The most obvious memory of racism that stands out is when I was 15, I was on the bus back home from a late dance class. My class was in central London, it was late and dark outside which already made me feel a little uneasy. I put my earphones in and attempted a peaceful ride home. That was when a visibly very angry man got on the bus. He was ranting and raving already, I remember desperately trying not to make eye contact with him so I could escape that wrath. The bus was crowded. He did make eye contact with me and from that, it was over – he was being horrible to me and shouting seriously derogatory racial slurs.
I was just sitting on the bus, and he was just shouting at me for no reason.
The most upsetting part is no one said anything, everyone stayed silent, watching.
It was unprovoked, no one did anything.
I felt helpless.
There was a whole bus full of people, it was crowded, mostly with white people, and not one person said anything to defend me, it was so disappointing.
Imagine you are just trying to make your way home or do your day-to-day normal life and people are just verbally attacking you with racial slurs, it really is spine-chillingly terrifying. I feel like I am more of a target in these situations just because of the colour of my skin.
“Racism though occurs on a daily basis; it is not always as obvious as saying the N-word.”
Being an alternative woman of colour, I have been called “Oreo” because of the type of music I listen to; I get called out for listening to white music even though most music genres have been pioneered by black people it doesn’t make sense.
I definitely felt racism in school, people would get nicknames because of the colour of their skin. Other people of colour that were darker than me got the nickname Blick (a derogatory name for someone with dark skin). Everyone said it but looking back it is colourism why was it accepted and not addressed? My friend even got called Blickatron.
Other covert, low-key racist remarks were being called exotic, pretty for a Black girl or chocolate darling, it makes me feel uncomfortable, it’s weird fetishisation.
Teachers even got fired at school for being heard uttering racial slurs. In drama, my teacher took a clear dislike to me and referred to me as “your people.” She was horrible to all the black people in my class. As far as I am aware there were never any repercussions. It just felt unfair and disappointing, teachers are there to help us grow as people and learn not to judge or discriminate. I felt helpless.
When I’m with other people of colour, we get scrutinised for being Black. In school, I had two groups of friends, one of the groups had more white people. I would get followed in shops more when I was with my Black friends compared to the other group. I felt like I couldn’t call it out as we were children, and these were people of authority. I felt helpless.
People are always asking questions about my hair. Especially if I have my Afro out, people ask “Do you even have real hair under your braids?.” People saying, “Are you bald?” People ask, “How often do you wash your hair?.” People will even touch my hair.
Another thing a lot of people do, even my White dad. I think it’s not intended as a bad thing I think it’s intended to bond. They’ll say they are colour-blind or there’s only one race. Race has been introduced into our society and if statements are made like that, it closes doors for conversation about the impact race has had. The world sees race, jobs when they’re hiring see race and we must leave it open so we’re not minimising or ignoring the struggles that race has created for lots of people. We need to see where these stereotypes and incognito judgments that we have hide so we can get to the root of the problem. Even if you might be scared you’ll be called a racist we need the floor to be open so we can say how we feel, learn from each other and grow.
I often attend protests for Black rights and there’s always some people there fighting against the subject, I make sure I make space for them – you can tell they just want a conversation, to have their voices heard, and once people do feel heard, things can start progressing.
A massive thing that did anger me recently, is how I feel Black people coming from Ukraine are treated compared with white refugees. It makes me sad because it just reminds you that even in tough times racism is always going to be something in the background on top of everything else going on.
I see how whitewashing hurts Black people, there are so many harmful bleaching products in African counties to whiten skin.
I’ll always remember one moment when my little sister asked me to whiten her skin for a picture for Instagram so she would look more white and it was so heartbreaking.
I know how rich my culture is and how much magic there is in it. The same with White culture there is so much magic there too, but I just feel really connected to my roots in Ghana.
To be black in this world is a strength.
