This post was written by Atlantis Dubois of BIMM London’s African Caribbean Society (ACS) and originally published here for LDN Magazine.
The tragic death of George Floyd has brought to light the out-right racism African-Americans have to face daily for hundreds of years. The ACS are strong allies of the Black Lives Matter movement, and although we may not be able to help on a bigger scale, doing little by little goes a long way.
Although we are not in America, each student in our African Caribbean society is living the reality of systematic racism in the UK. Some of the ways we experience systematic racism in our daily lives is by being put in a box which we do not identify with, losing opportunities or being treated differently to other students and colleagues all due to our skin colour.
As a whole, we all need to come together and avoid being ignorant. You need to be more aware of when you say things such as “Can I touch your hair?” Or “I didn’t take you for a (non-‘black’ genre) singer”, although you may not see yourself as racist, you are adding to the bias and ignorance which fuels the racism we face day-to-day. As students of BIMM London, we need to do all that we can to avoid microaggressions which add to the hate that stems from generations ago.
Ways that you can help:
Reach out to your black friends, see how they are doing. This is a hard time.
Petitions you can sign:
- Justice for Breonna Taylor
- Justice for George Floyd
- Anti-Racism Education to be compulsory in UK schools
If you do not have the money to donate, play fundraiser videos on repeat. All ad revenue goes to victims of police brutality and the black lives matter movement. Here’s just one:
The ACS have come together to create a playlist, hope you enjoy. Listen here.
