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I have experienced racism on many levels, but a couple of examples that stand out would be, I was asked to be a bridesmaid for one of my closest school friends when we were early 20’s, only for the invite to be retracted as the brides father didn’t want the embarrassment of a mixed race person walking down the aisle or ‘ruining the photos’. Another time I was locked in a classroom and pushed to the floor by three of my classmates, and had racial abuse shouted at me.

it’s not right that it’s palmed off as something that ‘just happened in those days’ or something ‘we’ need to just deal with. The wedding was only 16 years ago, racism still very much exists today.

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As someone who is white British, male, middle class, heterosexual I don't have the experiences of daily discrimination and/or racism that others on this padlet will.  However, as an ally of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Showmen and Boaters I see the daily discrimination and racism they experience.  With their permission here is a photo of one of the family's I have been supporting access to education.

Attendance
In terms of education we know that GTR pupils had the highest absence rates: Gypsy/Roma pupils 13%, Irish Traveller, 18%, compared with 4.6% for White British pupils.  A number of schools “off-roll” children when they are nomadic which is legally not allowed but is prevalent.

Exclusions
Pupils from Irish Traveller heritage and Gypsy/Roma ethnic groups had the highest rates of exclusions in England.  The most common reasons given for exclusion were physical aggression towards peers and verbal abuse towards staff, which was, according to the GTR pupils and their parents, a response to racial harassment.

Secondary Education
Many parents from the GTR community value primary education for its child centred approach with an emphasis on reading and writing.  However, it is rare for a GTR young person to complete secondary school - this is partly due to:

the familial self-employment model, which encourages the passing on of skills to younger family members outside of formal education.

the curriculum being seen as irrelevant and not including anything about their own community’s history

the high level of abuse, discrimination and oppression that GTR pupils and their families experience.

All of these experiences lead to truancy, academic failure and ingrained mistrust of authority.

Attainment
Children from GTR communities have experienced long-term underachievement in mainstream schools in England:

At the end of Key Stage 2, in 2019, only 19 per cent of children identified as Gypsy/Roma, and 26 per cent of those identified as Irish Travellers, reached expected standards.

At the end of Key Stage 4 for those who identified as Irish Travellers in 2019, 28 per cent attained GCSEs in English and Maths at grade 4/C or above; nationally, 65 per cent of state-funded school pupils attained these qualifications.

White racism

Bhopal (2011, p.135) discusses “white racism” as a distinct concept and argues that the “racism experienced by White Gypsy and Traveller groups is understood differently to that experienced by non-White minority ethnic groups.”

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We are a group of Social Work students at Bournemouth University. As part of our assessment, we are exploring the topic of rural racism, specifically but not limited to education.

Any experience you are happy to share would be helpful to our research on the topic.
You do not have to include your name. Please do include age, gender and ethnicity if you feel comfortable with it.

Any questions can be directed to Karianne at s5217287@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Our facilitator for this project is Louisa Adjoa Parker.

If you wish to share your experience, please do so by 17/02/2022. We appreciate that this is a short deadline.

Thank you for your contribution.

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My experience is..

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Hi, I am white and have lived in Dorset my whole life. As a child I didn’t often see racism occur - perhaps because my entire class was only white children, I think this did limit our education and knowledge towards how to respect and talk to people of colour. When we moved school there was one black girl in our entire year group, and she was often bullied. At the time I thought this was because of just kids being kids, but looking back it definitely could have been because of her skin colour. Living in such a rural area prevented children from understanding the sheer diversity of ethnicity amongst human race. Now spending more time in cities like London, I have black and Hindu friends - and have the utmost respect for them.

