By Ffion Evans

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.”

Angela Davis

Before the Black Lives Matter movement, it is fair to say I had no idea how black people were affected every day by racism. That black mothers must value every second they spend with their children in case one day they don’t return home. That black children are taught from a young age how to deal with confrontation with legal authority to avoid imprisonment or death. That a black person can be accused of a crime they did not commit and still must face the consequences or that a black person’s life can be taken away from them at any moment. This was the heartbreaking fate for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony Mcdade, and hundreds of others.

Early examples of racism can be seen within the Atlantic slave trade where African slaves were traded throughout Europe, Northern and Southern America for goods in order to create workers for plantations. The slave trade encouraged brutality and violence against black people and supporters of the trade would often create wild theories to justify the trade and promote inferiority towards black people. Other examples of racism can be seen in colonialism and the Jim Crow Laws throughout the 19th and 20th century. This inflicted racial segregation in Southern parts of the United States. I thought racism had successfully been demolished after Martin Luther King Jr spoke the iconic words ”I have a dream” which was followed by the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sadly, racism is still present in the society we live in today, and equality is still out of our reach.

However, my ignorance was not intentional. I did not ignore the problem or refuse to believe it. I never experience prejudice because of the colour of my skin. This is what’s known as white privilege. The term is a modern concept used to identify the lack of prejudice white people experience. It is notorious for causing discomfort amongst white people who are not usually defined by their race and misunderstand the meaning of ‘privilege’ within the term. The misconception often made by this notion is that everything a white person has accomplished is undeserved and suggests a lack of struggle within their lives. The concept is not built on one’s level of effort or income. Of course, an undeniable fact of life is that people will experience struggle at some point within their lives regardless of skin colour. However, white privilege means that white people don’t experience struggle or discrimination because of the colour of their skin, and it isn’t a factor that makes their lives more difficult.

Unfortunately, white privilege is a built-in advantage in society which means that until white people can see it happening, we never experience the struggle of discrimination because of our skin colour. White privilege means that we don’t have to learn about systematic racism at a young age for our safety and we don’t have to consider if there was a racist context behind something awful that happened to us or worry about being unfairly stereotyped. However, this privilege should not be viewed as a difficulty that creates guilt but an opportunity to learn. The black lives matter movement is about equality and justice for the black community. Having said that, just because you may not belong to marginalised communities does not mean that you don’t have a responsibility to fight oppression. 

By educating yourself, you can encourage change and equality within the criminal justice system that has failed to support the needs of their citizens as they abused their power and presented brutality to innocents. This movement has inspired millions of people across the world to educate themselves and learn about the importance of the movement and the abundance of resources to get involved in the movement. But it all starts with breaking the silence and facing the problem.

Only recently, the world was exposed to the brutality of white supremacy when the shocking murder of George Floyd was captured on camera. The movement has since encouraged people to campaign for justice for George Floyd and the hundreds of innocent black people murdered at the hands of police. By supporting All Lives Matter, it devalues the unreasonable racism and police brutality that black people have faced. It has become apparent that many refuse to support the movement and question the true integrity of its purpose by sharing the idea that “All Lives Matter” and not Black Lives Matter. The Black Lives Matter movement was initially created in 2013 after the murder of 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin who was shot by George Zimmerman after he reported the young black man for behaving “suspiciously”. The movement’s purpose has always been to actively campaign against systematic racism, violence, and discrimination against black people. By supporting All Lives Matter, it devalues the unreasonable racism and police brutality that black people have faced. Of course, all lives matter, but the purpose of the Black Lives Matter movement is to emphasise the lack of action and attention brought to racism and violence against black people.

Therefore, it is of great importance that every individual joins this incredible movement to uphold solidarity, unity, equality and justice. Despite the uncomfortable conversations, they shouldn’t be ignored or devalued. James Corden, a TV personality with a major platform used his white privilege to discuss the many problems existing in society where the black community shouldn’t have the responsibility to dismantle a problem they didn’t create. He also argued that black people play a major role in essential jobs. This is evident as 43.6% of people working in public admin, education and health in the UK are black but despite them helping more in society they get less help in return. Additionally, individuals with the convenience of white privilege should use this to their advantage to help others that are in need of justice. Spreading awareness is just the first step to a plethora of actions you can do to make the world more inclusive. 

Through the eyes of Gianna Floyd, her father “changed the world”. Let us not forget the precious moments George Floyd will miss in his daughter’s life as he rests in power. 

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Martin Luther King Jr