Let me make clear that I am not a climate change denier. The vast majority of scientists in the field agree, and if the community agrees through peer-reviewed research, then that is good enough for me.  

However, I often hear those talking about the green revolution talking about the carbon emission from the global south. The world is burning, and ‘these’ people don’t understand they have to stop. Luckily, I have learned to stop myself from telling these people about themselves.

The damage to the environment enabled prosperity in the west through numerous industrial revolutions. The resulting empires directly impacted on those people who you now deny the same opportunities for wealth, power and equity. Yes, we forget that we live in a relative paradise because of the wealth plundered through colonialism.

Yes, let me reiterate that I believe action is needed concerning climate change. Yes, I also agree that this should be a collection action because this is a global issue. However, what is that action? As I’m British, let’s look at a section of our imperialism.

In the South Asian sub-continent (a small part over the empire), we (the British) exploited $45 trillion over the 200 years that figure is not adjusted to inflation by the way. That is £343916877000000 (assuming the US measure of trillion). Let’s contextualise that absurdly large figure the GDP of the UK on 2019 $2.83 trillion – that is 15 times greater than the gross domestic product for the 6th largest economy in the world.

Here is some quick maths.

The amount divided by the number of people in the United Kingdom

45000000000000 / 66000000

£681818

To pay this amount, each human being in the UK would have to give up £681818.18. Yes. That’s a lot of money. I haven’t even included chattel slavery. 

What I am saying is that you’re asking a people not to destroy the Earth and judging them for doing enough to save the planet, while enjoying the rewards of the exploitation through the damage caused by our governments.

Having various conversations around the environment, it’s obvious that white supremacy inhabits all spaces, including those in activist areas. Often I am told about the overpopulation of the planet and that this must change. I’ve heard about Malthusian principles of sterilisation, population control and even mass genocide, shocking these never are method are never centred on the white middle classes? I wonder why that is?

What I am saying is, yes, it’s essential to the stand for what you think is right; however, when that comes at the expense of race or anything else. Don’t assume that makes you immune to critique.

When teaching the climate change, the omission of (racial) power from this narratives is dangerous. Educators are often fooled into the fallacy of equal standing, this has never been and is not the case.

This guest piece is from Sam Smethers, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society – June 2020

Pay inequality thrives because of a lack of transparency. We don’t like talking about pay, and women don’t currently have the right to know what their male colleagues earn even if they suspect pay discrimination. In order to find out, they have to go all the way to an employment tribunal. My charity, the Fawcett Society, is actively campaigning to change that. But in the education sector, there is more transparency there than in most workplaces, with clear pay scales for teaching staff and it is also a highly unionised sector, which is not the case in many other workplaces. So the gender pay gap should be much smaller there than elsewhere, and it is. Yet the headline ONS gender pay gap figures show that across all teaching and education professionals, women earn 7.5% less than men on average. This is partly driven by where women are concentrated in the education sector, with men still dominating higher paid, senior roles, and women forming the majority of lower paid teaching staff. In Higher Education, the gap grows to 8.4%. 

It is also important to note here that the ethnicity pay gap is much wider than the gender pay gap. If we look at the gender pay gap by ethnicity, we find that some minority ethnic groups, particularly Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, earn 26% less than white men—black African women, 20% less. The pay gap is a single, simple figure, but it is the product of multiple structural inequalities. The value of measuring it is it prompts us to ask why and to look behind the numbers.

In secondary schools, women are two-thirds of teaching staff, yet more than 60% of headteachers are men. This is partly because of career breaks that women have taken when they have children. Men progress their careers more quickly when they become fathers but women’s careers plateau or go into reverse when they become mothers. This in turn is driven by structural factors such as our parental leave system which is still structured to give mothers or primary carers 9 months paid leave and fathers or second carers only two weeks paid leave, unless the primary carer chooses to share some leave with their partner. We need to create a leave system which presumes equal responsibility in caring for children. But it’s also a product of the lack of good quality part-time and flexible work. This is still an issue in the teaching profession, where there are fewer part-time teaching roles. So for parents who want to work part-time or to job-share, there are fewer opportunities, and they are less likely to progress. If senior roles are only available full-time, we are excluding a significant proportion of the workforce (mostly women) who want and need to work differently, but who will be as well qualified or even better qualified than the (mostly men) who get those top jobs. That leads to women working below their skill level and doing so for many years. It simply doesn’t make sense for the economy.

