....I said just now that we can be grateful that we are safe; I was not talking only of Coronavirus. I was referring to the fact that many or perhaps most of us do not need to face discrimination every day, because of the colour of our skin.
Here I want to talk less about the events in the US themselves, and more about us, and our response. But first, let’s observe that many of us are here because someone fought for us.
I think you can see where I am going.
Every single person in this assembly is the beneficiary of people who have stood up for the right thing in the past. And the fight is still going on for these and other rights. So while racism is the topic – the broader transferrable understandings are about justice, inequality and responsibility, power and privilege. And these ideas are timeless, not new today.
I think historians will look back and be unsurprised at current events. 60 years Martin Luther King was fighting the same fight. It cost Dr King his life, and when he was murdered on April 4 1968, and America saw protests like those today, Lyndon B Johnson, then–President said, bluntly (albeit in a private conversation not a public statement) “What did we expect? I don’t know why we’re surprised. When you put your foot on a man’s neck and hold him down for 300 years…what’s he going to do [when he gets up]? He’s going to knock your block off.”
Perhaps what’s most shocking to me, is how I’m still surprised by any of this. I shouldn’t be. None of us should. And that leads me to my central point today - the distinction between events and systems. We can fight against both, but we need not to let our focus on events detract from a focus on systems.
Racist Events
These may be violent. In our school context, these are more likely to be words, jokes, insinuations; or conscious or unconscious actions like where we sit, who we make fun of, and for what.
These should stop of course, and it is perhaps shocking that it takes events as extreme as the ones we are seeing to make us realise this. Some of us may need to reflect here. One thing is to watch the language we use. I know there are racial slurs – always couched in ‘it’s just a joke’ or ’it’s just bants’. But it’s just a joke’ really means it’s just a joke to me and I don’t really care about whatever you think here’. And ‘it’s just bants’ really means I can use my power and privilege not to really care. I know some people use the N-word, for example. I have also heard mocking talk about “Indian IB packages” or “White girls unemployment subjects”.
There is a famous phrase: Tell me what you pay attention to, and I’ll tell you who you are. So if we attend to making ourselves look good by putting other people down though racist distinctions, then…. What does that say about our identity? I ask all of you...
So that’s the first thing. There are racist events; and we can work to eradicate them. But even if these stop, we would find that people of different races
Racist Systems
It’s not enough to avoid all racist actions here – to be non-racist. That does not affect the system; it will not end systemic inequality. If we are to leave this world a better place than we found it then we need to go beyond individual actions and consider the big picture. We need to be anti-racist in the systems sense. My suggestion to you is that we are all part of the system we want to change. This is hard and there is no quick fix. But it is necessary.
This distinction - between individual events and systems – is a really helpful one because it answers a lot of legitimate questions. For example, one comment that I have heard a few times is “yes black lives matter but so do white lives - why aren’t we looking at this tragic death of a white person killed by a black person?”. And it is absolutely right that George Floyd’s death is not the only tragedy here. Others deaths are absolutely as tragic. But when you look at the system, as I have described, and all the many racial inequalities, then you can see that while George Floyd is the trigger and the focus today, the battle is not just justice for George Floyd, but fixing the system. It’s about more than individual people, black or white.
Once you start looking at systems, you can see that while some are oppressed, some people benefit from them. Looking at where I live, how I live, what work I do, what freedoms I have, what opportunities I have, how people treat me, I find it hard to escape the thought that I am benefiting from a system that oppresses others. I invite you to reflect on your own situation. And to open a conversation with your friends and family about it.
I do not feel guilt about this weight; I am not responsible for events that happened before I was born. But I am responsible for the choices I make to either accept or challenge the system. I cannot just accept the rights and privileges I have today without honouring the fact that they cost many lives to achieve, and without recognising that others are harmed by the system that benefits me so much. I hope many of you feel the same way.
We do not need to be intimidated by the scope of the challenge, because as well as the greats who have changed the world - Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela – we can also be inspired by the millions of activists today who are writing and blogging and protesting and working. That is, they are doing what they can. I suggest we need to do the same.
Actions I am taking; I’m talking to some students to hear their perspectives on racism at school. I’m meeting and listening to alum who have been in touch, from 2014 to this year, to hear their thoughts and suggestions. I’m reading anti-racism books. They are giving me a whole new perspective.
As a school, we’ve explored this in PSE this week and are looking to building in future. We’re looking at further opportunities to add in curriculum (it’s already there in places). We’re considering unconscious bias training for teachers. We're seeking to listen, to hear the experiences that we have not heard until now.
- Throughout history, and still in many places around the world, children have been forced to work, often under appalling conditions. You are here, you are guaranteed an education, freedom, offered love and care, because people fought for your rights even though you were not yet born; these rights were not freely given.
- Throughout history, and still in many places around the world, there is appalling discrimination and violence against girls and women. We are blessed with girls and women here because men and women fought for women’s rights; these rights were not freely given.
- Throughout history, and still in many places around the world, there is appalling discrimination and violence against those in the LGBTQ community. And even where things are improving, often the laws have yet to catch up. We are happy that the rainbow folk of any and all sexualities can be increasingly open because gays and straight fought for equal rights; these rights were not freely given.
I think you can see where I am going.
- Throughout history, and still in many places around the world, there is appalling discrimination and violence against people because of the colour of their skin. Here, the problems may be less than elsewhere - but if so, it’s because people of all colours fought for equal rights; these rights were not freely given.
 |
| It's different to non-racist see here for why |
Every single person in this assembly is the beneficiary of people who have stood up for the right thing in the past. And the fight is still going on for these and other rights. So while racism is the topic – the broader transferrable understandings are about justice, inequality and responsibility, power and privilege. And these ideas are timeless, not new today.
