Seeing White – self education never stops

As part of Black History Month (October in the UK), I’ve been exploring a relatively old podcast series entitled “Seeing White”. The series is presented by John Biewen who has also presented this Ted Talk entitled: “The Lie that Invented Racism”

Yes, it is a bit old (broadcast in 2017) and focussed on the United States which makes it possible to excuse or ignore some of the issues raised while listening here in Cardiff. However, there is lots and lots of learning in this series and I am very happy that I listened to it.

I learned a lot. Here are two points that stay with me most:

1. Race was invented and maintained to facilitation economic exploitation and oppression.
2. We prioritise dealing with individual acts of discrimination and excuse systems of oppression.

To go into these two points in a little more detail…

Invention of race for exploitation

In episode 2, Biewen talks with Ibram X Kendi about the first articulation of racist ideas by Gomes de Zurara writing in 1453: “slave traders commissioned the invention of this sort of codified racist idea, of Black people”. The purpose of creating race was to legitimise the enslavement of black people for profit. It was absolutely created for exploitation and enrichment.  This was the start of the articulation of dehumanising black people to allow chattel slavery. This is explored in some detail across the podcast series.

Within a wider context, as well as chattel slavery, it seems to me that the invention of the social construct of human difference based on skin colour was probably used to excuse the European exploitation of Africa, the British opium wars with China and the exploitation of the whole Indian subcontinent. Lots of the current wealth in the US and in Britain is based on the accumulation that was made during centuries of race based exploitation. Check out the two excellent UK based podcast series that explore how the UK profited from chattel slavery: Human Resources by Moya Lothian-McLean and the Guardian’s self reflection about the newspapers role entitled Cotton Capital.

Excusing systems of oppression

Throughout the series, Biewen discusses race with Professor Chenjerai Kumanyika who has many excellent quotes. Professor Kumanyika makes the key point that race relations “overwhelmingly focuses on the individual attitudes of people”. However, he tells us that it is essential to grapple with the “issue of structural racism or institutionalized patterns of exploitation and oppression that are, like, racialized in certain ways.” He goes on to ask us to reflect on “how power works and what race and ethnicity has to do with it.” One of the most powerful episodes is Seeing White, Part 13 entitled “White Affirmative Action” which describes over 400 years of structurally racist programmes which directly or disproportionately discriminated against black people.

This really echoed something I have seen during over eight years of equality, diversity and inclusion work. When we talk about racism, we typically focus on individual acts of racism which we can blame on individual people. We ignore, excuse and sometimes down right deny the deep structural issues that created and sustain racism.

In the UK, during the summer of 2024, we had racist and Islamophobic riots. Again we typically blame the riots on individuals or segments of our population that we are quick to demonise. However, we are not willing to recognise the wider society issues that promote discrimination. These include mainstream media, political leaders and social media. We ignore the structural issues like generational wealth and the increasing gap between rich and poor that overwhelmingly disadvantages people of colour.

In 2016, following Anaphylaxis, a racist show performed at Cardiff University, one of my students challenged me that Cardiff University is institutionally racist. This was explored further in the show, “Is Uni Racist?”, by the journalist Linda Adey broadcast on BBC3 in 2021. In the show, Prof Richardson from Universities UK described university sector as a whole as “institutionally racist”. However, I find many of my colleagues don’t want to admit or even consider this, let alone discuss it and act for change.

Regularly, I find it difficult to operate in an higher education environment that feels deeply and structurally exploitative, discriminatory and racist. I am trying to change it but any change feels very slow. Self education through programmes like “Seeing White” feels like essential work. Paul, keep going!