Racism Perspective

Racism is a term that has been defined slightly differently but largely conveys similar meaning. Racism is both an ideology and practice that produces a skewed society in terms of resource, opportunity, power, security, and well-being. It creates a system of oppression against minorities and in particular PoC in overt and covert ways.

Racism, the deliberate abuse of power, prevents minorities from fully participating as final decision-makers in the social, economic, and political system of the majority. It can be seen in discriminatory laws, residential segregation, poor health care, inferior education, unequal economic opportunity and the exclusion and distortion of the perspectives of non-dominant population. It also refers to a system in which one group of people exercises power over another on the basis of skin colour; an implicit or explicit set of beliefs, erroneous assumptions, and actions based on an ideology of the inherent superiority of one racial group over another, and evident in organizational or institutional structures and programs as well as in individual thought or behaviour patterns. It refers not only to social attitudes towards non-dominant ethnic and racial groups but also to social structures and actions which oppress, exclude, limit and discriminate against such individuals and groups. Such social attitudes originate in and rationalize discriminatory treatment. It occurs when the target of the prejudice has less power than the perpetrator. It is important to mention that if we all have the same legal standing we are then supposed to have the same social standing. Hence, any act of social stratification against the PoC is racism.

There is an antagonistic view on the concept of racism. Those with antagonistic view claimed that human characteristics and capacities are dependent on race. As a consequence, an inherent superiority of a particular race over the other is acclaimed. This is a very untrue and a wicked ideology in all ramification. But the most worrisome of it all is that POC are being made to believe this ideology and we must fight to undo this inferiority mentality that is being imposed on them. It is bad enough when people view others as inferior but it is worst of all when people view themselves as inferior because the society has pressurised the believe on them. Majority of the PoC population may not have access to certain trainings, opportunities and support which are supposed to build-up their skills. Capacity and character are not racial issues but training and capacity building issues.

Being anti-racist means actively doing the work to challenge racism. It must be a conscious effort. An anti-racist must start from himself. One must first realise the seemingly subtle and institutional prejudices that contribute to racism either knowingly or unknowingly and be committed to change and thereafter stand against racism at all levels. It is important to realise that the concept of racism is no simple subject of discussion. Those who dare to stand against it must be ready to sacrifice a lot and be ready to accept criticism from perpetrators in response.

Sometimes racism could be rooted in some government codes either directly or indirectly and attempts to challenge such demand concerted effort.

1. The Jim Crow Law which lasted for over 100 years until 1968 were meant to marginalise African American by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death.

2. Following an 1852 crop failure in China, Chinese immigrants came through San Francisco’s customs house for mining work. Racial prejudice soon began between Chinese and white miner. California imposed a Foreign Miners Tax of $3 month meant to target Chinese miners. By 1870, Chinese miners had paid $5 million to the state of California via the Foreign Miners Tax, yet they faced continuing discrimination at work and in their camps. It was very difficult to challenge as African-American, Chinese-American and Native American were kept back from testifying in court.

3. Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit ethnic or racial discrimination in order to prevent major disruptions in train service following demands from the African-American membership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Workers (BSCW) led by Phillip Randolph who threatened to conduct a protest march in Washington, D.C. against work place discrimination. Without the threat of the protest disrupting train service and movement of goods and services, the BSCW demand would have gone down the drain as usual.

4. The women’s suffrage movement was about an 100 years fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States. It was alleged that American women won the right to vote in 1920, not because the final decision-makers sought social justice but because they wanted to gain an additional voting block to keep themselves in power.

5. The African-American community was ignored by the decision makers in the 1900 as they seem to pose any threat to the incumbent power. The dynamics changed when African-Americans and White liberals founded the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) And as the African-American community became more prosperous. A further participation of dissatisfied African-American veterans after world war II and more prominent whites in NACCP gave the civil rights group an increased social and political leverage. This signals the onset of power shift in the United State politics.

6. The Minority at Risk (MAR) project by the University of Maryland noted in 2006 that while African-Caribbean in the United Kingdom no longer face formal discrimination, they continue to be under-represented in politics, and face discriminatory barriers in access to housing and in employment practices. The project also notes that the British school system "has been indicted on numerous occasions for racism, and for undermining the self-confidence of black children and maligning the culture of their parents". In the UK black teenage boys and young men are sent to prison at higher rate than White counterpart and are more likely to get longer sentence, although some believe there is a reason for this, such as not pleading guilty.