Whichever data we use, it takes us to the fundamental question, why is the work done by women valued less than the work done by men? The answer lies in the unpaid care and domestic work that is still largely done by women. If women do all that for free, they and their labour must be worth less. This is why social care workers are valued so poorly, and caring is treated as an unskilled job. So we have to start valuing care, whether paid or unpaid and that in turn will raise the status of women in the labour market. But we have to unravel it further than that. Fawcett’s Early Childhood Commission has found that caring is something that girls are encouraged to do, and boys are discouraged to show. So we don’t just undervalue caring, we actively channel girls towards it and to roles which are caring professions, and we steer boys in a very different direction, towards technical, engineering, science subjects and, consequently, better paid professions.

There is much that can be done to close the pay gap, but it requires action across multiple causes, including the way we teach our youngest children and the way we design work and share unpaid care. But the prize is women fulfilling their potential in the labour market. The prize is equality. Why wouldn’t we want that?

This Guest Piece is from @NorwichSoS.

For schools wanting to know how they can ‘channel the justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action’ @NorwichSoS invite you to join #ADayOfWelcome #BlackLivesMatter.

Make this moment a turning point for antiracist action in your school

Where we are…

“I recognise that these past few months have been hard and dispiriting — that the fear, sorrow, uncertainty, and hardship of a pandemic have been compounded by tragic reminders that prejudice and inequality still shape so much of American life. But watching the heightened activism of young people in recent weeks, of every race and every station, makes me hopeful. If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals. Let’s get to work.”

Barack Obama, June 2020, ‘How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change’ The young people we work with are likely to have seen images of the US protests over the death of George Floyd and maybe even videos of others’ violence. Some pupils may cope with this in the belief that police brutality and guns are in the US; somewhere other than where we are. Lots will not, because of their experiences and the experiences passed down to them from family members or what they can read about from recent and distant history. Combined with the fact we are still in a pandemic in which BAME people are disproportionately dying of a virus that apparently doesn’t discriminate; it is highly likely we will be working with children and young people who are living in a heightened state of anxiety and fear; for some, trauma. Not only can this impact mental health now and in the future, but it can worsen health outcomes and reduce academic achievement. It is also likely we will have staff members and families who are feeling the same right now.

“There is a large and growing body of robust evidence demonstrating that racism leads to mental illnesses.” 

Alison Faulkner, April 2019, ‘The impact of racism on mental health’

We are upset, we are angry; what we can do?

It is perfectly normal to feel such emotions; it is okay to feel uncomfortable. It is a natural response to what we are seeing. To manage those feelings, self-regulate, and for some, heal, we need to be agents for positive change. As educators, there are several things we can do to reduce inequality in our settings and create a safe space with positive role models. There is excellent support available, including:

• BAMEed network

• The Teacherist

• Schools of Sanctuary

• No Outsiders

As with any school improvement plan, we need a whole-school approach to reducing equality and creating a safe space where learning takes place for everyone, and we need to remember there are no quick fixes with this; it will take time to be truly embedded.

A school will only deliver an inclusive education where all pupils can succeed if you:

Have a shared vision which promotes equality.

1. Provide clear leadership to create and manage a positive environment which enhances equality and inclusion and supports and champion efforts to promote equality and inclusion; be antiracist.

Have a whole organisational culture which supports and promotes mutual care and concern and trusting relationships

1. Have an ethos and environment where all members of the school feel happy and safe to learn.
2. Have a supportive school and classroom climate and ethos which builds a sense of connectedness, focus and purpose, the acceptance of emotion, respect, warm relationships and communication and the celebration of difference and values diversity; be antiracist·

Have clear, planned curriculum opportunities to support the development of equality and inclusion to help pupils explain understand and find ways to challenge inequality using appropriate learning and teaching styles.

