Hool it is as ur families’ ries are not rth telling...

CHER’S HIM

dmits. “We all need role models ecause it instils in you the knowledge f what you can achieve.

“Systemic racism means while white eople can look on the TV, in magazines and in their schools for xamples of positive role models, it’s ot the same for black tudents, and it puts hem at a disadvantage.” Institutional acism affects eachers too. A poll in January 020 by teachers’ nion NASUWT eveals the majority f black and minority thnic teachers ave experienced micro-insults and other orms of covert racism n the past year. On top of that there is a reported ack of promotion opportunities. Educators For Justice is an example f one movement trying to ensure a righter future for the next generation, om the inside. “Black lives don’t just matter in the context of police brutality,” says teacher and Educators For Justice co-founder Davina Mccabe. “There’s a need to help black children in schools.

“Specific things include the lack of black people in senior leadership, disproportionate numbers of black students excluded, as well as the lack of black history and black authors taught. We, as educators, are capable of rewriting curriculums – because all children need to see themselves represented.” The UK is on the cusp of change; there’s hope in the air, and open ears where they were closed before, and an undeniable feeling that, finally, there’s a real chance of transformation in all our institutions, including schools.

FOR generations my family were taught by the British that the UK was home. Living in Jamaica, the only passport available was a British one. Their flag was the same as the one flying over Buckingham Palace. They had Empire Day, sang God Save the Queen and believed Britain took the same pride in them as they felt towards Britain. After the Second World War, in which my family fought, Britain advertised in the Caribbean for the best and the brightest to rebuild the Motherland. Yet government archives show that from the moment of arrival they were referred to as an “incursion” and that “no further influxes were to be encouraged”. Racism is a shapeshifter, for my mum it was “No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish”. For my generation it was being chased by skinheads screaming the “N” word or being told jobs had gone, when they clearly hadn’t. I’ve been followed around shops by security, stopped by police or gone to order a drink only to hear the bar tender ask if anyone’s called for a cab. Many still see us as lodgers, not stakeholders. My children, born in London to a British Jamaican father and a white English mother, are often asked where they are from. Far right groups and media commentators tell them to go home or leave. Over the past two weeks I have wept as I’ve watched my children try to grasp a sense of nationhood and belonging. Sadly, across three generations, little has changed. Outright racism and racial bias are alive and kicking. But when I look at young people, I sense change. Seeing all races march side by side with us makes me dare to hope. Seeing people take positive action leads me to believe, maybe this time, change will come.

GOOD LIFE Sarah and family on farm

LEGAL WIN Over Ruby’s hair