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I work in a job that involves a lot of tech in Kent, dealing with sometimes really expensive stuff.
I first started working there at 16 so I was still quite young, exploring what work was like.
One thing that always strikes me is someone's response to me handling the expensive stuff. One day someone came in and while I was working looked at me and just went "I hope you don't plan on stealing that. Your type do." and it struck me because I wasn't sure what this type was, especially when a older man is saying it to me.
So I pressed it and he made jabs about the fact that you don't see many "black kids" working in expensive stores because they are "dirty thieves".
I wish I could go back and fight what was said but that's just one of the painful parts about working in a predominantly white area

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I am Irish (Republic of Ireland ) and moved to the UK in my early 20s. I have had many comments made over the years about my accent , my colouring and my heritage. I have been called many different names ‘a bomber’, ‘a potato’ and been told I need to go back to my country ‘as the Irish are like the Indians and are taking over !’ I have my accent mimicked regularly and many think it’s funny to do so.  I don’t let these comments or behaviours bother me as it’s born out of ignorance. I am white , so many don’t see this as racism…….but I do!  Hope my experience helps! Good luck with your studies.

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Having lived in GB most of life and now having mixed race children I have experienced racism in the past. At my secondary school I was the only black child in the whole school. This was hard but I accepted it as there was nothing I could do about it.

The beginning of my secondary school wasn’t very nice. I received many unwelcome comments towards me. Despite many complaints, the teachers didn’t do anything about them. I was simply told (sometimes) they’re joking  or they don’t know what they are saying. The racist comments continued to a point where my hair was pulled and sometimes my peers would simply just push me around or simply make ‘monkey noise, sound or movements’ each time they saw me or went passed me. This continued for a couple of years. I was so fed up of being targeted and I knew it was wrong to be treated like this. All I ever wanted was to be left alone to enjoy my school years…just like everybody else.  I didn’t want to go home in tears anymore, I didn’t want to be scared anymore.  I hated being treated like the way I was. It was not nice.

So one day I stood up for myself. It didn’t end well for those that were being horrible to me. From this day no one made fun of me anymore. It became clear that others knew what was going on but were too scared to do anything about it.

I experienced the worse racism when I was in Australia with my then 3 year old. I was followed around in a shop and when I asked why I was being followed, the shop assistant replied ‘because people like you steal’ To my shock horror I replied saying what do you mean ‘people like me? She then said ‘black people steal everything we sell because they don’t have jobs. I could not believe what I was told in front of my daughter. When I told her what my job was and how many qualifications and degrees I had she then apologised and said ‘ sorry but you all look the same’ I wish my daughter was not with me. I found this extremely upsetting but I had no choice but to remain calm in front of my daughter. This incident happened 15 years ago…I am sure things have changed for the better now.

I now in mid 40’s and live in a area where it is predominately white and I have had no issues. I think being older I will have no issues in challenging someone if I believe they’re being racist towards me or my children.

I am also aware that racism can be hidden and harder to challenge. Things are changing and this is a good thing. Schools are getting better at challenging such behaviours. It’s lovely seeing schools and work places improving.

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Hi I am a if mixed race and to be fair haven't had that much in regards to racism aimed at me. The main upsetting memory is when I was at nursery and I was the only mixed race child in the class. The teacher (who was white) made me stand in the middle of a  circle made by my fellow class mates and then they played the song "brown girl in the ring" by Boney M . To this day hearing this song upsets Me 45 yrs later . Its hard to believe that tge teacher thought this was ok. 

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Hi I am a if mixed race and to be fair haven't had that much in regards to racism aimed at me. The main upsetting memory is when I was at nursery and I was the only mixed race child in the class. The teacher (who was white) made me stand in the middle of a  circle made by my fellow class mates and then they played the song "brown girl in the ring" by Boney M . To this day hearing this song upsets Me 45 yrs later . Its hard to believe that tge teacher thought this was ok. 

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I grew up in york and suffered horrendous racism from 4-14 to the point I had to go to boarding school which also had racism.

I was aware from a young age my skin colour made people treat me differently I was regularly left out of parties because parents infiltrated their racist views onto their kids. Being the only Black child for most of my school years was hard, been picked as Mary in reception and told it was due to my skin colour was hard.
Coming home and asking what the word N (racial slur) meant was difficult. In addition, constantly been told by school I'd never achieve because 'black kids don't achieve they go to prison'

I kept a diary and sometimes I read it to see just how far I've come.