Provide opportunities for children to participate in activities to build their confidence and self-esteem; be antiracist·

• Identify pupils’ specific equality needs.
• Provide equality support for pupils where needed
• Refer to and/or deliver specialist provision
• Can evidence vulnerable children and their carers reporting feeling valued and supported; be antiracist ·

Have mechanisms are in place to ensure all children can understand and easily access the pastoral support system  

Have identified routes for referral for all children and young people and staff can evidence children, young people and staff know how to seek help if they are upset or troubled Can evidence families feel empowered to improve their understanding of equal rights within education and wider; be antiracist 

Plan CPD programme for all staff to support the teaching of equality

• Ensure staff are aware of their role in responding to equality issues
• Can evidence staff reporting that the school supports and enhances their equal rights; be antiracist 

• Are engaging children through an equitable pupil voice to share responsibility in decision making within the school, and all can identify their contribution to school improvement; be antiracist.
• Have mechanisms in place to ensure parents/carers and local communities enjoy and get actively involved within the school. This involvement is varied and in response to consultation; be antiracist.

How to start the work…

You need to ensure you are educated; understand what actions and feelings have caused recent events, understand the difference between not being racist and being antiracist. Then you need to find materials and resources to help foster productive conversations in your school about race and civil disobedience.

This padlet is a good start. 

For any school leaders wanting to know how they can ‘channel … justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action’ I have included links to the Schools of Sanctuary initiative which teaches about equality with a focus on refugees and asylum seekers.  

It also contains all you need, and more, to prepare, plan and run ‘A Day of Welcome’ on June 12th. 

‘A Day of Welcome’ created and led by Jake Rose-Brown from Norfolk Schools of Sanctuary is a call to action, with ideas and resources, tried and tested in Norfolk but now ready to go wider. 

There is an inextricable link between racism and xenophobia, and the prejudice and injustice faced by refugees and asylum seekers seeking sanctuary in the UK. Taking part in A Day of Welcome is one just way to spark antiracist dialogue and action in your school. It will also help to combat stereotypes and misconceptions about refugee migration and to help build a culture of welcome for all in your setting.

The Aims of A Day of Welcome.

1. To build an understanding of the experiences and contributions of refugees and asylum seekers.

2. To uncover and celebrate little-known stories of refugee migration.

3. To signpost Refugee week events which pupils, families and staff may wish to participate in. 

We hope your community, including those currently at home, join Norfolk schools on June 12th. If you do, please share your action via Facebook or Twitter #ADayOfWelcome or email.  If you are in any doubt of the need to ensure your school is antiracist, put simply; racism is killing our young people.   If you really believe #Black Lives matter; do the work!

I get asked a lot about representation, and a lot of my work starts with a call to represent the global curriculum more authentically. Yes, include lots of people from around the world in your work. No, we haven’t finished. We risk falling into a trap here. 

Yes, include lots of people from around the world in your work. No, we haven't finished. We risk falling into a trap here.  Share on X

Decolonisation is not just the inclusion of black and brown faces in our textbooks and posters. Imperialism and its legacy lie in all of our minds. This process may feel like a slap in the face, but it’s most likely correct that if you were raised in the west (global north), you have undergone a process where you have been told and shown repeatedly that particular groups are more successful than others.

While I applaud the inclusion of actors of colour in the media, we have to dig deeper. Growing up the few melanated people on our TV screens were the ‘savages’ in Tarzan, but Pran, that’s changed now? Has it? Let’s think about the way black males are portrayed in the media? 

Think of 5 black (main) male characters and list their common traits:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

What do you notice? If you still don’t see a trend, do the same with white characters and reflect why these are not seen in black characters. If you want to challenge yourself do the same with women of colour (I’ll come back to this another day).

I read To Kill A Mockingbird at school, and it was nice to see people of colour in a book. However, the story is based on the white saviour trope. Primarily a white man fights to save a Black man, the black man doesn’t talk an awful lot through the book either, he dies anyway, but it’s okay because the white man has won the support of the community.

I read To Kill A Mockingbird at school, and it was nice to see people of colour in a book. However, the story is based on the white saviour trope. Primarily a white man fights to save a Black man, the black man doesn't talk an awful… Share on X

What does that insidiously say about the black men? And white men?

