In light of recent events and current racial tensions, I thought this would be a good time to write this article highlighting issues about race and it’s impact on our society.
Over these past few weeks, I’ve been in a whirlwind of emotions. My thoughts have been all over the place. As the rest of the world is trying to figure out how to get back to business amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 25th 2020 a video of a black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd being held down by a Police officer, circulated around social media. Shortly after this tragic incident, George Floyd sadly lost his life.
Whether guilty of a crime or not, no human being deserves to be treated like that. George Floyd’s death showed the rest of the world the extent of police brutality in the US. Especially towards black people. I’ve never seen something so heartless and inhuman in my life. To this day black men and women in the US are at a much higher risk of losing their lives at the hands of law enforcement.
Jus a few months prior, on March 13th 2020, Breonna Taylor a 26-year-old Emergency Medical Technician in Louisville was shot 8 times after police entered her home for suspicion of drugs, which were never found in her apartment. On February 23rd 2020 in Georgia, while jogging, Ahmaud Arbery was confronted by a group of white males, only to be shot shortly afterwards.
All these tragic incidents happened within a space of a few months. But the list is much longer and goes way back.
The BLM protesting isn’t just for George Floyd, it’s for all the black lives that have been lost as a result of police brutality. And within a system that has been broken for so long. A system that emasculates and marginalizes minorities while those in power continue to benefit. The protests are people’s way of saying enough is enough. More of this in Part Two.
Do We All Discriminate?
The truth is as humans, we all hold certain biases towards each other. Because I believe in some way, it’s how we try to make sense of our surroundings and our environment. We discriminate people against their religion, sexuality, political beliefs and even their weight. Therefore, racial discrimination in our society isn’t something new.
I myself have often made assumptions about other people without getting to know them first. And when I finally got to speak to them and started a dialogue, my own biases were completely outshined by the person’s character and persona. Admittedly I’m nowhere near perfect, but I have grown to have an open mind and expose myself to different cultures through my social circles without being too quick to judge others.
My Own Experience with Racism
Everyone’s experience of discrimination is unique and different. That said, I don’t know of any black or brown person living in a predominantly white society who hasn’t experienced some form of discrimination.
Before my family migrated to Europe over 20 years ago, I never knew what racism or discrimination was. I had never experienced it and I had no idea that such a thing even existed. Growing up in Uganda, we had friends and neighbours of different cultures and ethnicities. Everyone seemed to get along with each other, in everyday life and at school. This was my normal life.
It wasn’t until we moved to Europe when I started to realise that the colour of my skin was a problem to some people. It was a tough situation to adjust to. It was alot easier to adjust to the cold weather than some people’s unpleasant atttitude towards my skin complexion.
Being a black person in the west is almost like you committed a crime for being born black. There’s so much negativity in the western society associated towards people of a darker skin tone, that you just can’t escape it as a black person.
Whereas back home in Uganda and many other African countries, white people are celebrated and treated like royalty even to this day. I guess you could say it’s the after-effects of Colonialism; It may technically no longer exist but people’s minds are still colonised. With the mindset that being fair skin is superior to dark skin.
After graduating with my Bachelors in Norway, I struggled for quite sometime to get into the job market. It didn’t matter that I was a fluent Norwegian speaker, and ticked everything on the box. I just wasn’t the white right fit, as was often the feedback I got. Of course, every fresh graduate can relate to the growing pains of starting out in the job market right after graduation, irrespective of race or gender. But this was my personal experience as a young black woman.
I got so accustomed to the rejections that I could pick up on the facial expressions when I entered a room, like I was the last person they were expecting to see given my credentials. In the end, I got so tired and exhausted of it all and decided to continue with my studies in England.
It didn’t take me long after my studies to start working in England. Have I experienced discrimination in the UK? Absolutely, I would be lying if I said I didn’t. It’s been a real uphill battle. But one that I personally chose to fight because the opportunities I’ve had and the kind of career I’ve built for myself here, wouldn’t have been possible for me had I stayed in Norway.
Minorities are often marginalized, with limited opportunities and resources. After all these years since I left Norway, I hoped that things had improved. Perhaps this talk from Litthus Bergen, can give you a better insight.
How Do We Make Things Better?
Discrimination in any way, shape or form should not be acceptable. And yet, it continues to happen in institutions & organisations, in work places, on media platforms and everyday life. People continue to project their fears, biases and insecurities on to other people because of their own ignorance.
It’s the everyday microaggressions, the dry race jokes that are not even funny in my opinion but offensive. It’s being passed over for positions or opportunities because you’re not seen as the best fit, or the market won’t be able to relate to you (as if the market is that predictable). Sometimes it’s the suspicious looks you get when you enter a boutique store. You can’t make this stuff up.
Although it pains me to say this, racial discrimination isn’t something that is going to go away anytime soon.
As long as we continue to only seek out comfortable and safe spaces and we’re are unwilling to get uncomfortable – then nothing will change.
As long as we are reluctant to educate ourselves and ask questions – then nothing will change.
As long as we continue to buy into the biased narrative that main stream media keeps projecting on our screens – then nothing will change.
The ignorance in our society will still remain and the discrimination will continue.
As Prince EA says – the labels that we’ve placed on ourselves as a society are what’s dividing us. Labels blind us from seeing a person for who they truly are, instead we see them through our own judgements and prejudices. Why can’t we just accept and embrace our differences instead of letting them separate us?
Keep Winning & Follow your Dreams
Recommended Reading
The Myth of Race: The Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea by Robert W Sussman
How To Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
Me and White Supremacy: How To Recognise Your Privilege, Combat Racism and Change the World by Layla F Saad
Caste: The Lies That Divide Us by Isabel Wilkerson
