Why as non-black POC we should be active in the BLM movement

I have been politically active and engaged since I was around 13 years old; often to the dismay of Facebook friends and Twitter followers who found their timelines often flooded with my opinion on current affairs! The common theme in my pieces of opinion writing was clear support for all minority groups and causes, because as a woman of colour myself, I understood and still understand the systematic and institutionalised oppression we face, as well as the need to stand together and show support for my friends and their individual identities. As I touched upon in my previous post, I am lucky enough to have a hugely diverse group of friends, and whilst we all benefit from learning about each other’s cultures, we also enjoy aspects of said cultures that we otherwise would not! This could be something as small as trying one another’s traditional dishes; for example, my friend enjoyed my Indian Masala Chicken in exchange for Nigerian Jollof Rice, which I thoroughly enjoyed! And that is just a small example of how we are able to enjoy each other’s heritage. From food to clothing to music, we all enjoy the positive parts of black culture, and it is only right that we then stand up for the injustices our friends face as a result of the colour of their skin.

Even if we look back, we see that upon first arrival in the UK, ethnic minorities all experienced elements of the same racist treatment and discrimination, so it is bizarre to me that some non-black POC may be choosing not to support the Black Lives Matter movement, feeling as though it is “not our fight”, when in reality it is. 40 years ago, when a lot of our ethnic minority parents were new to this country, many of them will have experienced racism at school or in the workplace. Although the slurs used may have been different, they came from the same place of hate for immigrants in the heart of the racists who abused them. The fight for racial equality requires all ethnic minorities to stand together and show support for one another. It requires us to educate people on the atrocities that occurred in our countries of origin at the hands of the coloniser, because these issues are glossed over in the UK Curriculum in favour of presenting the British Empire as some sort of force for good. In being able to relate to the struggle as a result of being exposed to discrimination as ethnic minorities, I feel as though we should all speak up, take action and show our support for our black brothers and sisters to strengthen the movement and to remind them they are not alone at what is such a scary time, because we can apply our own experiences and empathise.

Whenever I am thinking about the importance of minority groups supporting one another, I always remember this poem written by Pastor Martin Niemöller in 1946 as he reflected on the Nazi’s treatment of minorities:

First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me

For me, this poem shows the sheer importance of why we must all stand up for each other and how we should learn from history to ensure society does nothing but progress to improve life for everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

BELOW IS A LINK TO A NUMBER OF PETITIONS AND PLACES TO DONATE TO THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT:

https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

* I do not own the rights to the first photograph used. It was taken by Will Lester and can be found at https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/05/31/hundreds-protest-death-of-george-floyd-in-chino-hills/ *

* The second photo was taken in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona by @naviiikkk on Instagram*