The events of last summer that led to the death of George Floyd and a rise in the Black Lives Matter movement were a reminder that minorities still face many challenges in our stive for equality. As a British subject with Caribbean heritage I have had many honest and open discussions with white colleagues, friends, and family, over the matter of diversity and inclusion. A sticking point has been the term ‘white privilege’, I have tried to explain my understanding of the term in this way.
White privilege does not mean that life hasn’t been hard for you. It means that your skin colour is not one of the things making it harder. Below are some of the ways in which my skin colour has had a direct and negative impact on me over the years.
The essence of the term white privilege is that you can walk around totally unaware of your skin colour, unlike most minority people who continue to face daily instances of conscious and unconscious bias.
If you would like Floyd to lead an INSET training session on ‘Unconscious Bias in Education’ at your school or lead a key note speaker session at a conference or event, please get in touch: ku.oc.drallimynohtna@dyolf
