Racism Archives - b**p

News

The importance of our names

The importance of a name shouldn’t be understated. This is what I discovered through my exploration of names and their significance. I have recently started studying A-Level English Language, and one of the first lessons I had was on the importance of a person’s name. We had to research our own names in an […]
Editorials

The Sidelining of Women of Colour in the Labour Party

The Labour Party has always prided itself on its diversity and its commitment to liberalism and social justice. But recently, I have noticed that women of colour within the Party – many of whom are the reason for Labour’s popularity – have been sidelined. And the issues pertaining to ethnic minority women are all but […]
Editorials

The Tour That Went Wrong

Royal Tours are usually done to show the monarchy in their element – shaking hands, doing fun little stunts so we can see they are human and giving speeches to uplift a cause. But the Caribbean Tour, to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was, to put it lightly, a disaster. It was already known that […]
Editorials

The Ukraine Invasion and Racism in Europe

We are six days into the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. While a lot of effort is being made to help Ukraine – from economic sanctions to aid – some efforts have been rather unhelpful. The British Home Office is not waiving visa requirements for all Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, which isn’t surprising. But they […]
Books

Book Review: The Color Purple

The Color Purple feels strange to write in American English. It would feel somehow wrong and a disservice to such a touching, thoughtful, and pure novel to add that “u” into the title, though. So, I won’t. Alice Walker’s writing is uniquely American, in the same way that Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird carries that […]
News

Barbados is now a republic

It is a historic moment in world history this week as Barbados has finally become a republic. They are the first Commonwealth nation to break ties with the monarchy. It seems the sun has really set on the British Empire. In a beautiful and colourful ceremony, Barbados counted down the hours until midnight, 30 November […]
Sport

Azeem Rafiq: How tackling racism was torn apart

Three years after filing a formal complaint against his club, former professional cricketer Azeem Rafiq may finally see justice. His story, however, has become victim to sensationalisation by the press. The Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) racism scandal has eclipsed sports news and media since its resurgence only weeks ago. Before a Parliamentary committee, Rafiq […]
Editorials

Build Back Better… but for who?

Conservative MP Johnathan Gullis is in hot water after a recording of him discussing white privilege at a fringe meeting during the Conservative Party conference was published. The Independent obtained a recording of the MP for Stoke on Trent, saying that teachers who use the term ‘white privilege’ should be reported to the Prevent programme, […]
Editorials

Blackfishing, Bullying and Little Mix

Last Friday, Jesy Nelson, formerly of Little Mix, dropped her first solo single Bad Boyz. In the song, she sings about how she likes her boys “so hood, so good, so damn taboo”, like her exes aren’t Coleen Nolan’s son and a guy from Love Island. The video wasn’t groundbreaking. It pushed the usual negative […]
Editorials

Should Cressida Dick resign?

Following the kidnap, rape, and murder trial and conviction of Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens, national rage and uproar ensued. Many are calling for the resignation of Dame Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police. Cressida Dick was appointed to the role in 2017, making her the first female, as well as the highest-ranked […]
Editorials

Five British Black Women Who Made History

Black women have been shaping Britain for years, but have often been overlooked and ignored due to racism and sexism. Here are five black women who have made history and tried to change Britain for the better. Diane Abbott (1953-) A true trailblazer of British politics. Abbott was the first black female MP, elected in […]
Books

Book Review: Such a Fun Age

Such A Fun Age is Kiley Reid’s debut novel and she comes out swinging with this fantastic piece of writing. The story focuses on Emira, a nanny for a wealthy family. She’s a young black woman whose life is turned upside down when she is accosted by a security guard in a grocery shop, assuming […]
Politics

TV is the new Tory battleground

The Secretary of State for Media and Data John Whittingdale has thrown out another dog whistle in the Conservative Party’s culture war. He is helping draw up plans which will see the UK’s public service broadcasters have a legal requirement to produce “distinctively British” programmes. Mr Whittingdale admitted that Britishness is a “difficult concept to […]
News

Dutch city allows removal of slave names

In the Netherlands, one city has taken a step in addressing its colonial legacy and the effects on its black citizens today. Utrecht’s city council has decided to remove cost and bureaucracy to help people remove their ‘slave names’ and have the option to adopt one that recognises their African ancestry. In the Netherlands, if […]
Editorials

Reading won’t stop right-wing terrorism

Usually, when terrorists are caught, they are sentenced to long periods in prison with the aim of punishing them for their crimes. A judge, however, decided on a different sentence for a particular terrorist. A neo-Nazi, Ben John, former Leicester De Monfort student, was found guilty of possessing information likely to be useful for preparing […]
Editorials

Racism: What more should universities do?

Two weeks ago, a video posted by a Durham student and society president showed another person in blackface at a party. The person claimed they were dressed as a chimney sweep, but I missed the lesson in history where I was told that Victorian children wore Yeezys when cleaning chimneys. Many found it shocking, with […]
Editorials

The Windrush generation deserves better

The government are planning to create a commemorative coin for the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Windrush. According to minutes from a government meeting, the coin is to be designed by a Caribbean artist and issued in 2023 as part of multiple events planned for the anniversary. This is obviously a performative […]
Editorials

Should social media accounts require ID?

A petition created by Katie Price put forward the idea of requiring verified ID to open a social media account, after her family suffered “the worst kind of abuse towards [her] disabled son” Harvey. Over 600,000 people supported the petition, whose proposal gathered further approval after the abhorrent racial abuse suffered by footballers following the […]
Editorials

Jamaica and the case for reparations

Reparations. A controversial topic when discussing post-colonialism. The conversation around whether former colonial powers should pay back former colonies was brought back into the spotlight when, last week, Jamaica formally demanded monetary reparations from the United Kingdom over slavery. Olivia Grange, the Jamaican Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture, told Reuters: “We are hoping for […]
Editorials

What is critical race theory?

