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How To Be An Anti-racist

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racism

  • noun
    • prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.

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How is racism experienced?

  • Open racism – Openly rejected, ‘Othered’ and stereotyped. Verbal and/ or physical.
  • Casual racism – Sometimes difficult to identify/ call out.
  • Internalised racism - People feeling unhappy in themselves due to what they have been institutionally made to feel is right (white is right). 
  • Systemic racism - Factors in society which make the lived experience different for people depending on the colour of their skin. 
  • Intersectionality - People with multiple marginalised identities can experience this even more acutely  (women, LGBTQ+, darker skinned, et.). 

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Wider british and global events

  • George Floyd and BLM
  • Brexit
  • Racism in the media
  • Colonialism 
  • Racial inequality
  • Grenfell
  • Windrush

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White Privilege 

  • One of the easiest ways to define “white privilege” is firstly to explore what it is not: 
  • 1. It is not saying that white people have never struggled 
  • 2. It is not assuming white people have not worked hard to achieve successes 
  • What it is saying is that the colour of your skin is not one of the things making life hard. 
  • Demonstrating white privilege 
  • How should white people respond? Avoid White fragility 

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Everyday racism

  • Alexandra Wilson, who specialises in family and criminal law, said she did not expect to “constantly justify my existence at work” after being mistaken for a defendant three times in one day. 
  • To investigate whether a Muslim name is an obstacle to finding a flat or house share, the Guardian sent expressions of interest from “Muhammad” and “David” to almost 1,000 online advertisements for rooms across the UK. The results suggested it is – for every 10 positive replies David received, Muhammad got only eight.

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Microaggressions from teachers

  • Getting the foreign sounding names wrong every lesson
  • Assuming the Pakistani mum can’t speak English
  • Asking a brown pupil where they’re from
  • Assuming the Chinese pupil is good at Maths
  • Giving the black pupil a harsher punishment

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How to be an anti-racist

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How to be an anti-racist

  • Racial inequality exists in society, not because of those who are intentionally racist, but because most of society is passively non-racist. 
  • Be an ally - this is a verb, not a noun!
    • Listen and build empathy
    • Notice and challenge your own bias
    • Actively challenge racism
    • Speak up for those without a voice
    • Use your privilege to bring others into opportunities, groups or influence
  • Be curiously polite.
  • If you make a mistake, admit your mistake and apologise. Declare your genuine intention to do better.
  • Make your own D&I movement in school