“I dream of the day when my four children live in a world where they would not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character” – Martin Luther King
THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD AND SPOTLIGHT ON RACISM
Shock and revulsion are rightly the reaction to the unnecessary death of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis police custody in the U.S.. Restraining this man with a suffocating knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes beggars belief for white and black people alike. The officers involved are being charged, the most serious offence being second degree murder. The resultant protests and demonstrations and expressions of outrage throughout the U.S. and around the world, including the UK, now shine a necessary light on racism in society. Few will dispute that equality of justice is for all, not a few.
In the U.S. there is a particular focus on the prejudices and anti-black behaviours in some police forces, but also its institutions more generally, and culture across the States. An over simplistic and extreme position is expressed that “the United States is racist”, that white supremacy is systemic and therefore so is racism, and that white privilege keeps black people down with a symbolic knee on the neck of all black men and women. Extreme language which demonises all white people could backfire and undo much of the good which should emerge from the wide and loud recognition that the racist problem in the U.S. needs to be addressed properly. The whole country is patently not anti-black, or how could Barack Obama, son of a black African, be President for 8 years? Also, racism is probably more prevalent in some States and cities than others, Alabama more than California maybe? And while the personal experience of black people who have been diminished by racial prejudice tells the most powerful stories, statistics of poverty, poor job opportunity and deprivation demonstrate a wide gap between blacks and whites.
In the U.S., a wide-ranging reaction that now is the time to change and seek to redress the imbalance and decontaminate racism wherever it appears is the initial response from those speaking up. There is a risk that the momentum could stall. As ever there may be revolutionaries identifying a wider potential for this movement unrelated to racism and more concerned with for example overturning institutional structures. The voice of hatred against white or general U.S. society, for overtly political ends, violence and crime on the streets, not motivated by a desire to fix prejudice, detract from the true message. This may force, or legitimise, authorities to take punitive action in the name of law and order which will become the legacy instead of the fight against racism. This risk affects the UK too.
A CATALYST FOR ADDRESSING UK RACISM
The last two weekends have seen large numbers of people out on the streets of UK cities, protesting the violence inflicted on George Floyd, but also more broadly against the racial inequality that is perceived to exist in the UK. Instead of the mindless killing of an individual, those wider issues will now, after the performance of George Floyd’s funeral, be the focus of attention, quite rightly. The Prime MInister, Boris Johnson, and the UK Government (UKGOV) as a whole and the vast majority, it is felt, of UK citizens universally condemn racial prejudice in all its forms; yes when applied to black people whose lives matter just as much as any other lives, but also when perpetrated against any individual because of their race, colour, or creed.
Just as in the U.S. ,the personal experiences of black and other ethnic minority groups of abuse at the hands of white people in the UK cannot be denied wherever it has occurred. Despite massive progress to eliminate racism, through strong equality laws, that racial injustice and unequal opportunities are still significant problems has to be recognised: the current protests and the overall reaction in the UK demand society does that. Are black people suffering disproportionately at the hands of the UK criminal justice system? Are they living in disproportionately deprived conditions? Are they victims of poorer education and training opportunities? Oddly, professional football may demonstrate the reality, where some 30% of players are black but there is no representation at the administrative level. All inequities influenced by racism need to be rooted out and resolved. It is hoped the leaders in the UK, not just UKGOV and other institutional authorities but also those in industry and all other influential positions, will not just pay lip service to a problem but seize the opportunity to address it in cooperation and empathy with the BAME communities who are the victims. Although the vast majority of police officers in the UK , it is thought, are professional and condemn racism, if there are police forces in the UK where cultural racism persists, the leaders now have the responsibility of transforming any such culture, just as in the U.S.
PROTESTS AND DESTRUCTIVE FORCES
UK values espouse the freedom of the individual of whatever colour, and encourage peaceful demonstration and expression to bring about change for the better, democratically and through consensus. The protests on the streets have been largely peaceful but not entirely, and certainly not entirely lawfully conducted. The majority in the UK without doubt hate racism. Criminal elements, however, have caused injury to over 60 police officers, whose role has been demonstrably to ensure reasonable order; there is also considerable sympathy among the police it seems for the cause the protests primarily espouse. But a minority within the crowds, and a minority who see another chance to foment wider political unrest, including structural destruction of current society, have stolen much of the limelight. The destruction of property, violence against citizens, and especially police officers, and abusive hatred will not advance any cause. It is impossible for any Government to condone blatant criminal behaviour and it is hoped again others will not seek to use this good anti racist cause to justify more hatred.
Society will probably forgive those demonstrators who ignored the risk of spreading Covid-19 (CV) by ignoring the law on gatherings and accepted practices of distancing to protect people, particularly the vulnerable. But they were clearly selfishly wrong to do so. It may never be known whether these gatherings damage the fight against CV or cost life. However, there is an irony that it is established that black and other BAME people suffer disproportionately badly including death at the hands of CV, and yet the protests are aimed at improving the lives of black people.