While some things are glaringly racist (like being called racial slurs, being attacked for looking or sounding different, being mistreated because of skin colour), there are other things that don't fit into the traditional definition of racism but may still contribute to it. For example, grouping people of the same ethnicity together, not bothering to properly learn and pronounce ethnic name, asking easily searchable things relating only to the minority person in your vicinity, bringing up someone’s race when it’s not relevant, not believing that people of colour contribute to society, covering up racism as ‘opinion’ or ‘freedom of speech’ and lot more.

Migrants are likely to be a major victim of racial prejudice. A major target for most migrants in the UK is securing their stay and subsequently becoming a citizen- of which having a job is a requirement- depending on the tier of visa. As a consequence, most migrant will endure all of the mess and abuses in work place in order not to risk losing their jobs.

History has shown the possibility of migrants being a major subject of racial prejudice and the possibility of such prejudice being aggravated by government policy. Most migrant are not aware of their right and policies around which they live. As a consequence, they are often victimized.

No doubt that the migrant population represents a reasonable number of work force in the UK. Data from Office from National Statistics shows that between October and December 2019, there were an estimated 1.34 million non-EU nationals working in the UK, 49,000 more than a year earlier. This migrant population pay taxes and also pay heavily for their visas fee, including children, less than 18 years of age and they do not have access to public fund. These children also do not have access to school meals even though their parents also pay tax. Recently, migrant extending their leave or seeking entry has to pay for health surcharge. The impact of all of these in relation to racism need to be accessed. There is a lot of pressure on these immigrant population and its intersection with racism has to be analysed properly.

I think it is important to check whether or not government policies encourage or fuel racism in any way. I am wondering whether or not there are PoC Codes in the UK just like the Black Codes of the Jim Crow.

Our charity work largely with PoC and we have had a number of complains surrounding abuses and racial prejudice in the work. Most of the victims are afraid to speak out in order not to risk losing their jobs, a requirement for their leave to remain the country. Some migrant workers and POC have been tactically kept out of certain position even though they are qualified. While it may be understood for migrants due to certain policies, like the resident labour market test, what about the PoC who though are citizen has been victimised? Such stories abound.

For example, imagine a scenario where a higher position is vacant that needed to be filled. Advert, both internal and external has been placed. However, prior to recruitment, a POC is assigned to temporarily hold the position and have been preforming well on the job but only to be denied of permanently occupying that position while a less experienced person (Usually within the majority) is hired while the PoC is made to train him or her on the job. This kind of situation is very difficult to challenge as the perpetrators are usually the higher power. Institutional or systemic racism is difficult to challenge.

There are lessons to be learnt from all of the past occurrences. It is obvious that racism has a strong grasp on its victims in such a way that many will not even dare to attempt challenging it because of its grave consequences, particularly if no support system exists for such victims. No one can successfully fight racism without a platform. In order to successfully fight against racism, there must be education, individual/independent conviction, collaborative effort, enabling environment and a network of social and political power platforms.

To create group dynamics and receptive environment to challenge racial injustice among PoC. Three things need to be in place

1. personal orientation and conviction.

2. Group dynamics and

3. Enabling Environment

Not many people could identify or tell when they are being subjected to racial injustice or victimisation, particularly when such an one has been a victim of abuse. This is common among BAME population. Hence, personal orientation is important and has been our focus in Holy Nations International Ministries. However, personal orientation is merely the seed of social and political transformation and can only effect change in concert with group dynamics and the right environment. For example, in 1955, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to yield her seat on a public bus to a white passenger. Her fight against the injustice would have gone unnoticed had the social and political environment and group dynamics not been ripe for change.

The social and political platform must be ripe for change before any real change occurs. Personal convictions and group dynamics alone will not force a change in decision-making authority. The environment must present a welcoming forum in which new ideas can be introduced and mature. New ideas, like seeds, will not germinate in a hostile environment. The battle against racial injustice is a long term which must be sustained. This is because in a free society, change is gradual. This is advantageous in a way in that such reluctance to change could prevents societies from becoming victims to societal or political fad.

Preparation of the environment that could accommodate a change is also a long-term struggle. The NACCP was an enabling environment that played out beautifully in the fight against racial segregation and we can never have too much of such platforms that must work in unity.

Gloria Eneojo-Abah