We raised our children to understand the
importance of justice and accountability, also leading by example in helping to
shape their mindsets, attitudes and behaviours around controversial issues like
race. The house was always well lit with debate from the start of
parenting. As a result, if we stepped out of line as
parents, even momentarily, we are held to account by our children, which meant
having to explain any deviant opinions and comments uttered, even in jest. I once
described this rudimentary form of mutual accountability as being like living
with morality police. Therefore, it was not surprising when Lauren
braved Covid-19 restrictions to attend the Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde
Park. It was also not surprising when she followed up this protest with tangible
action by writing to her previous school Bishop Stortford College (BSC), to
highlight her experiences of racism as a pupil. Lauren wanted to raise awareness about the
harms of racism and present recommendations on what the school could do to
institutionalise positive change.
I travelled with Lauren to Bishop
Stortford, which for her was like going back in history. Interestingly, this
was also the birthplace of the controversial 19th century
imperialist Cecil Rhodes (the founder of Rhodesia) whose statue at Oxford
University has for some time been the subject of widespread calls for removal because
of what he represented. After
six formative years, Lauren left the school four years ago with very complex
thoughts and emotions about the experience.
It was clear that racism had undermined what was otherwise a positive
experience. However, racism had not stopped her benefitting from the commitment
made by the school to instil confidence
for life. Ironically, this is partially why she now felt so emboldened to speak
her truth.
During the train journey Lauren was obviously
a little apprehensive. I sat opposite her
on the train, face mask on and head phones in, listening to the audible book Why I am no longer talking to White People
about Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge. I
agreed wholeheartedly with most of what the author was saying, particularly
about black feminism, but on this occasion, a conversation was necessary as
Lauren needed her moment to clear the decks. I could
see it was a healthy apprehension, which indicated that she was taking the
matter very seriously with specific objectives in mind. She had prepared well, consulting with peers
who had also experienced racism, in developing her list of points to make. She had also drawn me into these consultations,
but I had little to add to her well-structured and comprehensive presentation.
I was confident that she was clear sighted and composed around the issues to
discuss, rather than emotionally charged. I could see that she had spent some time
processing these negative experiences both mentally and emotionally and had
reached a good place. She was well
prepared to take this important step in exercising agency in reconciling her
relationship with the school.
Being thorough, she enquired about what
I was going to say in the meeting. As black parents, sending our kids to
boarding school was a bold decision. I
had done extensive soul searching over the years, but never once doubted whether
this had been the right thing to do.
As I would highlight later during the discussion with teachers, the option
of boarding school is not common within the West Indian community and viewed
quite negatively. We were bucking the
trend to the disapproval of some friends and family members. Understandably, overriding concerns are how black kids will cope being so submerged in
a white environment and coping with racism.
My view has always been that racism can be encountered anywhere and it is
therefore impossible to shield black children from this negative reality of
life. Our role as parents is to ensure our children have the
required coping skills to deal with racism, as one of many challenges in life. I told Lauren that this was her show and I
was there primarily in a supportive role.
I expanded to say that my main priority was to share my perspective as a
black parent. Over the past few weeks,
there had been many discussions at home about race and racism as we processed
the George Floyd incident as a family.
Lauren was already aware of my views about the critical role of
educators in fighting racism, which I thought was taught at home and either reinforced
or neutralised at school. This placed
great emphasis on the integrity of teachers, who needed to be enlightened and
aware of the harms they could exacerbate in interacting with children. Lauren had often heard her father’s
references back to his school days including being called a “chocolate coloured
coon” by one of his teachers! Whilst such overt racism would not be
permitted in the class room today, unconscious biases and stereotyping still
prevailed, and these covert attacks were just as harmful. Young black kids needed the emotional
intelligence; general awareness and confidence to figure this stuff out,
alongside everything else. I told Lauren that my vision was for a better
curriculum where a truer depiction of history was presented, following the
miseducation of my own generation at school. Education could help to shift some negative
mindsets about black people, borne out of fear and ignorance. She
nodded which I interpreted to mean that our views were well aligned.
The teachers we met at the school were
very open and receptive. As the school
was closed, they had travelled in from home specially for the meeting. They were very upfront which helped to create
an environment to discuss racism frankly, without discomfort or diversion. They wanted to hear how Lauren could
contribute to the thinking and planning already underway to increase the school’s
emphasis on promoting racial justice and more attention to diversity. They were keen to hear Lauren’s experience,
warts and all. If those we met were representative of the school’s faculty, I
was more impressed by the school at that moment, than I had been at any of the
report evenings and events I had previously attended.
Lauren’s presentation focused on
immediate, short and long-term measures.
She talked through the following:
-
compulsory training for all staff, pupils and
as an option for parent. Compulsory orientation for new prospective parents about anti-racism, to
set clear standards and values for the school.
-
Reforming
the curriculum to include black and other minority histories and literature,
as well as highlighting the positive contribution of Britons from diverse
backgrounds. Resources include: https://www.theblackcurriculum.com
-
Including
a section in the schools Annual Report on how the curriculum and pastoral
work supports the inclusion of black and other minority ethnic groups.