The idea that the UK is systemically racist is being promoted. Ideas of white supremacy and white privllege being the drivers of black repression by the white race in the UK are being presented as truths. They are of course not true. But they get air time, can freely flow uncontested through social media and some broadcasting channels. Sajid Javid in his Sunday Times article acknowledges the UK’s diversity and racial integration, but also that there is still work to do: there is much to do as Boris Johnson has said. The simple assertion that the UK is racist must not be allowed to spread unchecked, brainwashing the consciences of young black and other minority groups, who are attracted by a good cause to resist racial prejudice, but without understanding how the cause can be manipulated by those with a wider and more destructive agenda.
The righteousness of the anti-racism reform is reinforced by the invocation of the UK’s part in the slave trade and slavery of the eighteenth and earlier centuries. The UK was an active participant and it is hard to imagine any citizen today, projecting the moral rectitude of the modern generation into the past , defending the slavery of black Africans in which the UK participated for commercial gain. It is good that UK democracy eventually abolished the slave trade in 1808, over 200 years ago. It is possible now to accuse any person who lived at that time as a conspirator in the evil of slavery. Sir Francis Drake is being attacked. Perhaps all the Kings and Queens of England who reigned during the slave trade’s 300 years must have been complicit – will this new movement of a few activists now demand that all memorabilia of such royalty be binned in the Thames: if so, will the PC tremblers nod sheepishly? There may be statues glorifying slave traders which do not fit well in this age, and democratic process may result in their removal. But it will be wrong to kowtow to mobs making demands, when making decisions to judge the evil of mankind in history – careful and open minded thought is needed, not knee jerk reaction to appease a loud but small minority. It is notable that reports say that certain groups now demand all statues related to not just slavery but also colonialism be considered for removal – to consign the whole of colonial history, and anyone who helped develop the British Empire, to condemnation in hell perhaps needs more discussion.
It is fashionable today to navel gaze into the sinful past of the UK’s forefathers: the actions of the past took place in a very different world. In past centuries in the UK, children were made to work from an early age, should the perpetrators be called out now? When it comes to climate change, some attack the UK as the home of the industrial revolution which changed the world and brought huge prosperity, and caused pollution – and some suggest the UK should pay for that now. This is a misguided waste of energy. Perhaps there should be greater wariness before becoming morally indignant at activities which took place in a very different moral forum – just as the tendency to apply Western ideas to other cultures is fraught with the same hypocrisy. “There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us”- these words of Martin Luther King , a peaceful black protester against evil, are worth remembering as the righteous modern day crusader passes judgement on their fellow members of society, whether long dead or currently alive. Looking forward to improve tomorrow will perhaps reap more benefit than seeking to dissect the behaviour of centuries past.
WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN THE UK?
A Bishop bemoaning racism on television was asked what concrete things should be done to end racism in the UK. She had not a single practical idea. Leaders need to identify and encourage change.
- Is there a need for a raft of legislation – probably not as the criminality and civil protections in law already exist. Their observance and enforcement may be a problem in some quarters, and could improve?
- Racial prejudice in the criminal justice system and its imbalance against black people needs addressing perhaps – the Lammy report in 2017 was a start. It made recommendations. How many of those are thought to be good and workable? And if the good ideas have not been implemented, why not?
- Perhaps there needs to be a more determined and properly funded effort to find those pockets of racism, large and small, in the community, face them and eradicate prejudice
- How do we deal with the effects of deprivation and poverty living which affects black people but also so many of other colours and backgrounds? UKGOV needs practical policies and dedicated resource: levelling society is a policy aim, which needs to be delivered
- The level of health inequality linked to race needs understanding. BAME suffering from CV is the subject of a hastily prepared report , much criticised , rightly or wrongly. More work is, UKGOV say, being planned there but the subject is bigger than CV. But action is needed
UKGOV can initiate certain projects, but perhaps the initiatives need to rest at the local level, within communities, as problems and depth of racist behaviour will vary from place to place. Young black people may be a priority to commit resource to as that is where future opportunity can be maximised for most benefit – should education and training be focussed more directly to enable people to self-help and so give hope of advancement? The answer will perhaps lay mostly in equipping the younger element with the tools of resilience and skills to develop their lives for themselves. Every employer and citizen can help by re-examining their own conscious or unconscious bias against minorities , exorcising their own prejudices, and actively but lawfully condemning racism whenever it is encountered. But it is certain that those forces which seek to demonise white people and inspire more hatred, condemning all history which they dislike, will not further, but will hinder, the cause of equality of justice for all.
