Black History Fu**ing Matters
It’s fair to say that no one is born racist and that you are taught racism; systemic or inherited. I feel like that statement is so underestimated and telling of modern society. Do some people just want to hate or did they simply not have a chance to think any other way because it’s been prescribed to us from the get-go? In terms of nature vs. nurture in the subject of racism - I think we can unanimously agree that much of it is nurture and influence. But then there’s the smoke and mirrors effect that goes hand in hand with the nature - the environment we live in.
Reni Eddo-Lodge talks about this in her ever-essential ‘Why I’m No Longer talking To White People about Race’. She says that being racist doesn't necessarily mean using the ‘n’ word or being outright blatantly racist; so much racism is subconscious and meticulously weaved and sown into our everyday lives.
Online, there are noxious, pestilent and destructive comments from worryingly ignorant people that always leaves me asking the same question “How are these people so f***ing stupid?” - then the answer is so simple and glaringly obvious that I think we all already know it, we just haven’t thought about it...
I like to think of myself as fairly socially aware. I know about political and systemic discrimination in both the US and UK on a bare bones level. Most of what I know firsthand is through what some of the black artists I listen to speak about in their music, as well as the fact that I’ve witnessed a fair amount of racist incidents towards black people generally, as well as my friends, throughout my teen years in North London and still today.
As someone who benefits from black culture every single day: it's the books I read, the music I listen to the TV shows and films I watch, even the food and drinks I love, I more than anyone should be standing up to inequality in the black community. People like myself, who connect themselves with black culture and make it a part of their identity, we more than anyone need to stand up and use our voices. As Amanda Seales said, ‘You cannot enjoy the rhythm, and ignore the blues’. We cannot keep this continuation of take, take, take without any repercussions. We cannot be true allies unless we step out from what makes us comfortable and really look at the facts in history, or lack thereof, and show some accountability as well as solidarity.
But it must also be un-taught to us on a systematic level.
There’s this feeling that if we discuss race, we will somehow be divided. When in actual fact it’s the only way we can come together - that and the glaringly obvious fact that so many of us are already so divided.
I’d never seen viral footage of a murder before, and I still sometimes can’t get the image out of my head. That image that we’ve all seen of George on the ground with Derek Chauvin’s knee pinning down his neck as he pleads for air, realising he’s going to die as he calls out for his mother in his final moments - perhaps the most devastating and harrowing part of the whole event. I was so astounded by what I had seen and couldn’t get it out of my mind.
I shared a few posts online but it felt like such a feeble attempt at activism: I needed to make more noise in attempting to highlight the police malpractice I’d witnessed. And then I did the dumbest thing I probably could have done... I asked my friends, people whose work and opinions that I admired and respected, who were people of colour: what can I do? … I cringe now even writing it.
I say this because I very much learned the hard way that it is my responsibility as a white ally to educate myself further and further. It is not up to people of colour to tell me, a white person, how the abhorrent concept of white supremacy has belittled, humiliated and ravaged black people’s lives throughout history. That, in itself, is white privilege - a privilege I hadn’t even realised I was using.
So I spent 3 whole days researching black history (which I know, barely scratches the surface of historical content and landmarks on the inequality of black lives’ timeline);
The Black Lives Matter movement, The Windrush Generation, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor, contemporary discussions and monologues from famous people in entertainment, a deeper look into Malcom X, what MLK wrote in prison, Rodney King, official news reports, amateur videos of everyday people capturing significant moments in viral videos on their phones - and this was just in the US!
I’d opened this Pandora’s box without any idea of how much it would change me.
The education was physical. I couldn’t sleep, I felt anxious and on edge. These thoughts kept me up at night. I’d learnt more in those 3 days about systemic racism in America and Britain than I did in any actual history lesson in school. Which I now can't help but think, was there a reason for that…?
Afterwards, I couldn’t understand why everyone I knew wasn’t shouting out of their windows in uproar and revolt. Surely there were smarter people than me out there who knew all of this?!
But then I thought about it more - the only reason I was now so furious and outraged is because I had to learn about the history of injustices towards black people, and it was only once I’d gained the knowledge of how deep systematic racism runs - deep and structural in the veins of society
There’s this problem in being blissfully unaware, as I imagine so many white people are. It raises the issue that after a while, it’s not enough to sit around saying ‘I’m not actively racist, and against racist people, therefore I don’t need to get involved’. This legitimises systemic racism and also panders to the idea that racism is the victims’ issue to resolve which, sadly, is kind of the status quo. It’s embedded in us; even in chess - white goes first.
So many people I’ve spoken to use the word ‘uncomfortable’ when talking about standing up for injustice: ‘it’s uncomfortable to talk about, but it’s necessary’ one London protestor told me - I can see why they don’t want it taught at schools. I imagine history lessons as the new age version of “omg, you were so drunk last night, do you remember when you did this, and this, oh and then that and then this”. It’s humiliating, it’s uncomfortable. But, that’s pretty much the point of history right - to learn?
Recognising our own accountability, and how little things seem to have changed, compounds this discomfort. Racism is messy and ugly and people would rather turn blind eyes and ears than standing up to something that they feel doesn't really concern or affect them. I worry that people’s warped pride of “I’m not a racist so this doesn’t concern me’ and ignorance (“All Lives Matter!’) will stop that from ever happening, and therefore we are all inevitably and undeniably doomed. Or is it uncomfortable because we just don’t know about it? Would it be less of an uncomfortable conversation if we’d been taught about racial injustice at school?