I think historians will look back and be unsurprised at current events. 60 years Martin Luther King was fighting the same fight. It cost Dr King his life, and when he was murdered on April 4 1968, and America saw protests like those today, Lyndon B Johnson, then–President said, bluntly (albeit in a private conversation not a public statement) “What did we expect? I don’t know why we’re surprised. When you put your foot on a man’s neck and hold him down for 300 years…what’s he going to do [when he gets up]? He’s going to knock your block off.”
Perhaps what’s most shocking to me, is how I’m still surprised by any of this. I shouldn’t be. None of us should. And that leads me to my central point today - the distinction between events and systems. We can fight against both, but we need not to let our focus on events detract from a focus on systems.
Racist Events
These may be violent. In our school context, these are more likely to be words, jokes, insinuations; or conscious or unconscious actions like where we sit, who we make fun of, and for what.
These should stop of course, and it is perhaps shocking that it takes events as extreme as the ones we are seeing to make us realise this. Some of us may need to reflect here. One thing is to watch the language we use. I know there are racial slurs – always couched in ‘it’s just a joke’ or ’it’s just bants’. But it’s just a joke’ really means it’s just a joke to me and I don’t really care about whatever you think here’. And ‘it’s just bants’ really means I can use my power and privilege not to really care. I know some people use the N-word, for example. I have also heard mocking talk about “Indian IB packages” or “White girls unemployment subjects”.
There is a famous phrase: Tell me what you pay attention to, and I’ll tell you who you are. So if we attend to making ourselves look good by putting other people down though racist distinctions, then…. What does that say about our identity? I ask all of you...
- If you see or hear something – open a discussion. Not an accusation, a discussion. It may be uncomfortable, difficult. That’s OK. It’s worth it.
- If you need support, tell us. We understand that this may be difficult to consider, but we are here to support you. We follow up each and every event that we are aware of, without exception. But we are not aware of everything, by any means.
So that’s the first thing. There are racist events; and we can work to eradicate them. But even if these stop, we would find that people of different races
- have massive differences in wealth
- live in different places
- are disproportionately likely to get jobs, and disproportionately represented in different careers
- attend differently funded schools and have different educational outcomes
- get offered different mortgages, investments and savings plans
- have different health profiles and life expectancies
- are treated differently by police, doctors, teachers
Racist Systems
It’s not enough to avoid all racist actions here – to be non-racist. That does not affect the system; it will not end systemic inequality. If we are to leave this world a better place than we found it then we need to go beyond individual actions and consider the big picture. We need to be anti-racist in the systems sense. My suggestion to you is that we are all part of the system we want to change. This is hard and there is no quick fix. But it is necessary.
This distinction - between individual events and systems – is a really helpful one because it answers a lot of legitimate questions. For example, one comment that I have heard a few times is “yes black lives matter but so do white lives - why aren’t we looking at this tragic death of a white person killed by a black person?”. And it is absolutely right that George Floyd’s death is not the only tragedy here. Others deaths are absolutely as tragic. But when you look at the system, as I have described, and all the many racial inequalities, then you can see that while George Floyd is the trigger and the focus today, the battle is not just justice for George Floyd, but fixing the system. It’s about more than individual people, black or white.
Once you start looking at systems, you can see that while some are oppressed, some people benefit from them. Looking at where I live, how I live, what work I do, what freedoms I have, what opportunities I have, how people treat me, I find it hard to escape the thought that I am benefiting from a system that oppresses others. I invite you to reflect on your own situation. And to open a conversation with your friends and family about it.
I do not feel guilt about this weight; I am not responsible for events that happened before I was born. But I am responsible for the choices I make to either accept or challenge the system. I cannot just accept the rights and privileges I have today without honouring the fact that they cost many lives to achieve, and without recognising that others are harmed by the system that benefits me so much. I hope many of you feel the same way.
We do not need to be intimidated by the scope of the challenge, because as well as the greats who have changed the world - Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Nelson Mandela – we can also be inspired by the millions of activists today who are writing and blogging and protesting and working. That is, they are doing what they can. I suggest we need to do the same.
Actions I am taking; I’m talking to some students to hear their perspectives on racism at school. I’m meeting and listening to alum who have been in touch, from 2014 to this year, to hear their thoughts and suggestions. I’m reading anti-racism books. They are giving me a whole new perspective.
As a school, we’ve explored this in PSE this week and are looking to building in future. We’re looking at further opportunities to add in curriculum (it’s already there in places). We’re considering unconscious bias training for teachers. We're seeking to listen, to hear the experiences that we have not heard until now.
These are small, concrete steps. They are a start - work in progress. And here is my ask for you today. It’s that you take the simple step of finding out more about the systems. You become aware. Ensuring that you have informed yourself, educated yourself. And then you will be better able to take next steps to challenge unconscious or conscious bias. You have begun to do this during PSE this week, and I invite you to just start with one podcast, one video, or one book over the vacation, and to think about systems, as well as actions, as you do so.
I am optimistic here. The problems are difficult; the progress is painful, but there is progress. Just six years before George Floyd was born, interracial marriage was still illegal in 16 American states. That’s hard to believe now, when interracial marriage has overwhelming support. And when your generation is my age, things will be much, much better still – but only, and here’s the thing, but only if we want it; if we are all prepared to do the work.
I hope we can all make some progress, as well as have a great break, over the long vacation. Good luck. I’m really looking forward to seeing you on Campus in August.
Resources
I have a dream (watch this whole thing, or start at 12:00)
Start here: Race and Privilege: How should our Community respond?
Are you a non-racist? Not good enough!
Some more anti racist resources
No comments:
Post a Comment