‘Of Mice and Men’ after talking to Remi Ryans (English specialist, friend and comrade)– Crooks in the story is the only black character, and he is subjected to barrages of racism, but he is also the only person in the story who owns books. I see a man of intelligence and courage. When do we teach or are taught through that lens?

Dahl is problematic (overt racism) is much of his work; there are other articles on this website which tackle that. Let us just concentrate on ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, Willy Wonka travels to a far land, steals resources from a ‘simple’ people (Oompa Loompas) from a savage land (with beasts, etc.) and they revere him for it?

Charles Dickens is seen as a social reformer and his work on Christmas carol is undoubtedly spurred the impetus for change, but he omits slavery from all his writing. At the same time of his book, the British were cashing in on the lives of black people in chattel slavery. What does omission say about who is of value in social justice?

My specialism is science, wherein my subject people of colour being taught? The omission says a lot. Notably, due to the mathematics being an Indian invention, the centre of Physics, Astronomy and mathematical science for centuries was centred within Islamic cultures. Architecture and medicine being at the pinnacle of the African continent, using vaccination type methods that pre-date Edward Jenner in smallpox. This process is not just about being exposed to a more authentic truth? And what do these omissions lead?

Empire is taught through a benevolent visitor lens. When the British arrived in the Indian subcontinent the share of the wold economy 24.4% was 4.2% when they left. This includes an exploitation of $45 trillion ($450000000000000000000 – that’s 19 zeros if you are counting). Did the Mau Mau revolution, the assignation of Dedan Kimathi and Jallianwala Bagh not happen? Do you even know what those events are? I was not taught in school. Yes, If you are even thinking about mentioning railways. I’m coming for you.

Democracy is taught as a European invention, erm, maybe look at north Africa and the Malian Mansa and the electing Gerbratta (apologies for the spelling, someone correct me please). That brings me to slavery; Britain ended slavery? Erm, Britain wasn’t even the first country in Europe to do so, or the second. The ending of slavery is often seen as a benevolent act by William Wilberforce, leading parliament to the emancipation? Erm, the slave revolutions and violent insurrections didn’t play a part at all? I could go on all day.

Britain wasn't even the first country in Europe to do so, or the second. The ending of slavery is often seen as a benevolent act by William Wilberforce, leading parliament to the emancipation? Erm, the slave revolutions and violent… Share on X

What impact do all of these omissions and reframing of history have? Think about the associations that come to mind when you think about oppressed groups and those when you do the same for the privileged.

There is always work to be done on ourselves because if we don’t, we propagate the same damaging rhetoric we always have.

This piece from Remi Ryans.

I was restrained by a police officer at five years old because I walked out of a shop with a toy fireman's hat on by accident.  Share on X

1. I was restrained by a police officer at five years old because I walked out of a shop with a toy fireman’s hat on by accident. 
2. At 6, be forced by my year teacher to stay behind for a same day detention because she didn’t believe my art homework (I was so proud) of had been drawn by me. I had to do it again in front of her. After 20 minutes she conceded she could see I had done it, but I had to stay anyway 
3. The same teacher showed my work for a different project to another student’s family; they copied it verbatim, guess which child ended up in detention. 
4. Being told my name and face didn’t match by a former Prime Minister.
5. Being called a slave by my history teacher.
6. Another teacher told me (in front of the whole class) that my mother was illiterate because my name was ‘misspelt’. Then be punished because of my subsequent reaction. 
7. Being the only one in a group of friends (only black person in the group) to be questioned by police about why I was playing in a small park outside my friend’s house on his birthday. His parents had to resolve the matter.
8. Carrying my violin in school uniform on the way home from and being stopped, searched and questioned over the ownership of the item because frankly, ‘we don’t see boys like you doing things like that.’ 
9. Less than 3 miles from where Stephen Lawrence was murdered have a group of white men pull up to my bus stop and threaten me with weapons if they saw me in the area again. 
10. Be the only one in a group of teenage boys (I was the only black one), to be stopped, questioned, and had details taken when playing tag on the heath in Blackheath. 
11. Be stopped and further questioned at Heathrow when returning from a school trip to the Gambia, again; I was the only black persons in the group. 

Less than 3 miles from where Stephen Lawrence was murdered have a group of white men pull up to my bus stop and threaten me with weapons if they saw me in the area again.  Share on X

All of this by the age of 18 years old, while very much entrenched in systemic whiteness my mother sought to create to protect me. There is a notion that respectability, the delusion that appealing to tropes of British civility (private education, classical languages, classical instruments, dining etiquette, etc.) will elevate you to a place where your humanity somehow becomes immune.

Firstly, don’t get it twisted, you can do any of this stuff and love it for the sake of your enjoyment. Assimilation is survival, white readers will know of times they have changed their accent or sat up straighter at the table. For PoC assimilation is survival, it’s not just a perception but having to comply or risk physical violence. As undertaking as a form of appeasement, like a going belly up to illustrate harmlessness and submissiveness is dangerous. 

Secondly, this mindset does nothing to help your community as you become a pawn, an example to be held up while being used to beat your community further down. 

Thirdly, and most importantly ‘the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house’ Audre Lorde (#citeblackwomen). The delusion that respectability and politicking your way through life can make you some double agent is pure fantasy. 

You don’t overcome fascism with closer proximity to that evil, you don’t overcome gender inequality by getting closer to those who create the misogyny. Confrontation (non-violent or violent is a conversation for another time) is how change is earned.

TW: Police Violence and Death – Specifically Black deaths.

Educators, how are you framing your thoughts around the events in America? Which discussions will you be having around justice?

Anti Blackness is as much as a British problem as it is a world wide. We as a culture forget about the atrocities that we committed and continue to commit. Remember that concentration camps, genocide, firing on peaceful protests are primarily a British invention.

Below is a collection of unjust Black deaths, many are in police custody (shared with permission from an activist who does not care to be named.) No, I am not here to discuss the ins and outs of each case and I am certainly not here to engage in victim blaming. This whole piece is about looking at oneself when casting stones.

As you read down the list and say their names. I want us all to contemplate the question: How many charges do you think have been brought against police officers? and do you think there are systemic issues here? If you want to know how inherent bias works, try and listen to your brain as you read the list of names and descriptions of the circumstances of their deaths.

Yes, All of these human being are from and they deaths happened in the UK.

Rashan Charles
Rashan was followed into a convenience store, here police claimed he was trying to swallow an object, he died after being chased and restrained by a police officer.

 

Mark Duggan
Mark was shot and killed by police, police attempted to arrest Duggan on suspicion of planning an attack and claimed he was in possession of a handgun, he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

 

Darren Cumberbatch
Police were called to his property in regards to concerns around his behaviour, he was punched 15 times, police also used a baton and a taser

 

Edson Da Costa
Edson was randomly stopped in a car and was restrained by police who used “distraction blows” and extreme force, he later died in hospital from a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by a blocked airway

 

Adrian McDonald
Adrian as bitten by a police dog and tasered after reports of an intruder, whilst in the police van, Adrian complained of breathing difficulties and shouting “I can’t breathe”, he later died in hospital.

 

Nunu Cardoso
Nunu aas a law student who died in custody after being struck by a police baton while being arrested on suspicion of possession with a knife

Olaseni Lewis

Olaseni voluntarily admitted himself to hospital for mental health treatment, medical staff called police when he became agitated. 11 police officers restrained him using excessive force, he later died from his brain being starved of oxygen

Sean Rigg
Sean lived in a hostel and staff called the police after reports of him becoming aggressive, he was restrained by three officers for more than seven minutes and he later died after suffering a cardiac arrest

Daniel Adewole
Daniel was found unresponsive in his cell following an epileptic fit, officers waited 38 minutes after they first received no response at Daniel’s cell door, before opening his door. They even went for a cigarette before checking his safety.

