凯尔西·威廉姆斯，赛跑项目的负责人、DfE数码
过去的几个月对我们大多数人来说都很艰难, 尤其是有色人种, 尤其是对黑人来说. In this post I’ll explain why that is, what that means on a daily basis. And I’ll talk about why we need to be considerate to our colleagues 和 think carefully about our policies as an organisation.
冠状病毒让生活变得更加艰难
It’s been stressful for everyone - we’ve all had to curtail our personal freedoms. 我们与家人和朋友的联系越来越少. 我们的工作能力受到了限制. 许多孩子现在不得不经常照顾孩子. 还有对失业人员的经济影响. All of this on top of the constant uncertainty 和 fear of catching coronavirus.
黑人和白人面临的风险更大
Imagine what it’s like being a person of colour on top of everything else that’s going on. 对我们来说, the past month has brought an information overload about how people who look like us are the ones dying at a disproportionately high rate.
Although the information about the rate of BAME deaths has been explicit, 对原因的理解和逻辑, 只是部分的. Some say it relates solely to underlying health conditions, which different ethnicities are more likely to have (this has largely been disproved). Or that a Vitamin D deficiency is one of the causes because our skin doesn't absorb the sun that easily. 这一理论几乎没有证据支持, 尽管如此, 我仍然每天早上服用维生素D补充剂.
死亡人数如此之多的主要原因是什么
英国公共卫生部最近的两份报告(2019冠状病毒病:审查风险和结果差异 和 COVID-19:了解对ame社区的影响) note that deprivation is one of the main indicators of coronavirus diagnosis 和 death. Ethnic minorities in the UK experience deep rooted disadvantages in virtually every area of life including:
- 医疗保健
- 教育成果
- 与司法系统互动
- 获得有保障的就业
- 获得住房
The report also recognises there’s a much higher proportion of BAME people who work on frontline essential services. 他们更容易受到感染.
Over the past 2 weeks these figures have become even more specific. The PHE reports state Black ethnic groups were most likely to be diagnosed with coronavirus 和 Bangladeshi people were most likely to die from it.
Imagine what it’s like waking up to those headlines on a daily basis, 以及这会让你多么焦虑, 你的家人和朋友.
Think about how you'd feel if you were Black or Bangladeshi 和 you’d been told you were in the most susceptible ethnic group.
有关种族主义犯罪的新闻加重了我们的精神负担
还有冠状病毒, there’s been a constant stream of reports around racially motivated incidents 和 murders in the United States.
它开始于 Ahmaud Arbery 是谁在慢跑时被杀的.
Breona泰勒 was killed by the police while she was sleeping in her own flat.
艾米·库珀 was caught on film attempting to weaponize the police 和 use her whiteness against Christian Cooper (an African-American man).
乔治•弗洛伊德 was killed by the police after an officer kept his knee on his neck for over 8 minutes during an arrest, 尽管他一直在喊他无法呼吸.
In each of these cases Black people were incorrectly assumed to be something they were not 和 treated in a way which devalued their humanity because of the blackness of their skin.
结果是, people have marched 和 protested in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, 横跨美国, 加拿大和英国.
不仅仅是美国
While in the UK we often assume we don't have racism on the same scale as in America, 您只需要考虑以下名称: 斯蒂芬·劳伦斯, Mark Duggan, 樱桃克罗齐, 大连阿特金森, 让·查尔斯·德·梅内塞斯, 笑脸文化, 吉米Mubenga, 达伦康伯巴奇, 努努卡多佐, Olaseni刘易斯, 肖恩Rigg, 丹尼尔Adewole, 朱利安•科尔, 莎拉·里德 知道这是明显不真实的.
The news stories about the disproportionate number of BAME deaths related to coronavirus, 还有种族化的谋杀, 揭示了我们制度中明显的不平等, 无论是在美国还是在英国.
我们的同事都累坏了
黑人觉得自己受到了攻击. 冠状病毒和种族主义让我们感觉像是在打仗. Being in lockdown with the mental impact of the social media 和 news overload can be completely debilitating, 特别是对于 Black women who already report higher proportions of common mental disorders than white women.
你能做些什么?
One of the most important things you can do is be considerate towards your colleagues. White people 和 people of colour are affected very differently by current events. There is a real need to be careful 和 respectful of the feelings of ethnic minorities right now.
Everyone's response to the PHE's reports 和 the murder of 乔治•弗洛伊德 is going to be different. But for people of colour it’s highly likely their reaction will be steeped in some form of emotion whether that’s anger, 难以置信, 悲伤, 悲伤, 防御性, 焦虑或苦恼. This is because the message we’re receiving right now is that Black lives do not matter to most people.
作为在公共部门工作的人, we have a moral 和 legal responsibility to make policy that considers 和 includes everyone regardless of their demographic. As the ‘new normal’ emerges we need to seize this moment to shape a new history. 一种人们, 不分种族, 能指望在一个关心他们的社会中生存吗, 这是真正为他们建造的.
了解更多
To get a better underst和ing of the issues I've touched upon in this post here are some useful books. 我也推荐David R. 威廉姆斯谈到 种族主义是如何让我们生病的.
《我和白人至上主义 蕾拉萨德
《英国人:论种族、身份和归属 Afua赫希
《为什么我不再和白人谈论种族 Reni Eddo-Lodge
《白色的脆弱 罗宾DiAngelo
《所以你想谈论种族 Ijeoma Oluo
“土著” 阿卡拉
《黑人和英国人:一段被遗忘的历史 大卫Olusoga
《工作中的种族主义:冷漠的危险 宾纳
《如何与种族主义者争论 亚当·卢瑟福
《如何成为反种族主义者 Ibram X. Kendi
‘I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness’ by 奥斯汀·钱宁·布朗
