“Structural racism is encrypted in the very fabric of our society, our history, our institutions and our policies.”

“Racism is about power and the elevation of some populations to positions of primacy and domination and the denigration and subordination of others. It is about who is deemed worthy/unworthy of a place in a society/territory; who will receive the protection of the law; and who will be subject to unusual punishment and control. And the work of racism is enacted and reproduced in the main by institutional forces in society with results that can be seen, for example, in the courtroom, the boardroom and the classroom.

Racism is brought to life by categorising certain populations as deeply and irreversibly flawed/ dangerous because of their biological and/or cultural failings. This means that ‘people of colour’ as well as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and Jewish people can all face racism. At the same time, racialised populations that may pass for white (or appear ‘ethnically ambiguous’) may, in certain contexts, also experience some ‘benefits’ (or lack of impediment) associated with whiteness. Such benefits might include less frequent stop and search contact with the police –and these may be largely unavailable to certain visible people ‘of colour’, such as black/Black men. 

Racism affects the lived experiences of populations deemed unworthy, flawed and dangerous.These lived experiences matter and we believe that people with experience of racism must be central to the work of anti-racism. 

We also recognise that looking at racism through the lens of lived experience is not enough. It directs the conversation to how we (or people ‘like us’) experience racism and towards racists or acts of racism that we may have encountered. It can lead us to talk more about what racism has done to us rather than what we’re going to do about racism.”