Forum Topic

Suggested reading: anti-racism, inequality and more.

In the past month or so I have endeavoured to educate myself much more on various aspects around race and inequality in light of the recent Black Lives Matter movements springing up around the world. Recent discussions on here have definitely highlighted to me why it is so important that we all try and use this time to learn as much as we can. To be clear this is not aimed at anyone specifically and definitely includes myself although I have often been left dismayed at the levels of, often I am sure, unconscious racism on display here, both overt and covert. I have decided to share this list of articles, studies, books and videos that colleagues, friends and complete strangers on zoom calls have been kind enough to share with me.I am purposefully starting a new thread with these rather than responding in others as I think it is important to ensure people do not feel attacked or as though they are being accused of anything. There is simply a list of links that I have used to educate myself and reflect on some of my own behaviours and attitudes, and would encourage everyone to do the same. I don’t know how, or if you can do hyperlinks on here so apologies for length.Please enjoy at your leisure, some are longer than others but I hope there is something to suit everyones preference and attention spans 😊Criminal Justice: The Lammy Report and on the same theme https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643001/lammy-review-final-report.pdfhttps://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/publications/cjm/article/implicit-racial-bias-and-anatomy-institutional-racismHealth: COVID-BAMEhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52219070Housing: Grenfell Race; Grenfell, Race (long read); https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/20/opinion/london-tower-grenfell-fire.htmlhttp://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/85889/1/Final%20The%20Fire%20This%20Time-%20Grenfell%20Racial%20Capitalism%20and%20the%20Urbanisation%20of%20Empire.pdfEmployment & Pay: Pay Gap (long read) and a shorter Guardian articlehttps://www.friendsprovidentfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Runnymede-report.pdfhttps://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/dec/27/uk-black-and-ethnic-minorities-lose-32bn-a-year-in-pay-gapWealth: Reuters articlehttp://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-uk/2011/04/08/the-racial-wealth-gap-not-just-an-american-problem/Education and Employment Outcomes: David Harewood Doc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0uXJkgAmWURace Inequality: article https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/race-report-statistics Hate crime: bbc articlehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50054915Far right activity: FT article (beware the comments!) (Paywall)https://www.ft.com/content/6abda90e-70bf-11e9-bf5c-6eeb837566c5Books (non-fiction)Why I'm No Longer Speaking to White People About Race, Renni Edo-LodgeBlack and British, David OlusogaNatives, AkalaBrit-ish, Afua HirschWhite Fragility, Robin Di AngeloI hope everyone takes this with the positive spirit with which it was meant, enjoy!Of course please feel free to share any interesting reads you have come across, but please lets stick to the topic

Jonathan Oppe ● 2323d24 Comments

Shame you had to educate yourself when so many were and are still lucky enough to have grown up since school with great friends of all colours and races but I fear there is a mission of sorts going on to create divides when there are not any for the vast majority of us

Paul Fisher ● 2323d

Well done you Paul! Have an OBE or something.

John Hall ● 2323d

Hi Paul. I assure you there was no mission to divide here, quite the opposite in fact, sorry if that didn't come across, i did think i had made it quite explicit but hey ho.Not sure why you suggest its a shame i am trying to learn more on this topic? I'm glad you managed to learn everything there is to know around it from your friends :)

Jonathan Oppe ● 2323d

Well said Paul, I'm in my 60's, my youth club was around 50:50 white and Afro-Caribbean. Racial tensions among us? None at all. Still see a few of the guys from almost fifty years ago still my mates. Spent the ensuing 50 years not giving a jot about the colour of someone's skin. Could they do the job?  Could they pass the ball? Does the few grammes of eumelanin that is the difference between blond hair and blue eyes and dark skin with brown eyes matter one jot?

N V Brooks ● 2323d

Hi N V. Just to be clear, to my knowledge none of the reading I shared deal exclusively with you and your friends experiences so there is a chance you may learn something but who knows.I think they do probably matter to the people negatively affected by it yes. Perhaps you'd like to engage with the material i shared before commenting as a lot of it does quite clearly and explicitly state why it matters, remember you don't have to if you are not interested but please keep it on topic in this thread, thanks :)

Jonathan Oppe ● 2323d

I welcome your post, It's always worth checking in with yourself. The 'some of my best friends' notion only goes so far. Not to cast any shade on other posters who feel really comfortable in their stance. I know nothing about slavery to speak of, just the run of the mill stuff. Much more about Windrush through friends. I don't consider myself a racist but then who want's to think that about themselves. So there's no harm in just checking in to see if I'm as aware as I'd like to be. And sadly the answer will be I'm really not.

Tessa Russell ● 2323d

Thanks Tessa! Completely agree. You can be aware of an issue without really understanding it or its significance and thats how feel about a lot of black history. Likewise wouldn't consider my self racist but one of the things i have been reflecting on a lot recently is the idea that simply not being racist isnt enough, and the need to be pro-actively anti-racist. It's difficult to know  what to do on that front but i think having these sorts of conversations and being honest with ones self about your understanding, or lack of, is a good first step, for me at least!