We need to have this awareness and insight from a young age, and not just when another black person dies at the hands of the power and authority which should instead be protecting them.
It can’t just be up to those who encourage change to teach ourselves; there has to be accountability. Otherwise it all moves too slowly…
I believe that Reni Eddo-Lodge’s ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ should be taught in schools because it contains what the standard curriculum fails to teach us. It’s basically the most shocking, insightful and informative thing I’ve ever read and should be widely acknowledged as an urgent and necessary read to everyone who thinks of themselves as progressive, civilized individuals. Reading about the black community’s treatment throughout history is stomach curdling and made me reevaluate how I perceived history, and particularly prominent white figures within it, with a definite sense of shame. I encourage anyone to read it who isn’t really sure of what to do, but would like to help. Educate yourself and others. It just might be one of the most important things you ever read or do.
There’s so much for us to learn and to unlearn, but it’s disheartening when it goes beyond education and police brutality. It’s soaked through to the judicial system as well as medical: According to the Dept. of Educational office for Civil Rights, black students are 3x more likely to be suspended. Black people make up 13% of the population (USA) but 40% of prison population - how does it even make sense? Sentences are 20% longer for black folk than white people who committed the same crimes.
Black drivers are 30% more likely to be pulled over and searched than white drivers. But then, most disturbingly, a study found that 67% of doctors have a ‘bias’ against African American patients.
The interesting thing is that we know in some states that after a felony you lose your right to vote and if the majority of people being prosecuted are black, this affects the voting pool – it would certainly be harder to vote out racist officials or prejudiced policies. The odds against black people on a systemic level are immeasurable and brutal.
We must educate ourselves to be part of the solution rather than the problem, and if people in positions of power aren’t going to then we have to do so ourselves.
There are vital and deeply disturbing things about human history that we are not being taught yet, whether it’s too ugly, too barbaric or too shameful it is our duty to learn them nonetheless. These are not reasons to deny anything, ever. How are we expected to learn and grow? Instead of fuelling hate by lashing out and berating, we should try educating instead. There’s no way of knowing if it’ll work, and by no means will there be a change overnight, but surely it’s worth trying? Black people all over the world are being denied their basic human rights and it has to change, and it’s high time that white people adapted to the rest of the world.
I was very reluctant about writing about this article, so much so that it made me anxious thinking about writing it. So many times I wanted to just forget the whole thing, Ctrl+A and delete. It’s neither my place to comment on or be heard on - who cares what I think, and why the hell should they? (A thought I often have when I’m thinking about putting my writing out into the world). But then, ‘Is it worse to say or do nothing at all?’. That felt worse somehow. I wanted to do something urgently, but it had to be useful.
I didn’t know enough about a lot of black history, particularly in the UK, and now I do.
I am a different person than I was before May 25th. There is change happening now and it’s palpable BUT it’s up to us, white people in particular, to change systemic racism because we are the ones with systemic privilege.
It feels like a losing battle a lot of the time. If we can infiltrate the educational system, then that’s already a huge foot in the door. From a young age we can be equipped with knowledge and therefore we can make an educated decision of how we (UK) have failed in the past and how we can have that embedded in us from a young age. It’s daunting, and it’s heavy going stuff but it’s really time that white people put in the work.
There are petitions you can sign on how to change British education from being so incessantly white-washed and self-congratulating - it’s archaic, out of date and in need of a full re-evaluation.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/323808 - Add education on diversity and racism to all school curriculums.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/323961 - Making the UK education curriculum more inclusive of BAME history.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/324092 - Teach Britain's colonial past as part of the UK's compulsory curriculum.
Or, if you’d like to start off with something with historical merit there's a summarised exhibition on ‘The Windrush Generation’ in the UK is also attached below - A google doc from BCA - Black Cultural Archives (They have loads of free exhibitions and events; and if you really want to help - they’re always looking for volunteers!).
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/the-windrush-generation/ygIim0oNAoVhIQ - The Windrush Generation
If you’re looking for another summarised, albeit beautifully eloquent take on racism in society is an 18 minute monologue from Trevor Noah, I’d go as far to say that it’s one of the most beautiful, powerful and sensitively analysed pieces of journalism I’ve ever seen. It’s almost 20 mins long - but so undeniably worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb4Bg8mu2aM&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0
N45eyyV0BqeC9CRE-apM1SRXX5MBbbWUEZmwCLKZZ8nSB_zo1VvdDbxw - Trevor Noah on George Floyd, Amy Cooper and Racism in Society.
And then last but not least is author of ‘I’m Not Dying with you Tonight’ Kimberley Jones’ emotively passionate and devastating 6 minute monologue on how the system is designed for black people to fail. These sources are great places to start, easily accessible and with so much more to learn at our fingertips there really is no excuse anymore.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb9_qGOa9Go - Kimberley Jones - How Can We Win?
It’s never too late to learn, or to learn how to change. Knowledge is power and education is key. Spread the history and not the hate.
Written by Margot Channing
Margot lives in London currently, although previously enjoyed life in Paris, and works in film and TV (vfx). She loves dogs and books, with the ambition of writing a published novel and TV show in the future.