Racism isn’t going away but I hope my son will grow up with the pride and the confidence to say it when he sees it. That change feels possible

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Watching her little boy play in the park, Apphia Campbell smiles as he runs around, a ball of energy after being cooped up during lockdown.

She knows two-year-old Julian may not always be so carefree and, despite the Black Lives Matter campaign sparking global protests over inequality, fears he too might endure racism.

But, Apphia says, change is in the air and when her son is older, he will have the pride and confidence to call out racism when he sees it.

“It feels different this time around, more connected globally,” said Floridaborn Apphia, an actor and writer who moved to Edinburgh five years ago. “Obviously the past generations had to deal with forms of racism that evolved, our generation has to deal with it, and then the next.

“Racism isn’t going to go away, it’s not going to be eradicated, because just like I’m teaching my son to understand the world, there’s another person teaching their children to understand it or see it in a different way.

“So it’s about having the conversations and knowing he can have pride in who he is, have pride in his race and culture, and be able to stand up for himself, and not be worried that you come across as aggressive or too sensitive, that if you feel those feelings it’s OK and you should say something. And also about knowing other people might not be aware of their own biases, so being open to having those conversations is really important.

“When I reflect back on how it affected me as a child, I think things are getting better because we’re becoming more vocal.

“Growing up in Florida, we were the first black family to move into our neighbourhood in Sarasota. Although I was young, I remember the police showing up at our house at times, of seeing KKK spray painted on stop signs, or the girl down the street saying we had to play at my house because black kids weren’t allowed in her home.

“I guess when you grow up with it, it’s something you know you have to deal with. With everything that’s happening with the movement, if it happens to my son in a few years he would feel he could say something, to say that’s racist, as opposed to me saying, ‘OK, let’s just go play at my house’. The language is evolving and we’re talking more about it, we’re aware of it, so things are moving in a supportive way and that’s great.”

The killing of George Floyd as he was being arrested propelled the Black Lives Matter into a global protest. Apphia attended a demonstration in Edinburgh last month, where she read George’s final words to the gathering.

“Seeing George and the police officer in the same frame, this man losing his life and the other man having no care for the black man dying under his knee, enraged me and made it all the more heartbreaking,” she said. “It was cathartic, I suppose, being at the protest. It felt great to be in an environment with like-minded people.

“When I saw his final words written down, it hit me emotionally and I wanted to share that with the audience. I could

Singer and activist Nina Simone

Writer and actor Apphia Campbell, who now lives in Scotland, with her son Julian

Scenes for Survival can be viewed on nationaltheatrescotland.com/ scenesforsurvival and BBC Online.