The #BlackLivesMatter movement rose to prominence in 2013 after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, but it has been the recent unlawful killings in America of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd that have gained the hashtag global attention all over social media.
In recent weeks, many people have decided to share their stories and experiences with racism. These include well known celebrities, Alexander Burke, Leona Lewis and Misha B. They have all opened up about their times on the popular UK TV show The X Factor and the similarities of their experiences have called the shows reputation into question.
As not everyone has a big enough platform, we decided to create one to enable those who want to share their experiences and teach those who are blind to the racism that unfortunately still permeates in society.
Below are five individuals who have anonymously come forward to disclose their own experiences of racist encounters they’ve had throughout different stages in life. These experiences range from as young as four years old in nursery to being aged 38 at work. Some of these stories display direct racism whilst others are indirect and quite subtle, but both are still very relevant and sadly may be very relatable to many others.
BRYCE from KINGSTON
Bryce explains that he has sadly experienced many situations, however the one that has stuck with him for years is, "when [he] was 5 years old, a white boy spat on [him] and called [him] a f*****g n***** and ran off."
“At the time I probably didn’t completely understand but I remember my mum was furious because she couldn’t catch them,” Bryce said.
YASMIN from SOUTH LONDON
Yasmin distinctively remembers an experience when she was in nursery, sitting at a table next to a white girl, and on the other side of the girl was a white boy. During an activity with scissors, the boy cut the girls hair and Yasmin reacted by giving him an evil glare. As home time approached, Yasmin’s white childminder picked her up from school and they walked alongside a group of white parents and their children, including the white girl and her mum. "Trailing behind us, her mum shouts, 'YOU CUT MY DAUGHTERS HAIR!' pointing her finger at me. 'No I didn’t,' I replied. My childminder asked, 'Yasmin, did you cut her hair?' I replied, 'no, it was [boys name], he did it, I saw him!' The mum asked her daughter, 'who did it?' to which the girl pointed at me and said, 'Yasmin did it.'"
Yasmin’s heart sank as she realised she was being falsely accused and "no one took a moment to question the validity of what the white girl said, it was her word against [Yasmin's.]" After removing themselves from the situation, her childminder assured Yasmin that she believed her, however she did the best she could by removing her from the situation as she knew it could've ended badly.
"My childminder taught me a sad reality that day: the world would not be fair to me [because of her skin colour] and when in a dangerous situation, you have to walk away."
In a recent survey, more than three quarters of white parents of 6-11 year olds said they don’t talk to their kids very much about racism.
JADE from LONDON
38 year old retail assistant, Jade, explains her story about when she served a customer and he turned her away by asking for someone else to serve him as he “didn't want to be served by her kind”, being a black woman.
TYRONE from CROYDON
Supermarket assistant, Tyrone, 22 from Croydon, shares how he has been a witness to a few racial encounters whilst working. "I’ll never forget the time when a customer screamed at my colleague and said they would lynch her for being so slow at the checkout."
"A different colleague was told to go back to Africa and one other customer told my friend that she looked like a black monkey."
FREDDIE from East London
Boots customer service advisor, Freddie, aged 23, recalls the time when he was falsely accused of a small incident at work, and without reacting in an unprofessional manner, he was immediately met with negative stereotypes such as being called aggressive and violent.
It has been reported that more than a third of BAME workers have been bullied, abused or singled out at work.
Many people in the UK have been questioning why there are #BlackLivesMatter protests occurring in the UK, as they strongly believe the UK isn’t racist like America - but the least racist is still racist. The injustices and discrimination that black people face are sadly everywhere you go, from the stigma around black women and healthcare, police brutality, the disproportionate levels of stop searches and prison numbers, or the criticism that black footballers have received in comparison to white. We cannot forget to mention the fact that slave owner reparations had not been paid off until 2015.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" - Martin Luther King Jr.
All lives cannot matter until #BlackLivesMatter. We must continue to fight for a world where black lives are no longer systemically targeted for demise.
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