#blacklivesmatter racism is a human problem

I recently learned the origins of the term ‘women of colour’ from activist Loretta Ross. It is actually attached to a specific historic event:

https://youtu.be/82vl34mi4Iw

“Women of color” is a deliberate political designation of solidarity, not a biological term.

Personally I find using it as a biological, ethnic and/or cultural category pretty empty — with a little more effort it’s possible to be more specific rather than create a sort of monolith where there isn’t one, similar to what’s been said about the problems with ‘BAME’.

I find ‘racialised’ to be a good alternative for ‘person/people of colour’, and rather than First World/developed vs Third World/developing/‘countries of colour’ (yes I’ve really seen this), Global South and Global North are better options even if they are broad, since they speak to the history and consequences of European colonialism, movement of resources, power, etc. I’ve also seen ‘previously colonised countries’ and ‘colonising countries’ or something like that.

Yes to this.

Interesting video, certainly adds some context - I've never liked the "people of colour" phrase that's gets used quite heavily but I guess it makes more sense now.

I previously thought BAME was probably the least bad collective term but feel that collective terms really aren't appropriate in a lot of situations. Black peoples history/issues are not the same as Asian peoples history/issues and given the vast range of what could be counted as "Asian", rolling the two groups together to give an average for statistics is obviously going to under represent black people.

The BLM movement/discussions have been helpful with this, though obviously still a lot of learning/communication to be done.

Just saw that RCA UCU has an open letter out, which begins with a note:

[n.b. Problematic and reductive terminologies (BAME, BIPOC etc.) have deliberately not been used throughout. Instead, we have opted to use broad, heritage focused descriptions. This list is not exhaustive. If anyone feels something should be added, please let us know...

RCA UCU is calling for action in support of African, Caribbean, Asian, Middle Eastern, First Nations and Indigenous heritage staff and students.

ACAMEFNIH

Forgot Latin Americans though.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8463447/Former-F1-boss-Bernie-Ecclestone-says-black-people-racist-white-people.html

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Lewis Hamilton said Britain's bias included 'telling black women they're too confident, treating black men like a threat or asking us to change our natural appearance to look more "professional".

'As a nation, we're quick to condemn monkey noises and bananas thrown at black footballers, but when it comes to addressing structural issues, the people in power stay silent.

He added: 'Being the first black "anything" is a proud and lonely walk.

'When I started out, I took my father's advice to work twice as hard, keep my head down, my mouth shut, and let my driving do the talking.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8463977/Sky-News-cuts-ex-Met-Police-chief.html

How to create a bigger divide in society with toxic comments like this.

But the ex-police chief swatted away the anchor's critcism and insisted that 'this is not a BAME issue, this is an issue relating to people of West African heritage in terms of the relationship between the police and the public

LOL... couldn’t be any more racist and nonsensical if he tried to

Now it’s specifically “west African heritage” that is the problem. Amazing the cultural and historical insight this man has...

This becomes a problem in that it gives the alt right and centrist dad crowd an easy target for mockery. It’s a bit counterproductive when designations get in the way of effective political action. Reminds me a bit of postmodernist writing and the way any statement has to qualified by a host of caveats about the conditions of possibility for making such a statement. I am definitely not Saying ‘it’s political correctness gone mad’ cause we all know what people really mean by that

with his Ugandan heritage which if I have my geography right lies within east Africa, I have really enjoyed listening to George Mpanga’s award winning podcasts over the past six months. Very thought provoking stories about his life and his social commentaries from St Raph’s, the ‘Dens, Grenfell, Grime music etc.

I too grew up among street gangs, street culture, and believe it is important for us all to hear his perspective as a young black man living in London today.

With reference to West Africa, I also have close friends with Ghanaian, Nigerian and Sierra Leone families, who have lived here most of their lives and achieved against impossible odds noteworthy positions in my industry which remains predominately white, male and middle class. None of my friends fit the profile as offered by that twat speaking on behalf of the Met Police as a top ranking imbicile..

The guy isn’t in touch with reality if he thinks black people aren’t stopped and searched.

https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/crime-justice-and-the-law/policing/stop-and-search/latest#

How was he not challenged on that?

@miro_o
those stop and search figures are frankly disgraceful against black people.

Two weeks ago one of my missus close friends was dropping off a white colleague in Stamford Hill. Okay they had attended a BLM rally together peacefully early that day. But because she was black and driving a Mercedes sports car that afternoon. A Met Police patrol decided to stop and search her vehicle, asked where she had been, where she was going. You can imagine how livid this woman (incidentally in her 50s) , this black woman was then requested to go to the local Police Station with ID. The Met Police hadn’t expected to find out that she was in fact a highly successful business owner within the film industry. Did they fucking track her car from central London to Stamford Hill? did they not find out who the owner of that car was?

Met Police fuckwits, I hope they were reported for racial harassment.

requested to go to the local Police Station with ID.

What's the deal with that, doesn't sound normal or legal.

If you don’t have a driving license on you at the time, I think that’s normal. You have 7 days.

Oh right yeah. I'm not a driver, I just sort of imagine it's the kind of thing drivers always have on them while driving

Due to the electronic age, the police can get that info quite quickly I thought.

@almac68 Don't the police need to have a reason to stop (yes easily concocted), and more importantly a reason to search.

I don’t know the reason, concocted probably, furious yes, cleared yes, but the faff and made to feel like a criminal

They can call up details of the vehicle (tax, insurance and maybe owner). Not proof a person is who they say they are afaik.

Fwiw the one time I've been pulled I didn't have my DL. Had to report to the police station.

Obviously not questioning being pulled and searched, etc.

Anyone watched this

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I did see something on social media about it being far from accurate? Probably from Twitter via IG stories. I don't do Twitter so unfortunately can't find it anymore.

This has always been a issue with the black community and continues to be .
I did a podcast on this recently on this .Like most institutions the MET are institutionally racist and aren't doing enough to address it.Generational mistrust
has lead to a complete disconnect with local communities we inhabit .I hope they can look at their recruitment and diversity within the organisations .

Did anybody else find the UK BLM tweets about Palestine to be a bit incongruous this weekend? I cant put my finger on it but just seemed like a strange time for a UK specific Twitter feed to focus on another part of the world given the live focus on domestic issues at the moment.

Not sure where I'm going with this. The subject of Palestine is very close to my heart. My wife's family were bulldozed out of Palestine and violently displaced by Israeli forces in the 70s. It's the reason she grew up in the UAE and not Palestine.

I guess it just felt a bit strange timing for a UK specific BLM social media account to be talking about somewhere else. Not saying I have a problem with it, just feels like odd timing.