Most of us have all long been aware that racism exists, but not of the extent to which it happens every single day here in the UK.
We spoke to three brilliant woman of different ethnicities to hear about their experiences of growing up in Britain, and to find out how racism has directly impacted them, both as kids, and now, as adults too.
Here are their stories…
Clare Coverdale, 23, is a paralegal. Her ethnicity is ‘Mixed White and Asian (Filipino and British)’. She says…
‘When I was five years old, a white British classmate of mine told me that my accent must have been fake as I “didn’t look English”. This meant that I wasn’t “allowed to be friends” with her as all of her friends “had to be English”.’
‘It made me feel extremely excluded, isolated and almost embarrassed. It made me feel as if there was something about me that was strange – like wearing an odd pair of socks; functional but not quite right.’
‘Unfortunately, racism is something I still face daily. I mainly encounter microaggressions in the workplace, whether that be from clients or colleagues. Microaggressions are inherently difficult to detect as it’s not always clear what is deemed as being racist or simply ignorant, I think it is usually a combination of both.’
‘I frequently experience other people stating that my name “doesn’t match my appearance” because I have an “English name”. A large number of people have been “shocked” when they have met me for the first time after speaking to me over the phone as I have a “white voice” and my “English is perfect”.’
‘Whilst 2020 has seen triumphs in the fight against racism with the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM), there has also been great defeats. In 2020, the UK saw a 21% rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes directed at south and east Asian communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 COVID-19 was unjustly given a face, an East Asian face, and still very little has been done to correct this.’
‘The journey to achieving this self-love for my culture was long and hard – but it was worth it. Fully appreciating my culture and heritage was a euphoric moment and has made me so much more confident in my day-to-day life. ‘
‘My favourite thing about my ethnicity is probably the food. South East Asian and Chinese flavours always bring back warm memories of home. The dishes from these cuisines also helped me understand the intricacies of each culture as many have borrowed and modified elements from other countries. For example, we have “afritada” in the Philippines which is a stew reflecting our Spanish influence. In Hong Kong we have “gai daan jai” which is an egg waffle that reflects our European influence during Hong Kong’s colonial era.’
‘I hope that we can all eventually live in a world where the colour of my skin does not disadvantage me. In getting to this point, I think the important thing is that we approach racism with a view to educate. Racist acts, whether intentional or not, are hurtful. However, these behaviours will never falter if we retaliate rather than educate. I encourage everyone in POC community to educate with love and forgiveness, not judgment.’
Tanya Richards, 31, is senior training specialist. Her ethnicity is ‘Black British (Caribbean descent).’
‘My earliest memory of racism was when I was 18, and I was going out to a nightclub with my friends from my weekend job. I remember it was the beginning of the night and I needed cash and I had to cross the road to get to the cash point, though the traffic was stationary at the time. I quickly ran through the cars and someone yelled out to me “Black B*tch”. I wasn’t causing a traffic issue, as they couldn’t move, so it was just a mean cat call for no reason – maybe I scared them as I ran past their car. I looked around to identify who had said it but it was dark, and the traffic started to move on, so the culprit got away with racially heckling me.’
‘At first I was confused, “Was that to me?” but looking around I was the only black girl in earshot of the cars. I became unnerved and a little scared. Then, mad and disgusted. Why call me a “Black anything” as a derogatory term? I felt I had to let it wash over me, a sad form of acceptance that this kind of interaction will happen again and not just to me.’
‘My personal experience of day-to-day racism is the feeling that “I do not belong here” because I am a “menace/unsafe/not worthy” – the list could go on. “Here” represents so many places ranging from a first-class lounge, ski resorts and expensive restaurants to countryside walking trails, car dealerships and boutique shops. At all of these places I have been either mistaken for service staff or ignored by salesmen. I’ve had whole restaurants openly staring at me and my party as we were seated, and even had dogs and children pulled away from me.’
‘I have found racism in this country to be subtler than in the US but stubborn and deeply ingrained. It’s the systemic racism that is the sticking point, as it stops us as a people progressing in the UK. Doctors dismissing our pain or being taught that we have higher pain thresholds when we don’t. Teachers dismissing emotions or passion of a teenager as aggression and punishing them. Police assuming a black person couldn’t drive a Porsche – so following them and running their plates or just pulling them over.’
‘I work in the corporate world and whilst there is diversity on the “shop floor”, once you look at management level roles and upwards, there are very little people of colour, especially Black men and women. I want to see meritocracy be the hiring factor used for upper management and executive roles. Often I see a lack of opportunity to move up, unnecessary roadblocks added, or a hiring bias where management are only hiring candidates on first impression and appearance – tending to only hire individuals that look like and act similar to themselves. It’s often an unconscious bias in recruitment, but if all the management team are white males, then surely, they will only keep hiring more white males. Not to mention nepotism and cronyism, which is rife in the corporate world, perpetuating the systemic racism were fighting against.’
‘There are so, so many things I love about my ethnicity: our food, our culture, our music, our inclusive nature, the feeling of “welcome home” I get when I touchdown in my home country of Jamaica. But specifically what warms my heart is seeing, the African Diaspora, intrinsically, shine and thrive in the face of adversity and oppression, in whatever form its presented to us.’
Sasha Ramdoo, 41, is a fashion buying consultant and a mum. Her ethnicity is ‘Asian Other (the box I tick on forms)’.
‘I like the fact that my parents are from two different parts of the world (Trinidad and Sri Lanka), this means lovely food and beautiful countries to visit. I feel unique in a way. At the same time, I also feel like I do not fit in. I am not Asian enough; I am not Caribbean enough and I am not English enough.’
‘We moved around a lot as kids. We lived in Trinidad and I was known as the English girl at school. We came back to England and I had a thick accent. This did not help with the bullying. I had a stone thrown at my head in senior school. I got called Paki. I remember walking home with my younger brothers and these guys throwing snowballs at us and calling us Pakis. I remember feeling shame and embarrassment. I remember feeling so sad and hurt and hated seeing the look on my brothers’ faces.’
‘When I was about 10, I used to wish and dream I were white or had lighter skin so I would fit in. It’s such a just a horrible way to feel at such a young age, and the thought of my sons ever feeling that way makes me feel sick. These feelings of worthlessness do not go away and to this day I still feel like I don’t fit in and I have to try that little bit harder to be liked.’
‘Last year in central London while pushing my baby in his pram I was called a ‘f*cking Paki’. I can almost handle that, but it’s the racial undercurrents I cannot handle, the kind of racism you feel but can’t prove. It’s the fact that past middle management in all the businesses I have worked for you don’t see a brown face, the fact that you have to work harder and get told you don’t fit working in the buying industry. Being Asian there’s the stereotype that you work hard but you’re meek, and it’s something I have felt working in the corporate environment.’
‘We are due to move out of London soon and part of the criteria was feeling comfortable and that people were not staring at us. When I told my white friend, she was shocked but to us its normality.’
‘I want my sons to know how beautiful they are inside and out and build up their confidence so if they encounter racism, they can handle it. I do not think their colour/ethnicity should define them; they are who they are. I have bought them books with kids who have brown skin as my 5-year-old thought books just had white kids in them. They also seem to gravitate to kids shows with brown children so I feel thankful that Cbeebies have acknowledged how important this is.’
”My parents experienced much worse than I have so I am hoping my children will experience less than I have.’
‘I have found writing this difficult and upsetting – I almost try to ignore the racism I have faced as there are different levels of racism and I always think what I experience is mild compared to others. I most certainly try not to talk about it to white friends as I don’t want them to feel uncomfortable or think I’m complaining or to some extent notice that I’m different.’
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