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  Actions speak louder than words – but not nearly as often           (Mark Twain) The publication of a new report by Roger Kline, Too Hot to Handle , is always something to anticipate. It is ten years since the publication of The Snowy White Peaks of the NHS which was pivotal in giving substance in data to the lived experience of Black and minority ethnic staff in the NHS – it went from being a topic which was either dismissed or not discussed at all, to one which could not be denied in the face of the nation-wide and institutionalised inequity that was shown in that data. Roger has co-authored many other reports - on just culture in organisations, on inequality in rates of referral of minoritised staff into fitness to practice processes , and most recently on summary of the research base on fair recruitment and talent management . Taken together, this represents a canon that should see inequity a thing of the past in the NHS. Regrettably, serial iterations of workforce data show l
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Internalised racism: the racism that dare not speak its name

  The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed Steve Biko Following the recent vote by The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the result of which was denying affiliates (notably SAS doctors) from having voting rights in the College, I had a discussion with a BME colleague. They expressed the view that SAS doctors ( 66% of whom are BME versus 44% of all doctors being BME ) are less capable even when they are more experienced.   Racism comes in many flavours. There’s the interpersonal (e.g. name-calling, security officers selectively checking a Black person); there’s the institutional (discriminatory policies that privilege certain racial groups); but a form that is relatively less discussed is the racism that operates at the internalised level. The term internalised racism (IR) originates from WEB Du Bois in 1903 describing the ‘double consciousness’ of being both Black and American. Since America was founded on an ideology that diminished Blac
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Tensions between Black and Asian people are a distraction from the real problem: systemic racism

Yes I know just where I want to be But how many times must I die before I'm set free Jimmy Cliff, 'Keep your eyes on the sparrow' If the concept of ‘race’ is considered as an oppressive power structure, there is an argument that says racial minorities cannot experience discrimination from other racial minorities. But that semantic argument falls apart in the face of the evidence that certain racial minorities have perpetuated and benefited from those racist socio-political structures that oppress other racial minorities. This hierarchy has, at its core, skin colour, with darker skinned people experiencing the most severe inequity. Understanding the recent history of this conflict is key to tackling the common enemy of systemic racism. Many Asian immigrants of the '70s to the UK held higher socioeconomic and educational attainment relative not only to their country of origin but also to the UK population of the time. The structural context is that many couldn’t regain
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  Playing the race card is no more than dealing from the stacked deck we’re all playing with In response to a tweet about the nurses pay strike, and the disproportionate racial impact of that, I received a good amount of hostility online. I also got a lot of input from peers suggesting I should be careful about seeing a ‘race aspects to everything’ lest I be accused of ‘playing the race card’. The response from these strangers and colleagues all relate their instinct to dictate what is deemed to be racism and what is not. The problems with that analysis are multiple – but primary for me is that it implies that racism is a wild beast that is confined in certain corners of society. Whereas for me, and many black and ethnic minority people, racism is an uncaged virus that permeates society. What is the evidence that racism runs freely through our society? Here’s an incomplete list: ·        There is a racial bias in school exclusions , such that compared to white British children
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  Why ‘anti-wokery’ is a sham, and misguided at that “When we revolt it’s not for a particular culture. We revolt simply because, for many reasons, we can no longer breathe.” Frantz Fanon It is an apparent paradox that a bad action can trigger subsequent reactions that actually make that bad action more likely to occur again. The almost fanatic ‘anti-woke’ campaign that is underway in sections of the media and political discourse is just such an example. Specifically, the murder of George Floyd, during the fevered setting of the pandemic, triggered a rise in public consciousness about the lethal consequences of racism. That reasonable response triggered the backlash of ‘anti-wokery’ intended to delegitimise campaigns for equity that we are currently living through. And let’s be clear that this is intentional – the ambition is to undermine the moral basis of equality actions and to do so by marginalising fairness as being hypersensitivity and fragility. One origin of ‘woke’ as a
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If changing your clothes makes you feel different, imagine the power of changing your mind: the potential power of conversation

  With YouTube in the background I became aware of a cheery ‘style coach’ onscreen with a TED talk about how dressing ‘for confidence’ would make one confident. As someone with no eye for clothing, I was struck that what was transfixing was the potential to use the analogy of changing attitudes rather than outfits – if we are not prepared to change our mind, what is the point of having one. Conversation is a way of getting to know other people and for them to get to know us. In this way it has the potential to be enormously rewarding when positive and mutual. But, there are also conversations that will have a confrontational tone – and discussions about race are the epitome of such potentially difficult topics. A key aim here is to preserve a constructive attitude and to avoid losing control and creating a negative interaction. Body language, facial appearance, vocal tone are as important as the actual words said . Even the position in a sentence of certain ‘negative’ words (such a
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When you’re happy you enjoy the music, when you’re sad, you understand the lyrics

  When you’re happy you enjoy the music, when you’re sad, you understand the lyrics – the duality of supporting the England football team The decisive penalty in the Euro 2020 final had no sooner been saved than the overwhelming majority of black and ethnic minority people knew what was to come. The subsequent waves of racism and hate were neither surprising in tone nor in the fact that much of it originated from apparently ‘decent’ people who would conceive of themselves as ‘not having a single racist bone in their body’. This latent, but frequently palpable, xenophobia is something ethnic minority people are very attuned to, and familiar with. It is what makes many uncomfortable about waving flags of St George or unconditionally cheering the team: the transition from ‘English star’ to ‘winger of Nigerian parents’ is quickly made in the media. What made ethnic minority people more openly supporting of the national team this time was the inclusive and brave leadership of Gareth South
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