White silence

‘We have to stop white silence’, was an important message at the Black Lives Matter gathering in Cambridge today, referring to apathy towards racism. It felt important to be there. It was socially distanced as the image shows, masks were used and the organisers enforced spacing between households.

I didn’t see a police officer. These gatherings are peaceful if well organised. There wasn’t anyone using this gathering for anything other than hearing and sharing the message.

It was both a peaceful moment of solidarity and a critical opportunity to hear black voices and their experiences of racism in Cambridge and the UK.

There were some brilliant impassioned speeches, poetry and song exposing the underbelly of racist treatment even in this relatively liberal city. A 20-year old black woman said it was the first time in her life she’d had the confidence to wear her hair down and embrace it in public. There were young men talking about being profiled and made to feel less valuable than white peers, a feeling which was embedded in childhood after interactions with the authorities. A mother spoke about her fears for her black sons. Everyone spoke about the ‘banter’ with schoolfriends resulting in a feeling of worthlessness and inferiority.

These are real experiences and they cannot be dismissed. More people have to listen and acknowledge that the white experience in the UK is entirely different to the non-white due to a history of systemic racism and judgmental attitudes. Changing perspectives starts with that simple acknowledgement without being followed by ‘yes but....’

One of my colleagues had a banner which said: ‘I understand that I will never understand. However, I stand.’

It captures the need to strive to understand more and to act in solidarity with black voices, and to reflect on the words of others as their lived experiences.

All credit to the organisers and to those who pitched up to stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. I think it’s a mislabelling to name this event as a ‘protest’ as it was peaceful and protestors can be discredited by those seeking to score political points. It’s better described as a constructive gathering to share experiences. These events need to be commonplace and I hope they will be repeated.