The following is a useful litmus test.

Racists punch down on the powerless, be it “Nigerians coming here for a better life and sending all their money home” (unlike generations of Irish emigrants…) or “the sponging asylum seeking racketeers living it up in 5 star hotels, while “our own” are abandoned in the streets”.

Anti-racists punch up at those in power, calling out systemically racist policies that pit “our own” against asylum seekers.

Anti-racists might be inclined to think that the sponging racketeers are the private contractors who trousered an estimated €1 billion of taxpayers money for operating often substandard, unsafe, direct provision accommodation, that some residents liken to prison.

Anti-racists will have done their homework and know that the United Nations described the system as a “severe violation of human rights” and will be calling for an end to a barbaric, inhumane policy described as the Magdalene Laundries of our time.

Our black friends are frightened and traumatised. Now is not the time to be paralysed by white guilt. It’s a time to educate ourselves and our children and to call racism out. It’s a time to speak up, reach out and show people of colour that black lives do matter.

Black Lives Matter. RIP George Floyd

The night before George Floyd’s racist murder, I watched the scene in Normal People where a group of attractive young white people are sitting around a table somewhere divine in Italy sipping champagne. One of the assembled makes a racist remark which was laughed off by half the gathering and ignored by the other two who fled the scene leaving a contrail of smugness in their wake.

Knowing how everyday racist remarks can lead to everyday job discrimination, everyday racist abuse and murder, that scene made me angry. It’s bad enough that the Dublin street shots airbrushed out the homeless people in its quest for cinematic beauty but glossing over racism in a contemporary drama at a time when the far right is on the rise, set in a country where racism is brushed under the carpet?

When I saw the video footage of George Floyd being choked to death under the knee of a white police officer the next day, I felt sick, outraged, horrified and scared. Meghan Markle’s words resonated when she said, at times like this the only wrong thing to say is nothing (except if your name is Lawrence Fox).

I thought of all the normal people whose lives have been abnormally, brutally torn asunder by racism. Such as Stephen Lawrence, whose mother Doreen, I met. The grief laden eyes of a woman whose life was normal until her son was murdered by racists, haunt me.

Black history isn’t taught in British or Irish schools which makes it difficult to explain to our children how generations of systemic racism, dehumanisation and marginalisation of black people enabled the murder of an unarmed black man by a white police officer. Worse, that it’s not an isolated incident.

I’ve been teaching my 12 year old about slavery for years. A friend organises black history walks around London so my son knows that London was built on the back of the slave trade. When his teachers talk about Florence Nightingale, he says, “What about Mary Seacole”.

None of the above helped him understand the barbaric, racist, killing of George Floyd. It did help him understand and share the anger that comes from 400 years of pain and oppression.

Education is important but so is having the tools and courage to call out racism. The best way to learn this is by role modelling anti-racist behaviour. My son has seen me challenge everyday, Brexit bolstered, racism in the local Shops, at the school gates and on public transport. So when his teacher in the UK said he’d stood up to racist bullying in the playground last year, I wasn’t surprised.

His role model is the daughter of a Sudanese friend who came to Britain as a refugee and, at 10 years of age, asked for my help challenging a private school that denied her a bursary place. She knew her grades were good enough, so did I. When I called the school they admitted her grades weren’t the problem and when I asked what the “problem” was, they couldn’t answer. When I asked how many black kids from council estates they had granted bursaries to in the last 5 years? None. 

That little girl got the place that she earned, on merit. I explained to her that getting in was the easy bit. That life as the only black kid surrounded by rich white kids and white teachers would be tough. “Are you sure that's what you want?” Without missing a beat, this kick ass 10 year old said, “Why should their racism stop me from becoming a doctor and not many kids from my school get accepted into medicine?”

That was 15 years ago. Last week she started working as a doctor in an NHS hospital and although I’m so proud of this inspirational young woman, I’m also worried sick.

While 20% of the NHS workforce is BAME, just 7% of NHS leaders are from BAME backgrounds. Meanwhile, more than 50% of healthcare workers who have died with the Coronavirus are from BAME backgrounds. 

A black man is four times more likely than a white man to die with the virus.

There is no evidence that black lives matter to the alt right Tory government. This month marks the third anniversary of Grenfell Tower. 72 mostly BAME men, women and children were burned alive. The ‘Hostile Environment’, despite being lambasted as a racist policy designed to rid Britain of the Windrush Generation, continues today but without the pretence of remorse. 

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was elected despite describing Muslim women as ‘letterboxes’ referring to Africans as ‘piccaninnies’ and ‘watermelon smiles’.

There’s a protest planned in Dublin tomorrow in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. I share Amnesty International's view, that peaceful protesting is a human right and should not be banned. Outlawing peaceful demonstrations is undemocratic and adds fuel to the flames, as seen in Trump's increasingly dystopian America.

 A great many anti-fascists, anti-racists, like myself, will not be physically present, in Dublin, or elsewhere. I made a personal choice not to put my family at risk by attending. I also have loved ones who are front-line workers, some of whom are BAME and vulnerable to coronavirus. 

That said, I respect the right of those who chose to attend and make their message heard. Black Lives Matter.  It would be a good use of Gardai resources, in my view, to work with the organisers to ensure road closures so that there's enough space to facilitate social distancing. The organisers, Black Pride Ireland, has set out clear safety precautions on social media for those attending.

There are many ways to protest but protest we must. Put posters in your car and house windows, donate to Black Lives Matter or other anti-racism groups. Start the process of educating yourself and your children. I took my 12 year old to see "Just Mercy" in January and we watched "Noughts and Crosses" together. "The great debaters" is a powerful film but not suitable for younger children.

Now is not the time to hide in a bunker, or to be paralysed by white guilt. Don’t turn a deaf ear and a blind eye. It’s our collective responsibility to fight for a society that values all lives equally, where our BAME family, friends and neighbours aren’t deprived entry to elite schools and universities based on their colour or creed, where they’re not demonised and scapegoated by despots who whip up hatred and divide communities to distract from their own failings.

Our black friends are frightened and traumatised. We have to speak up, reach out and show our solidarity.

Black Lives Matter 💓✊

RIP George Floyd.