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This is going to be difficult for me to share. Universities and other organisations have rightly been called out this week for their hypocrisy of releasing supportive statements for #BlackLivesMatter 
, when many have done little to support us before now.
, when many have done little to support us before now.
Now I want to share my personal experience in Higher Education, and the structural racism which still pervades not just universities, but places which are rightly seen as progressive & supportive organisations – students’ unions.
I was the first elected black woman president of my students’ union, ever. I was the first female president in about 10 years and the first (and only) black president to get re-elected in that role. I was and still am very proud of these facts.
Representation matters. Those characteristics meant I could do, say and see things that none of my predecessors could. But being a pioneer also meant that I was subjected to discrimination at work that others were not.
It’s hard to over-state how devastating it is to be a young elected leader and the figurehead of an organisation whilst feeling powerless to do anything at your place of work to stop racism happening to you and students.
I was the only black staff member at my students’ union, and the only black board member. At times, I felt isolated and alone, and when I did pluck up the courage to complain, I was made to feel invalid.
I had to deal with colleagues touching my hair without my permission. I’ve had staff members – who were responsible for diversity campaigns – joking that their tan meant their skin was nearly the same colour as mine.
I’ve heard a colleague joke that a barber shop looked dodgy, like they “worked for ISIS”.
I’ve had to engage – as President of SU – with students, who were afraid of getting kicked out of uni for making racist jokes. https://thetab.com/uk/2018/05/09/racist-pints-the-hull-mens-hockey-drinking-game-where-players-down-pints-for-being-racist-65129
I’ve had to engage – as President of SU – with students, who were afraid of getting kicked out of uni for making racist jokes. https://thetab.com/uk/2018/05/09/racist-pints-the-hull-mens-hockey-drinking-game-where-players-down-pints-for-being-racist-65129
When that investigation was immediately taken over by the uni, they did so in a manner to limit press fallout. To this day I don’t know the official outcome of it. What I do know is that the students still remained students and members of that club.
In 2018, I was physically assaulted on campus. A male student grabbed me and called me a “black bitch” and wouldn’t let go, at our End of Year Ball. The CCTV cameras were blocked by the decorations for the ball.
I reported it to the SU. I was advised by a senior staff member who tried to help that there was not much they could do and that the only footage available was me shouting in response to this man assaulting me and it wouldn't make me look good as president.
It made me feel helpless, that someone could racially assault me on campus and I could not even be outraged by that assault.
I had to deal with a colleague mocking the existence of the black attainment gap and say “is it even real?” That same colleague claimed BAME retention is a waste of their time despite it being under their own remit.
That colleague took a photo of me and posted it online mocking me on their WORK twitter account. They ignored my request to take it down & only deleted it once another person asked. They also sent a slanderous whatsapp message about me by accident.
I – like many black people in organisations – felt that I was consciously left out of important conversations by my white colleagues. I would often find them huddled in offices taking part in meetings without me.
In late 2018, a lecturer at my university said ‘the n word’ in a lecture, and students complained. I had a white elected officer tell me that it was okay to use that word uncensored, with no warning, in certain contexts: https://thetab.com/uk/hull/2018/11/09/hull-lecturer-in-n-word-shock-12219
We were asked by The Tab to comment but didn’t respond as my colleagues disagreed with my response, some thought it was not important enough to say anything and one colleague said “We wouldn’t want people to think we are banning the use of certain words”.
In spring 2019, I was campaigning to make our student council more relevant & inclusive. In a public post when listing the different student groups not represented there I said that “we only have one black person on union council, that is not what the university looks like”.
A white student trustee complained that my use of the word “black” was racist. Yes, you read that right. In their complaint, they said that “black” is “inappropriate” and “can be construed as racism, as black is a derogatory term”.
I immediately wanted to speak out publicly against the language they had used, which I strongly considered racist.
Black is not inappropriate.
Black is not a derogatory term.
Black is not inappropriate.
Black is not a derogatory term.
I am proud to be black, and to be told the colour of my skin is “inappropriate” and “derogatory” is incredibly offensive in of itself. No one else on the board or SU noticed this, until I pointed it out to them.
I wanted to post on my personal facebook page. I was told not to by senior staff, as that trustee would be spoken to and removed from their post. Then the SU would release a statement condemning racism.
For weeks and months, I waited for this to happen. It never did. This incident triggered me to directly complain to a senior staff member about all of the racist experiences I had suffered from other staff members and representatives.
The following investigation of the incidents, including around ‘the n word’, concluded that nothing “malicious” had happened, and there were no appropriate consequences.
I continued to wait for the student trustee to be dismissed. They then backtracked and said they had complained on behalf of a student that identifies as BAME, not black.
A senior trustee called to update me.
A senior trustee called to update me.
The senior trustee asked me about a personal instagram post I made about how I enjoyed an evening for the first time in a long time and that I was hoping to be more open about everything that I had gone through: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv838fehVZM/?igshid=1p7gvzs72dalw
They said it looked like a ‘veiled threat’ against the student trustee. He then asked me to promise that I wouldn’t talk about this experience publicly and use the student trustee’s name
They told me that the student trustee had promised to step down only if I didn’t talk about the situation publicly. I told them that I could not make that promise. They then said, I would be going against trustee code, I could face legal action & it could affect my job prospects.
On another day, this senior trustee made reference to a story to a senior member of SU staff about an MP who apparently preferred to be called BAME and not Black. They made a mistake, they were referring to Priti Patel who does not like the term BME/BAME! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43350527
I was told we would discuss this situation at a board meeting, and that I should write a paper explaining why what happened to me was wrong. I did so and was told by a senior staff member it was “too emotional and one-sided”.
The paper was then written by a senior trustee. Instead of a board meeting to go over it, they organised a separate meeting with a select few attending. Nothing substantial came of it. The senior trustee said they need to hire a lawyer to confirm if it is actually racism.
They had four months to do so, they never did.
That same student trustee during this period tried to pass a motion of no confidence against me. They did not succeed in submitting it to student council because the content was untrue and just their personal opinions against me, it had no reference to my job responsibilities.
The motion was sent back explaining what was wrong with it and how the process works so this trustee could go about it the right way. This trustee didn’t take it further, no doubt because there was nothing substantial that could be said.
Another colleague sent an inappropriate whatsapp message about me to the wrong group, so I saw it. They were investigated & dismissed from their position, but then appealed. His appeal was heard by a trustee (who happened to be an old white man).
They were reinstated with a final warning. (Less than a year later he was dismissed again but publicly to protect him it looked like he had just resigned.)
By this point, my second term of office was ending, so I was due to leave the organisation. After my exit interview, it was reiterated to me that HR believed my complaints had been “dealt with appropriately.”
There ends my story. One of the saddest things of all is that it definitely is not a unique one.
I know that there are many black leaders in other ‘progressive’ organisations – students’ and trade unions, charities and political parties, who have had similar experiences to me.
I’ve never shared these experiences publicly, as I believed at the time that HR and official processes were the right ones to use and then after the fact, that it would not help to do so.
I am only doing now so others can see what I went through, to know that they are not alone. And for allies to see how pervasive structural inequality is. