The UK is not innocent. Every day thousands of men, women, and children face discrimination at the hands of the police, the media, and society. Just because it is not prevalent in every single area of the UK does not mean it is not happening.
The recent Race Commission report suggests that Britain is not institutionally racist and is a model and global beacon for diversity. The issue with this is that it does not acknowledge all the experiences of the people who have bared witness to and have experienced institutional racism first hand.
Mohammed Hassan died in police custody after over 50 police officers came into contact with him on the night of his arrest; Belly Mujinga was spat at by a customer and later contracted coronavirus, her attacker was never formally charged; Mina Smallman was mourning her two black daughters whilst police officers took pictures of their corpses and shared it on WhatsApp group. These are not isolated attacks, there are thousands of cases just like theirs that go unnoticed and forgotten about.
Institutional racism exists in our education systems, in our police forces, and within the media. For us to make a real difference and we must first acknowledge this so we can move forward.
The Guardian community team is calling for young people of colour to share their responses to the Race Commission report. You can get in touch by sending a WhatsApp to +44(0)7867825056.
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