The events in the US last week have been deeply disturbing for many of us and George Floyd’s killing is the devastating waste of another Black life at the hands of the US police.  But as has been raised countless times on social media, racism, and in particular such treatment of Black people, is not unique to the US.  In the UK, there are many Black men and women who have been killed by British police or while in police custody. Cherry Groce, Sean Rigg, Christopher Alder, Sheku Bayoh, the list goes on and examples of racism extend into every aspect of our society.  We know this is an enormous problem and yet it persists. It persists because of structural inequalities throughout society that prevent people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds having the same opportunities and occupying the same spaces of power as White people. 

And we have to recognise that these inequalities exist within the University of Surrey too. They manifest themselves in numerous ways, but particularly in the BAME awarding rate gap, in the under-representation of BAME professors, and in the experience of racism on campus, as highlighted this week by an article by a Black student who described his own experiences and those of others on campus.  This is deeply saddening for all of us at the University. The article refers to overt experiences of racism but also to microaggressions, more subtle expressions of discrimination that are more pervasive and much harder to call out. All of this is completely unacceptable and to me, heart-breaking.  How in 2020 are we still here? It is incomprehensible. But we are here and we have to face it, recognise it and do something about it.

White people must start educating themselves about their language, behaviour, power and privilege to be able to counter the perpetuation of racism.  White privilege is real.  White fragility is real. I have struggled with it myself this week when I have been on Twitter and observing people’s reactions to George Floyd’s killing.  I felt uncomfortable about the blanket criticism of White people in this space but I had to force myself to hear it and think about how I could do better. As White people, it is our responsibility to work with and through our discomfort, understand it and put greater importance on the lives of Black people.  This is our job.  It is not the responsibility of BAME people to educate White people.  We have to start taking responsibility for our actions, past and present, and make real changes.

Therefore, I urge White staff and students at Surrey, if you haven’t already, to start this journey. Can I recommend some brilliant books to start? Why I am no longer talking to White people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, Brit(ish) by Afua Hirsh, How to argue with a racist by Adam Rutherford and the Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla. These books give you a taste of life and racism in the UK and its consequences for BAME people and also discuss our history of colonialism that has led to this point. There is also a great YouTube video on White fragility (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ey4jgoxeU) by Professor Robin DiAngelo that provides very clear description of how White privilege and fragility operate and what we can do to see it and tackle it. Please take the time to read and watch these resources.  We must understand the impact that racism has on people and learn to speak out, as allies, against this injustice.

Now, I realise my response is delayed and I know that any delay in University response is likely to have caused additional pain for our Black staff and students.  I am sorry for this.  I have been in contact with the Vice-Chancellor and many of the EB team in recent days and we are united in our denouncement of racism and committed to eradicating racism from the University. Quite rightly, however, we have been challenged on what we are actually doing in relation to this. And therefore any response was delayed by having to acknowledge that we have not done enough to address this ourselves.

We are particularly looking at ways we can support Black staff and students in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, but these are still under development. So I wanted to share work that is currently happening within Surrey to address race inequalities. Here are some examples:

• We have set up a Report + Support tool for people to report all experiences of discrimination – we urge staff and students to use this platform to report any experiences of racism to us so that we can respond appropriately to any racist behaviour within our university. There is a belief that the university will do nothing, but that is wrong. Every complaint or issue raised is investigated fully, and robust action is taken.
• VP Education Professor Osama Khan is leading a programme on the BAME awarding rate gap; this includes the great advocacy work by VP Voice Ajay Ajimobi and her recommendations for change.
• Within the Race Equality Self-Assessment Team, we will form an Anti-Racism working group, to urgently and specifically focus on a programme of work to tackle racism on campus.  This will comprise staff and students and if you are interested in contributing to this we would greatly appreciate your input.
• Within the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team (within PCI team), we have revised and strengthened our staff Unconscious Bias training to focus more on white privilege. We, alongside Widening Participation & Outreach (WP&O), are developing additional Race Equality e-training for student-facing staff.
• Our WP&O work supports the education and progression of under-represented learners in the local community and have several initiatives that support BAME young people. We have enhanced the recruitment of Surrey Student Ambassadors from BAME backgrounds who support this work and the University’s commitment to Widening Access.
• Professional Training Year (PTY) bursaries has been established to support undergraduate Home/UK students fund a professional training year https://careers.surrey.ac.uk/professional-training-placements/funding
• Within the Centre for Wellbeing, we are aware of our lack of representation of BAME counsellors and this is something we are actively trying to correct.   In the meantime, please do contact our diverse chaplaincy (a few of whom are trained counsellors) if you are looking for additional support.
• Within EDI, we are planning a large programme of work focussed on improving the diversity of our staff and student recruitment.
• Across the University, we celebrate diversity of all kinds through events, such as International Women’s Day, Pride events and in October, the University and Student Union will be hosting a series of Black History Month events.  We are also excited about starting a new ‘Human Library’-style catalogue, including a celebration of the Windrush generation in June.

There also many other initiatives planned.  I started this role as Academic Lead for EDI in April, with a particular remit of addressing Race Equality at Surrey and therefore a number of the actions are still in the planning stage. I am also hugely aware that, as a White woman, my capacity to truly understand the experiences of BAME people is limited.  Therefore, I want to assure you that in the development and delivery of all our work, myself and the EDI team will be engaging with relevant groups within the University to ensure that our EDI programmes are as effective and meaningful as possible for the populations affected.  

While we have all been struggling with the impact of Covid-19, BAME people are being disproportionately affected by the virus.  As a University, we are very aware of this and of the likely impact this may have on our BAME staff and students, and we are being mindful of this as we develop our approach for return to campus.  If you feel this may affect you directly, please do contact your line manager or tutor to discuss it further.

Finally, thank you to those staff and students who have contacted me this week about George Floyd, Black Lives Matter and racism. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate the emotional burden this requires from you. The University and I am committed to anti-racism and we now need to walk the walk.

Dr Emily Williams,

Academic Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion,

e.d.williams@surrey.ac.uk