Racism made me have alopecia and an eating disorder.

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I am a secondary school teacher who spent two years teaching at a challenging school in rural Kent. Racist attitudes were definitely present amongst some of the student body. These views tended to show themselves in comments around the migrant crisis, for instance in a PSHE lesson on refugees one student made a comment about there 'being too many of them'and how they were steeling jobs. There was certainly too a racial divide at the school with the black and Asian students (who were in the minority of the student body) sticking together and not mixing so much with the white students. There was definitely an element of racism coming from ignorance as well. I remember one story very well whereby a student when viewing a piece of American world war one propaganda showing Germany as an ape nudged the black student next to him and said 'look, it's you'. This was the most extreme case I remember. On dealing with this (this case went straight to the headteacher as it seen as so severe) the child in question couldn't understand what they had done wrong, and his parents could recognise what he had said had been wrong but couldn't understand why his comments merited such an extreme response. As a school we always took a no tolerance on racism policy and our behavioural system incorporated top level punishments for it (after school detention and suspension), however it was often very hard to identify cases of students being actively racist or harbouring racist views as much of their communication was done on social media away from school, so we had real trouble finding it.

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Hi I am a parent of a daughter who is mixed race black African white she is 13 now throughout her years …. At primary and two years at secondary she has had a few comments that other children see and say…. ( maybe not realising that what they have said is wrong!) when she was year 4 in primary she had a boy that was a few years younger. Said your a funny colour, with messy hair! Again the teachers didn’t approach me about this. I got told by another parent . Who boy was very supportive to lauryn. And the playground teacher didn’t report it back! She was upset after the comment. And I felt it wasn’t dealt with. As I had to ask by the end of the week. And felt they had brushed it under the carpet! When the school had ask me to do a report/ feedback about the school I had asked what do they do about bullying and racism? Lauryn didn’t get her education on black lives matters until Y6 in the primary school. To which she had ask me why wasn’t a cultural person ( which may had more experience in this subject had given the lesson… which I had thought was a very good comment. As some of it wasn’t really spoke about. Her Y6 got cut short due to Covid. Most recent advents… ( at secondary) The children were given different colour paper. Lauryn was given a black piece, in which a girl called out “it’s because you are black?” She again got upset at break time. The tutor has had a chat with lauryn. And Lauryn being a kind girl as she is said she didn’t want the girl to be punished/ isolated or given a detention. She wanted her to be educated as the girl may have said it in jest or said what she had seen. But me as a parent. Was again upset as she is soooo kind and a very mature teenager. It’s heart breaking . And hope she didn’t say it to make the class laugh. I do believe this girl has had some racist education in this school last year. Other issues I find within schools I find can be very clicky and my kids have got great talents in acting / singing.. and I found they never got chosen to be in big parts in schools … ( am still hoping!) but then do I look maybe they don’t fit in. Not look the right part! In this day and age we shouldn’t look at the world 🌍 as we are a multicultural place. But are we? So far my son has had nothing said to him about the way he looks or colour of his skin. But he wouldn’t care! But the kids today shouldn’t have to put up with these comments. And so the schools do enough. And know how to approach this situation. Still waiting for the tutor to get back to me. Again me as a parent will have to chase the recent situation up!

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I work in a secondary school that serves a deprived area of Dorset. I often hear students make racist comments about Asian people e.g. (racial slur for Pakistani) when challenged they often reply with it’s not racist as they don’t mind. Similarly with the n word their belief is that if blacks people use it then why shouldn’t they. It is not a daily occurance but probably monthly.

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I have grown up in a small town where for years I was the one of the only people of African descent. My experiences are different to those who are ‘fully’ black however. At primary school, I was asked if I was from a different planet, if my brown skin meant I was made of chocolate, these came from fellow school children. I would reply: I am from this Earth. I used to be baffled at the ignorance, even as a young child. I even had a teacher ask me if “I put my finger in the electric socket” due to my Afro type hair.

Thankfully I was never excluded from any friend groups due to the colour of my skin. My mother always kept our African heritage forefront with art, language, music and even trips abroad to see the ‘homeland’ so I always had a sense of where I came from.

That isn’t to say sometimes I resented my hair, I wanted it long and flowing like my schoolmates. But as I got older I learnt to love my versatile hair.

Living in a small town, my mother and siblings experienced racism: hostility, funny looks, criminal accusations. She did not shield us from this, and warned us that we could potentially be treated differently due to who we are.

I was once called the N word in secondary school, it did upset me and the person in question was severely reprimanded. But it reminded me that although I was popular at school with many welcoming friends, I could still face hostility simply due to my skin colour.

I did face strange questions from friends and acquaintances who simply didn’t know better: “were you always brown skinned?” “Did your mum live in a mud hut” etc etc. I am a practical person and always answered their questions properly, with a hint of are you really asking these questions!

All in all, I believe I have faced prejudices, mainly indirectly. I believe I have been followed in shops for no reason, I have been asked inappropriate questions asking about my heritage. I believe these have come from a place of quite frankly ignorance. I was once told by an old friend that until she met me and my family she didn’t know “that black people could be so nice and normal” !! Of course I schooled her with a why wouldn’t you think we were nice and normal, after all we are human beings just like you.

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British, Rural

I am white and I have grown up in Dorset. When I went to school, I was at school with only white people. My parents never spoke to me about different areas of racism and that people are/can treated differently because of this. Looking back I feel this is because they treat people equally and so it was not important for them to mention the difference as everyone is equal. This is something I have learnt from life experiences and education at secondary school.
I now have two young children at primary school and live in Verwood in Dorset. It is a rural place to live, but there is some diversity here now. At my children’s school/church community there are a few children from different ethnicities, but it is predominantly white.
My children have grown up with diversity due to my family having friends and marrying people from different ethnicities and living in different countries, so they are around it and have been since birth. We talk about what countries they are from and where they live, why they speak different languages, the climate of these countries and different activities they take part in due to this. The Winter Olympics has helped with this too.
I work in a Thai Spa attached to a hotel, which has a wide range of ethnicities working there. My children have been into my work place many times and talk to staff from Thailand, Poland & Germany (the main three countries my colleagues are from). Children are inquisitive and this does provoke questions, which I answer factually and truthfully, ensuring that I am teaching them about the cultural aspects aligned with each country. I am quite conscious of this because you do hear a lot on the news about racism and I do not wish my children to be part of this, but they do need to understand it.
I feel that racism is not just about the colour of your skin, but relates to religion, sexuality and gender. I work with all sorts of people every day and understand the importance of treating people equally, but also being mindful of what you say. The impact of our words, any words (racist or not) can affect people in a different way to how you meant them. I have recently done some mental health first aid training, which targeted this subject, making myself more aware of it. I have been on the receiving end of unkind and hurtful words and it does not make you feel good and it stays with you. I don’t feel they were racist, but generally unkind. My aim is to treat people how I wish to be treated. I am not saying I am perfect because I am not, but through life experiences and training, you broaden your knowledge and understanding.
I have an understanding of equality and diversity as I have a diploma in teaching to which this is embedded in.
I am Catholic and I am raising my family as Catholic and again this does raise questions from my son, who is currently doing his Holy Communion & First Confession. I feel this is good though as it encourages talk about different religions and how they are all equal and should be respected in their own right. Within my family there are different religions, but they are respected and celebrated equally. My daughter’s best friend at school is a Jehovah Witness. We have talked about the differences in the religions and beliefs of both of these, but it doesn’t stop my daughter being best friends with him or my family and their family meeting up for play dates!
I understand that I am classed as a privileged white person because of my background, upbringing and where I live. However, both myself and my family/friends embrace all ethnicities, cultures, sexualities and religions. I actually feel there are things to learn and change the way I live from the way other cultures live.