Trevor Smith
Trevor was shot dead by police in a bedroom in his flat during an “intelligence led operation”, he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Julian Cole
Julian was left paralysed and brain damaged after being tackled outside a nightclub by police officers, he suffers severe brain damage and a broken neck

Sarah Reed
Sarah was attacked and assaulted when taken into custody, she was later found unresponsive in her cell and shortly died. A police officer was caught on CCTV grabbing Sarah by the hair and then punching her as she laid on the floor

Jermaine Baker
Jermaine was shot dead by police, an officer claimed he had acted in self-defence, fearing Baker was reaching for a gun, no firearm was later found, he died from a single gunshot wound

Sheku Bayoh
Sheku was tackled by police using batons and excessive force after reports of him carrying a knife, he lost consciousness and was later pronounced dead in hospital, a postmortem concluded that he had sustained facial injuries, a fractured rib and bruises

Kevin Clarke
Kevin was restrained by up to 9 police officers while having a mental health crisis, while at the scene his condition deteriorated and he later died in hospital

Leon Briggs
Leon was restrained and detained at a local police station by police using excessive force, he became unconscious and later died in hospital

Anthony Grainger
Anthony was shot through the chest as he sat in a car by an armed police officer, detectives believed he and two others had access to firearms, however, no weapons were found in his car, he later died in hospital.

Kingsley Burrell
Kingsley was restrained by police days after being detained under the mental health act, he had been handcuffed for hours in hospital while awaiting assessment and was left face-down in a secure room with a blanket over his head, he later died from cardiac arrest.

 

Jacob Michael
Jacob was arrested for alleged affray and died in police custody, CCTV shows he was pleading for mercy after being pepper sprayed and restrained by officers

Mzee Mohammed Daley
Mzee was restrained with excessive force and arrested by police after “behaving erratically”, he later died of cardiac arrest.

Derek Bennett
Derek was shot six times by police afterwards they realised that the handgun they believed he was brandishing was in fact a cigarette lighter, he later died in hospital

Azelle Rodney
Azelle was shot at eight times by armed officers after his car was stopped, the officer stated he shot eight times because he thought Azelle was reaching for a gun.

This guest piece come from Matthew Wyman.

I am currently sitting in bed, questioning the world we live in and highlighting in my own head the importance of a simple phrase, ‘Black Lives Matter’. 

I am a privileged white male, I am someone that does not have to encounter people avoiding me in the street based upon the colour of my skin, I am not someone who has to fight daily battles against a system and a society that is institutionally racist. As a white person I can sit here and tell you that we don’t do anywhere near enough to combat the oppression that black people have faced for hundreds of years, and whilst we no longer enslave them as if they were aliens, it is clear that racism is still here, it has always been here and unless we start to have honest conversations about how we need to change, it will always be here. 

Here is a question, how many more times will the same thing need to happen before changes are made? How many times are people like Goerge Floyd going to have to die before something is actually done? Black Lives Matter but right now this world we live in does not support that, so let’s change it.

Speaking as a white person, I will sit here and say that we as a race have failed black people for generations upon generations, and if you do not conform to this ideology then you are the problem, you are the reason why black people are still being oppressed all over the world. Furthermore, the ‘All Lives Matter’ argument falls null and void, yes all lives matter but as white people our lives have always mattered in the eyes of the law and society. The way we are treated does not need to be fixed but the way black people are treated does, in the eyes of certain parts of society it is obvious that their lives do not seem to matter. 

To even start trying to change this we need to be honest with ourselves, we need to see that we are not doing enough, we have never done enough and that we owe it to them to change. We need to stop calling it ‘racist’ when a black person stereotypes a white person and we need to stop saying ‘if the shoe was on the other foot then that would be racist’. Black people have been racially discriminated against for hundreds of years and we caused it, so stop labelling it ‘racist’ when they make a joke about white people eating ‘unseasoned chicken’, you have no idea. 

I know that as a white person I can never begin to imagine the hardship black people go through everyday as a result of racism, but I do think it is our job to try and understand and to make sure we do everything we possibly can to change things because when it comes down to it, Black Lives Matter. 

Matthew Wyman, 19 studying sports journalism at Derby University. Live at home with my mum, dad and little sister. Write mainly on sport but also on topics I feel passionate about. Learning as I go, curious and write from the heart.

Image from the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Centre.