Anisa attended the first #UsefuandKind Summer School
I, a Muslim, South Asian have grown up proud of my religion and skin colour. Although proud of my identity it did not mean it was easy, there were many moments where I felt different, did not feel accepted and felt like I had so much more to prove.
I have never directly faced any racial abuse however there have been many indirect situations whether it has been that I have been looked at strangely, spoken to rudely, or treated differently than others all due to the colour of my skin.
We have faced several different changes over time however one big factor that remains a problem is the injustices people face due to the colour of their skin. Racism is everywhere, whether it is direct racial abuse, indirect offensive comments or going as far as the opportunities people are given.
Racism and discrimination against specific individuals, races, ethnicities, sexualities, within the US has been a major issue for several centuries. Racism is very obvious when it comes to the media, prison sentencing and police brutality.
Police brutality is very much alive, especially in the US. During my A-levels, I decided to do my Extended Project (EPQ) piece on “To what extent is the US judicial system racist and how has this led to discrimination within society”. I was stunned and disgusted on what I discovered; I never realised the lack of education we all had on the racism within the American society. 52% of people killed by the police are black, 43% who were killed while not attacking. This is just two of the several shocking statistics I came across. I stumbled across many different stories and documentaries over the year and a half I did my research. I found myself asking many questions. How was this still happening in 2018/19? Why was no one talking about this?
We saw a huge change on 25th May 2020, when a police officer murdered 46-year-old George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds. This heart-breaking murder caused a huge uproar and outrage. Finally, we saw people speaking up and using their voices/platforms. Enough was enough. This led to protests all around the world and almost 18 million people signing the ‘Justice for George Floyd’ petition. People also started raising awareness of hundreds and thousands of other innocent lives that were lost due to coward less racist driven acts. Although racism is still very much alive and prevalent, we finally have started to see some form of awareness.
Although there were millions of people speaking up, I found myself becoming frustrated by people that were around me whether it be people I grew up with or people I followed on Instagram not speaking up and raising awareness. I found that so-called “influencers” that I followed were too busy promoting their beauty products and putting in more energy promoting fake air pods then talking about the problems we were facing within society.
I had a huge eye-opening that I needed to make sure I surrounded myself by those who valued the same things I did. Whilst reading “It’s not about the burqa” I came across a section that Nafisa Bakkar wrote which spoke on this exact thing. “What we need in our representation will always be fluid based on our context and our changing politics. Someone like Stormzy, who shares my values and my belief that we should seek to speak truth to positions of power, do more to represent me than a Muslim fashion blogger, although others might assume that I would have more common with the latter”. Just because someone may look like you or have the same upbringing it does not necessarily mean you as an individual are represented by them. It is so important for people to be aware of who they look up to and think whether this person would help them grow or better themselves as a person.
Many people who are hugely influential have chosen to use their voices and platforms to help make a change. We have seen this with Premier League players. Footballer, Trent Alexander-Arnold touched on the fact that “its more than just violence and abuse. Opportunity in life is restricted if you look a certain way. How can that be in 2020”.
We live in a society where people are not given the same opportunities in life all down to something which they did not even choose…their skin colour. Religion, sexuality and political opinion are all a choice. The one thing we cannot choose is the way we are born. Are people really being rejected because of their skin colour?
Looking around I have not come across many ethnic minorities especially those who are black individuals as CEOs or having high managerial roles within firms/workplaces. This especially was emphasised when my sister who is an aspiring lawyer read a Telegraph article to me “Just six of 800 partners at Magic Circle law firms are black”. I was outraged by the lack of diversity and inclusion; this highlighted the lack of opportunity there is for specific individuals. I could not imagine how this made black people especially those in the law sector feel. Their skin colour stopped them from progressing and achieving their full potential.
It is time we seek to change.
Speak up, it is not enough to be non-racist. You have to be anti-racist. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
Don’t rely on anyone to educate you, educate yourself! Many of us have the privilege of educating ourselves about racism instead of experiencing it.
Use your voice and your platforms. You cannot sit back and expect others to change it for you. We ALL need to be part of this change. Keep listening, keep learning, keep donating, keep protesting, keep signing petitions and keep sharing resources. Black lives still matter even if your feed is back to normal.
Below I have mentioned some shows you can watch or books to read to help educate yourselves.
Shows to watch: “When They See Us”, “13th”, and “Time: The Kalief Browder Story”
Books to read: “Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race”, by Reni Eddo-Lodge