Performative antiracism in England

Abstract

George Floyd’s death invigorated the Black Lives Matter movement and stimulated debate and passionate action across the globe. Commitments are set out at every level to address racial inequalities and injustices. However, changing mindsets and instituting changes meets with challenges at multiple levels. Taking the knee, wearing the tee-shirt, removing statues and decolonising the curriculum is not enough. The school curriculum is a major site for the development of understanding about, and the development of attitudes towards, people of other races. Across the spectrum, from challenging selective and biased histories about other peoples to multiple government commissions about ethnic inequalities we have seen limited impact on institutions in their treatment of ethnic minorities. Viewing the effects of policy interventions in England hitherto realistically – and pessimistically – one conclusion is that the challenges to the eradication of racism are too narrowly conceived, symbolic and performative. Indeed, symbolic allyship and multiple government ‘commissionsphere’ reports deceive us into thinking we do enough, whilst experience shows failure. In increasingly neoliberal political and economic environments, individualised, competitive, populist agenda, are forces supporting inequality and subjugation blunting drives for social justice. Sustained, holistic policies enacted with energy and critically monitored are required.