Why it is no longer fashionable to talk about “Racism”

Have you noticed how unfashionable it is to talk about Race these days. You are either perceived as an over sensitive legacy from the past, someone who has got the proverbial chip on your shoulder or someone who is a self-declared victim and relishes in that condition. It is definitely not cool to be a “victim” of Racism and the expectation is that such people should just get over it! It has become almost as uncomfortable as White people talking about Slavery in the presence of Black people!

Much of my life has been about “Race & Racism” and I have had experience of it personally and professionally. Some of us are aware it by the experiences of our parents, families, and communities and some of us experience it by the cultures that we are exposed to or the cultures we are not exposed to……and some of us have a low threshold of awareness and are completely unaware of it…..some call it blissful ignorance!

I have heard it said many times that when Black people first came to the UK, they were not Black….and only became aware of their Blackness when they came here, mostly because we were reminded of that by the way we were treated or by what was said or what was not said. In fact, the notion of Blackness was so taboo that the term “Coloured” was invoked as a way of supposedly “softening” that reality. Notwithstanding that our consciousness of difference has been incrementally amplified over the years and any unawareness of that surely contributes to some aspects of self denial.

Society’s awareness of differential treatment on the basis of Race has been recognised in a variety of different ways from legislation to enshrined instructions helping society to identify how best it can respond to discrimination by trying hard to believe in the best of human nature; the carrot helps but sometimes you need the stick and sometimes a very big stick! At one time issues of Race were about Black and White communities and people from the mostly the Caribbean and sometimes the African continent and were visible examples of difference referenced in Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech;  "In this country in 15- or 20-years’ time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man". Yes, the big threat was the dreaded Blackman and the ghosts of this historical threat still live on in some aspects of the British psyche particularly in the context of the criminal justice and mental health systems. If Enoch were alive now, he would be horrified to see the ethnic composition of the cabinet….his worst nightmare….those with the whip hand carrying on his work with little prompting!

However some things have changed, and the issue of Immigration has again reared its ugly head, but the complexion of the threat is one aspect of that change and includes those who are Black, Brown, mixed race, and those of indeterminate ethnicity. Black people are still part of that threat but the identification of those who are the newer immigrants has created a new narrative that goes beyond the immediate colour difference. Those from Hong Kong, Ukraine , Poland, and Vietnam now feature strongly as migrants supplemented by those from China and the Indian sub-continent as university students bolstering the economies of British universities. The usual arguments are trotted out that we are a small country, and we are almost full up and we cannot take anymore! However, we seem to ignore the fact that many of our essential services and much of our nighttime economy are totally dependent on these so-called immigrants. Also have you noticed how the language has changed and “Immigrants” a synonym for nonwhite settlers has been substituted by the newly maligned terminology “Migrant” who in earlier times were called “boat people”.

However, what we have failed to appreciate is what has happened to that Racism that was a constant feature in British social history, have we eradicated it or have we simply parked it and patted ourselves on our backs luxuriating in the pretense that we have solved it, whilst removing all the systems that were developed to identify it and deal with it so there is no evidence of our purposeful misunderstanding. Unfortunately, we as Black people who are being subjected to Racism see it as a sign of personal weakness and too many of us are fearful of being connected to those who are brave enough to say “I have been a target of Racism” as if that was some unacceptable disease. Individuals are then left to fight those battles on their own and Black and Brown faces recruited into major organisations are the human shields deflecting any accusations of Racism.

Race & Racism was so much simpler when I started working in that field, but it has become increasingly more difficult to talk about it now. At one time there were some topics that it was impolite to discuss in casual conversation – most notably religion and politics but we can add Race into that mix now. If we start to protest and talk about Racism we are accused of “Wokeness” or some exaggerated over sensitivity. For some young people there is a sense of embarrassment unless that cause is attached to a social media savvy meme and the presence of Black gatekeepers cause some confusion coupled with the over representation of those who supposedly have made “it”….whatever that “it” might be!

One of the differences now is that we are acutely aware of our multi ethnicity than ever before and we refuse to allow it to be tainted by old fashioned racism….which is not very cool. Also, there are more Black and White people with other Races as part of their families and sometimes it is difficult for such families to have conversations about Race amongst themselves as such discussions can raise some sensitive issues which remain unanswered. Also, there are some who will argue that it is not always about Race but when you hear someone say that you will know that this may be an area that they might be uncomfortable with.

The reality is that in any discussion where people of different races and complexions are present or not present the issue of Race plays its part either by its inclusion or its absence…..and the sooner we get to grips with that the sooner we will start to have an honest conversation.

Don John

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