Recently, critical race theory has started to crop up in headlines from California to Canberra. Of course, in the last year, race has become a much more prominent topic of conversation in the Western world. So, what is critical race theory – sometimes known as CRT – and why has it been gaining so much […]
Editorials

Are elite universities the best place?

With COVID disrupting our daily lives and routines, work-from-home becoming standard, and universities remaining online, it’s the education sector that has arguably had to adapt the most to this new way of life. Considering last year’s A-Level results fiasco, where state-school kids missed their university offers due to Gavin Williamson’s algorithm, universities like Oxford and […]
Editorials

Football didn’t come home, but racism did

Unfortunately, football did not come home at the Euro 2020 final on Sunday. Well done to Italy for a game well played. However, England fans are famously terrible losers and so racism ensued. Rather than congratulate the men’s team on making it to the final and playing their best, what followed was a barrage of […]
News

George Floyd murder trial so far

Many need little reminder about the death of George Floyd last May. It sparked a worldwide anti-racism movement when police officer Derek Chauvin was videoed by onlookers kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes as he pleaded with the officer, telling him, “I can’t breathe”. Now the man accused of George Floyd’s murder, […]
Editorials

Should the Royal Family be abolished?

It comes as no surprise that the Royal Family is a controversial topic. Drama from every drop of the bloodline. Prince Andrew’s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s exit — and crucially, the couple’s allegations that their son was subjected to racism from within the royal household— begs the question […]
Editorials

The Interview and The Aftermath

As the country reels after the Oprah interview on Monday night with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Nicholas offers up his opinion on what effect the interview has had on him. My views Before having seen the interview, I believed the media narrative that Meghan was the sole reason for Harry abandoning his royal […]
Editorials

‘If I were PM, I’d fire all men’ – does Amber Rudd have a point?

Former Conservative MP Amber Rudd has recently stated in an interview with ITV’s Acting Prime Minister Podcast that she would “fire all men” if she was Prime Minister, and instead put in place an all-female Cabinet. This recent comment is part of a plethora of comments Rudd has made regarding the blatant inequality of the […]
Editorials

Harry and Meghan: The definition of doing what you want

Around 99% of all people in the world have no idea what it is like to be famous. Obviously there are benefits to the situation, such as a platform to speak, virtually no worries concerning money, and a constant, special treatment wherever you go. However, the ability to escape the limelight and maintain some level […]
Editorials

Priti Patel refusing to take the knee is dangerous

It is a dangerous time for England. With the Home Secretary publicly refusing to take the knee for the Black Lives Matter movement, she is also refusing to support the numerous lives who have saved so many in the COVID-19 pandemic. Patel is also not supporting the mental health professionals, or the Black lives that […]
Editorials

An Ode to 2020

When we sat around television last year on New Year’s Eve watching the fireworks boom in London at 12am on 1st January 2020, there was a sense of hope. I remember hoping that this would be a good year – that things would be a little bit brighter for everyone than they had been before. […]
Editorials

What Annoyed the Internet This Week

This week’s What Annoyed the Internet is yet another example of good TV shows/movies being ruined because of cast members acting like clowns. Jane the Virgin is one of the most wholesome, unproblematic shows to ever have been created. Centred around a Latina family, JTV shone a refreshing light on LGBTQ+ relationships, strong women, bilingual […]
Editorials

Tory MP Describes Blackface as a ‘Bit of Fun’

A senior Tory has called blackface “an entirely acceptable bit of fun” in a blog post on his official website. Titled ‘Trudeau’s Turban’, the blog post argued that Canadian PM Justin Trudeau should have “refused to apologise” following the public backlash regarding his blackface photos. Sir Swayne, who was knighted by David Cameron in 2016, […]
Editorials

Racism in football must stop, not increase

In sports today, the issue of racism is still apparent. Recently, 19-year-old Juventus player Kean, took a stand agaisnt racism when celebrating his goal. He stood with open arms facing the opposition crowd, who were making racist chants towards him. After the game, Kean uploaded a photo of himself after scoring the goal to Instagram, […]
News

Trump ‘Go Home’ Comments Explained

US President Donald Trump is no stranger to controversy. However, his latest Twitter comments have caused a stir among people and politicians alike due to their racist nature. In a three-thread tweet on Sunday, Trump said that four Congresswomen of colour who have been extremely criticial of his administration, should “go back and help fix […]
Editorials

Traumatising Racism in Sport

Racism is growing rapidly in football, with a 15% increase of reported incidents from 2016 to 2018. It is an issue affecting not just the players of the game, but also the many fans of it too. The main cause of the rise in racism is the high profile football federations like the FA, UEFA […]
Editorials

Self Driving Cars Programmed With Racial Bias

There is a huge diversity problem in the technology sector and it doesn’t just affect revenue and creativity – it actually creates flaws in products that could have been avoided had more women and ethnic groups been involved in the designing. What do the statistics say? Let’s start with some statistics. In 2016, Google’s diversity […]
News

Top Twenty One ’21 Savage is British’ Memes

It’s been a crazy few days for rapper 21 Savage. He hit the headlines during the 2019 Superbowl as authorities in the US arrested him as part of a targeted operation relating to drug charges. According to officials, the 26 year old, Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, came to the US in July 2005 as a 12 […]
News

The Snowflake Generation: A Threat to What?

You may have heard of a ‘snowflake’, and thought, what does it mean? Naturally, your innate curiosity as a liberal, open-minded individual, makes you investigate this new insult people have been throwing around lately like salted peanuts at a 16th birthday party. Define: Snowflake According to the urban dictionary, a snowflake is someone that ‘thinks […]