Pupils’ tears in C4 show that split them by race
TWO schoolboys, one white and the other black, were reduced to tears when asked to discuss the issue of race – in a documentary that split pupils according to their ethnicity.
Henry and Mahkai, now both 13, broke down on separate occasions in last night’s Channel 4 show.
Questions were later asked over whether the experiment was appropriate.
White pupil Henry had admitted he was uncomfortable and scared of saying the wrong thing.
Show expert Dr Nicola Rollock, who specialises in racial justice in education at Goldsmiths College, University of London, said it was an ‘incorrect viewpoint’ that the pre-teen pupils were too young to tackle the subject.
She added that the white schoolchildren initially felt ‘discomfort’. The School That
Tried To End Racism – filmed last March, well before the Black Lives Matter protests erupted last month – followed 24 pupils aged 11 and 12 from Glenthorne High School, south London.
One of the teachers said they hoped children could talk about the issues in the future without ‘the burden of history’.
Pupils were split into ‘affinity groups’ of white and non-white, then asked to share views on skin colour. The experts claimed the experiment should be carried out across British classrooms.
Henry admitted he was frightened of causing offence, saying: ‘I think about how it’s going to affect me in the future. If I say something bad, early in life, it could come back later in life.’
Earlier he had said he felt ‘jealous’ of the black and ethnic minority group, but was overcome with emotion and had to leave the room. He welled up again at home, telling his parents: ‘What we were talking about is what it means to be white and it felt really weird.
‘I didn’t feel comfortable talking. If I had the choice I would be with my friends, not just by race, because that feels awful.’
When asked about his experiences of racism, Mahkai told how he was thrown out of a shop for no reason.
He said tearfully: ‘The [shopkeeper] could see that I wasn’t shouting, and he could see my friend shouting. He kicked me out of the shop. I was thinking “Why?” I didn’t do anything.’
A test found 18 of the 24 pupils showed an unconscious bias towards white people, with two expressing a black preference and only four having no bias.
School teacher Dr Sotonye Odugbemi said: ‘My hope for the future is kids can have these conversations without the stigma and the shame and the burden of history, but coming face to face with each other as
‘I didn’t feel comfortable talking’
individuals respecting diversity and culture and colour.’
Dr Rollock said the study found that racism was a ‘normal part’ of children’s lives. Berkeley Wilde, director of the
Diversity Trust, said: ‘Racial bias and gender stereotyping ... form at a really young age.’
The second episode is on next Thursday at 9pm on Channel 4.