This article, by Siana Bangura in today's Independent, urges white people to play their part in ending racism.
"Racism is a familiar blade, and for those of us at its sharp end, the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota has not surprised us. However, compounded by the injustice of a Covid-19 landscape in which black people have been, once again, hit the hardest according to data from the Office for National Statistics, this instance of brutality feels like the last straw. Black women in the UK are 4.3 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than white women, while black men were 4.2 times more likely to die. The report went on to say that these alarming disparities seem to be 'partly a result of socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the difference has not yet been explained'. Spoiler alert: it’s no mystery – structural inequality kills."
Siana notes that once again with the protests in the USA "the onus has been put on black people to dismantle their subjugation themselves and to remain calm while doing so." She then quotes a viral tweet which sums up the dichotomy:
“My main issue with racism is that it’s a white problem but black people are the experts” and goes on to appeal to white people to get active and get vocal. "Silence is betrayal at best, and at its very worst, it is the foundation of all covert expressions of white supremacy... You may not have directly inflicted physical pain on black people in your lifetime, but figuratively – in many cases, of course, literally – your knees have been pressed on our necks for centuries." To those who say they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing she replies: "to create change, you must be humble enough to make mistakes, apologise with your whole heart, and be ready to keep trying. That is truly what is needed now."
Read the full article.
"Racism is a familiar blade, and for those of us at its sharp end, the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota has not surprised us. However, compounded by the injustice of a Covid-19 landscape in which black people have been, once again, hit the hardest according to data from the Office for National Statistics, this instance of brutality feels like the last straw. Black women in the UK are 4.3 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than white women, while black men were 4.2 times more likely to die. The report went on to say that these alarming disparities seem to be 'partly a result of socio-economic disadvantage and other circumstances, but a remaining part of the difference has not yet been explained'. Spoiler alert: it’s no mystery – structural inequality kills."
Siana notes that once again with the protests in the USA "the onus has been put on black people to dismantle their subjugation themselves and to remain calm while doing so." She then quotes a viral tweet which sums up the dichotomy:
“My main issue with racism is that it’s a white problem but black people are the experts” and goes on to appeal to white people to get active and get vocal. "Silence is betrayal at best, and at its very worst, it is the foundation of all covert expressions of white supremacy... You may not have directly inflicted physical pain on black people in your lifetime, but figuratively – in many cases, of course, literally – your knees have been pressed on our necks for centuries." To those who say they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing she replies: "to create change, you must be humble enough to make mistakes, apologise with your whole heart, and be ready to keep trying. That is truly what is needed now."
Read the full article.
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