-
Creating
a clear anti-racism policy for pupils, parents and staff outlining
disciplinary procedures and punishments for racist behaviours.
-
Improving
reporting structures and introduce stronger sanctions.
-
Producing
an anonymous termly survey for all students, staff and parents to document
their experiences (including racism and other forms of prejudices).
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-
Providing
access for all black pupils to a black counsellor, with direct reporting to
the headteacher and governing body. Instructing the counsellor to proactively
reach out to each black pupil on a half-termly basis so that pupils are aware
that independent support is available.
-
Creating
an African-Caribbean society primarily (but not exclusively) for black pupils
and staff to bond at least half-termly, with alumni guest speakers.
-
Creating
an African-Caribbean alumni Group for former pupils to foster a vibrant
cross-generational community that engages with the school and current pupils.
-
Appointing
at least one black representative on the Board of Governors.
-
Establishing
a Steering Committee for Diversity and Inclusion chaired by a selected school
governor.
-
Committing
to broadening the diversity of applicants and appointments in teaching roles.
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Lauren was strong and upfront in her
presentation. I observed with pride, but without surprise because I had seen
her stand on social justice issues from a very early age. Memories sprung to mind of a 12-year-old
Lauren arguing fiercely with her grandmother (a staunch Christian) one evening
after school about the importance of diversity in religious beliefs. I also recalled a 6-year-old Lauren
confronting a man who she thought had kicked a dog. As I
thought then, there was something quite strong and compelling about her
delivery. Her posture was certainly not
that of a victim of racism, but more a champion of anti-racism policies and
actions. I observed my daughter walk
through what I can only describe as an uplifting and cleansing experience. She took us with her on this journey,
describing how her feelings of exclusion at the school had impacted on her
identity. She named individual pupils who were particularly abusive and
teachers who thought themselves more aware and worldly than they actually were. Those we met were not only keen to listen and
learn, they also thought it fitting to apologise to Lauren on behalf of the
school.
I found a brief moment to chip in on the
need to build a better understanding about the root causes of racism and the
importance of history in this regard. I
consider Black in Britain, by David Olusoga a valuable history lesson and a
means of understanding world events, including the two world wars from a
different perspective. The role of black
people at key points in history had been deliberately whitewashed. This book had given me a strong feeling of
empowerment through history, previously denied by “miseducators”. In my view, the adage “..history is written by
the victors..” attributed to Winston Churchill, does not apply, unless this is
an admittance that there was in fact a race war. Much earlier in 1891, Missouri
Senator George Graham Vest, a former congressman for the Confederacy stated,
“for history is written by the victors and framed according to the prejudices
and bias existing on their side.”
Regardless of who said what, these statements are framed around major
wars where the victors rejoiced, and the losers were annihilated. Black people as still here and striving
alongside white counterparts, despite the barriers posed by institutional
racism. I could only imagine the
situation if there was equality and we were all operating from a level playing
field. I told the teachers that regardless
of race, I would like to see every child leave their history lesson feeling how
I felt reading what I considered to be a more balanced representation of
history – empowered.
We discussed how Germany had dealt with
its dark history following the second world war, by recognising the horrors of
Nazi Germany and focusing on peace building and reconciliation. Jewish people had the chance to speak their
truth and represent their history. Britain had not done this with its colonial past,
which is glaringly obvious even from the school curriculum, which perpetuates a
biased representation of history, rather than seeking to teach the truth. It was time to fix this. Black people also
wanted to speak their truth about racism and its negative impact on our lives. I feel overtime these long overdue conversations
may enlighten the mindsets of some racists. In my mind, the fruit does not fall far from
the tree which means behind every racist child, there are racist parents. Drawing parents into a discourse on history is
therefore essential. In the meeting, we
talked about confronting racist behaviour upfront by having the perpetrator(s)
hear how their deviant actions have harmed the person (s) on the receiving end. This is the first level of accountability. The speed at which racism is tackled in
school, and indeed the workplace, makes a huge difference in building trust and
confidence in the system.
We were told that the school was looking
forward to welcoming a new Head in September, coming from a school in
Wolverhampton with much greater diversity.
The teachers suggested that
Lauren should speak to the Faculty and students at the school and that she
could also play a mentoring role on an on-going basis. Lauren is very open to helping because BSC
will always represent a very important part of her history and identity.
Lauren said she felt lighter on the way
back to the station. It was not about
breaking the silence and speaking out because she had done this whilst at the
school. This was more about contributing to the school rising to the challenge
of promoting racial justice within its corridors to improve the experience of
those who would follow in her footsteps.
This was also about Lauren reaching closure on some negative aspects of
her school life. Whilst these
experiences were not as corrosive as the perpetrators may have wished, they
were harmful and totally unacceptable. Lauren is the fruit of parents who
promote the importance of accountability and on this occasion, regardless of
what actions the school eventually take, she had won her first personal battle
in the war on racism.
Sonia Warner
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