Jonathan Oppe ● 2323d

Jonathan, anybody who says that they have reached the pinnacle of learning and cannot be taught more is wrong. Keep sharing. We all need to keep learning.

Paul Campbell ● 2323d

My comment was not meant to trigger a latent paranoia towards criticism. I simply opined that my personal experience of growing up in a multi-cultural neighbourhood bore no resemblance to the divided and overtly/covertly racist society in which many find themselves.
As to a continuous process of learning; I spent three hours this very afternoon with a friend who leads an Afro-Caribbean heritage group in Boston (she is dreading going home) discussing how racism and the class divide have become so much worse in the uSA since 2016, so my mind is most certainly not closed.

N V Brooks ● 2323d

Jonathan,You wrote:"I have often been left dismayed at the levels of, often I am sure, unconscious racism on display here, both overt and covert"I don't recall seeing examples of overt racism (but then, I don't read every post), these should be easy to spot if and when they occur.But I'm intrigued by your category of unconscious, covert racism.  Can you give some examples?Thanks

Andy Riley ● 2323d

Regarding unconscious racism quite a lot of research has been done that demonstrates the reality of this.  One experiment involved providing pre-validated exam papers to the subjects of the experiment who were experienced examiners in the relevant field.  The ‘catch’ was that the names of the examinees were switched so that several of the names were recogniseably ‘foreign’.  It was found that papers with ‘BAME’ names at the top were significantly downgraded.But personally I find such experimental evidence unsurprising.  It chimes with my everyday observations of people’s behaviour here in the U.K. and elsewhere.

Alastair Banton ● 2323d

An eye-opening read for me was a small booklet produced some time ago by a Manchester Law Centre called 'But my Cows Aren't Coming to Britain!' which looked at the history of our increasingly racist immigration laws, revealing the general intolerance of the British people and their successive governments.  And that was before the 'hostile environment' came in.

Peter Evans ● 2323d

Agree with Paul Fisher about growing up with people of different race, we all got along when young although find things different now as we are afraid of being accused of being racist all the time for things that are said innocently (or without underlying meaning) as is often thought by others.

Janice Evans ● 2322d

i take your point and in hindsight maybe i shouldn't have said that but i was just trying to provide some context as to why i felt compelled to post.As i said in the original post this is not about calling people out or accusing any individuals of anything so somewhat reluctant to give any specific examples, sorry. Some examples of covert racism could be denial of white privilege, not believing the experiences of black people, the eurocentric curriculum, "all lives matter", saying things like "there is only one race, the human race" and claiming reverse racism. Recently someone shared with me a diagram with these and more on which i wish i could share but there's some examples. I said unconscious to give people the benefit of the doubt...

Jonathan Oppe ● 2322d

Thank you for this post i will add one article and one song:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-53000622https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRZWiqBHYaYThank you for spreading the knowledge and the contributors to this post, this is what is important. Saying out loud that this discrimination is not accepted and then showing evidence of why it isnt. The next step is public wide education and government systems that treat everyone fairly. Justice for all is the outcome from BLACK LIVES MATTER. Kindest RegardsAnil

Anil Patel ● 2322d

Jonathan, excellent thread.  Thank you.  Like many others I thought I was decently liberal with all the right credentials and well clued up about racism but I have just finished, from your list, ‘White Fragility’ and I’m shocked, shattered, speechless.  It has changed my outlook radically.  I just hope it gets as widely read as possible.

Alastair Banton ● 2317d

It is sad that some people seem to think they have nothing new to learn about society or other people. Here is something I read today by a Nashville poet that gave me a new perspective. It's a very moving and powerful argument.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/opinion/confederate-monuments-racism.htmlh

Birna Helgadottir ● 2317d

I have just ordered it. Looking forward to reading it (I think)

Stewart Jones ● 2317d

Ditto! Its amazing how much you realise you didn't know about a subject until you start reading a bit more about it. White Fragility (and the rest) should be taught in schools!

Jonathan Oppe ● 2317d

thanks for sharing, really powerful!

Jonathan Oppe ● 2317d

https://youtu.be/e-BY9UEewHwPeggy Mcintosh about privileged systemshttps://youtu.be/kzLT54QjclAThe Binary thinking of racism. The real problem. White fragilityhttps://youtu.be/DwIx3KQer54Deconstructing White PrivilegeDatabase of literature:https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0Bz011IF2Pu9TUWIxVWxybGJ1Ync?sort=13&direction=a

Anil Patel ● 2317d

thanks for sharing Anil, that database is great!!

Jonathan Oppe ● 2317d

An interesting debate on the role of technology in racismhttps://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/tech-helps-us-and-tech-harms-us-june-12-virtual-panel/?utm_source=desktop-snippet&utm_medium=snippet&utm_campaign=racial-justice-2020&utm_term=23672&utm_content=REL

N V Brooks ● 2317d

Haven't watched it yet but from the blurb sounds really interesting. The point around facial recognition misidentifying black faces is really interesting and perfect example of how unintended bias' can manifest themselves. Thanks for sharing!

Jonathan Oppe ● 2316d