Author Karishma Asher is Race Equality Officer at the University and Secretary of the Race Equality Charter Self-Assessment Team.
Racism and race equality have been topics of increased attention and discussion following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. The murder of George Floyd sparked global protests and calls for sector leaders to act; this raised extensive questions of “what can I do? How can I help?”.
Answering these questions require us to broaden our understanding of racism and how it manifests. It is important to note; those of us at the University of Liverpool who are white, will of course unreservedly condemn racism and racist acts. However, there will always be a difference in lived experience in comparison to those of us from Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minority (BAME) backgrounds. As with any form of discrimination, differences in day-to-day experiences can present a challenge in understanding, noticing, and disrupting racism when it occurs or empathising with those of us who experience it. The impacts are far-reaching; cumulative racially charged incidents- known as microaggressions- create an environment that is quietly hostile and exhausting to navigate each day. Similarly, unchallenged racism builds into sustained discrimination and systemic inequalities and oppression. There is robust evidence of how racism manifests in health and wellbeing outcomes, education, employment, and income- nationally, and in our University.
To view racism purely as overt, isolated acts or incidents between individuals or groups of people directly reduces our capacity to tackle and remove racial inequalities in our society. However, this capacity does exist, and those of us who are white can grow and strengthen our abilities to disrupt racism where it occurs by practising allyship.
What should I do?
1. Recognise differences. The term “BAME” recognises a shared experience of navigating predominantly white systems and environments. While this piece discusses allyship towards BAME students and staff, it is vital to recognise the diverse identities and communities different ethnic groups hold and belong to. Racism manifests in many forms, including Anti-Blackness, Anti-Asian hate, Islamophobia, or Antisemitism.
2. Listen. Take in discussions of racism without judgement or assumption; whether it is from people around you, online, or in the news. Our Black and ethnic minority students and staff are the most reliable narrators of their own experiences; listen to understand and empathise rather than to respond or rationalise from your perspective.
3. Educate yourself and others around you. The burden of education often falls on colleagues most impacted by racism; take the initiative to learn as much as you can about the barriers and challenges that your BAME peers have to contend with. You may begin to identify how these issues manifest at university; for example in your school’s culture, in your society, or even in lectures and seminar groups; or how policies and systems impact different groups. You can find a wealth of information online, in books and podcasts, and networking and social platforms such as LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram; there is a list of resources you can start with at the bottom of this story.
4. Be an active bystander. If you witness racism, inequitable practices, or microaggressions- challenge it. Speak up, check in on the person experiencing the issue, or report the incident via Report & Support. If the perpetrator is someone you have a good relationship with, consider having a private conversation about the issue with their actions or approach.
5. Boost and remunerate Black and ethnic minority voices. Look at the people you work with on projects, or give additional opportunities to such as guest speakers. Are they largely from a similar background, or do you ask the same few people each time? Could these opportunities be offered more widely, or could you reach out to speakers from more diverse backgrounds?
6. Acknowledge your privilege. Racism, whether it is interpersonal or systemic, is more likely to be noticed and felt by those it impacts. We have all experienced hardship, difficulty, or pain at some point in our lives; acknowledging your privilege doesn’t negate this. Rather, those of us who are white can begin to recognise that there are some racialised barriers or hardships we will not directly or fully experience.
7. Be prepared to make mistakes. Mistakes will happen. The impact of something you say or do may not match with what you intended; accepting that this will happen will take you much further on your allyship journey, than trying to avoid mistakes could. If you do make a mistake- apologise, reflect, learn, and carry on.
8. Engage with the Race Equality Charter application. Tackling racial inequalities on our campus is everyone’s job and we all need to play our part. This could be by making the time to attend our upcoming in-person student sessions on the Charter (further details to be announced shortly) and by feeding back on your experiences when the Race Equality Charter All Staff and Student Survey is launched this May. You can read more about our Charter work so far in Professor Fiona Beveridge’s recent blog post.
More resources
Books
- University of Liverpool’s Anti-Racist Reading List
- Anti Racist Ally– Sophie Williams
- Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire– Akala
- Black and British: A Forgotten History– David Olusoga
- The Good Immigrant– Nikesh Shukla
- Algorithms of oppression – How search engines reinforce racism- Safiya Umoja Noble
- Misfits: A Personal Manifesto- Michaela Cole
Liverpool Guild of Students Resources