This Monday marked Martin Luther King Day in the US. Although he focused his work in America, he is probably the most famous civil rights and anti racist campaigner in history. I think most of us can recite, at least part, of his famous ‘I have dream speech’, given in 1963 to an audience if more than 250 thousand people in Washington.

But what about his lesser known speeches/ letters. His daughter, Bernice King, this week said that ” he was resolute about eradicating racism, poverty and militarism. And about corrective justice work. Don’t just quote him. Encourage and enact policies that reflect his teachings”

Here are some links to more of his wider work that she encourages us all to read/ listen to in order to understand him and his aims more.

https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

One of the things that we are looking at closely within our community are what are known as microaggressions. Both staff and students will be looking at these within the year, it is also a term that is used widely. So what are they? These are defined as

“a small act or remark that makes someone feel insulted or treated badly because of their race, sex, etc., even though the insult, etc. may not have been intended, and that can combine with other similar acts or remarks over time to cause emotional harm”– Cambridge dictionary 2023

Some examples might include-

“You speak good English.”

“When I look at you, I don’t see colour.”

“I’m not a racist. I have several Black friends.”

Although by themselves these comments and actions may not have much of an effect, added together there is a big effect on the person being subjected to them. This is nicely explained in this video

So what can we do? It is all about reflecting on our own attitudes, stereotypes and expectations of groups of people. Reflect on these and think more deeply about them. Also listen to members of marginalised communities. If somebody says that they felt hurt by a comment or action take this on board. It’s really important to think about impact rather than intention.

Here is a really good source of information from the University of Edinburgh

https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity/students/microaggressions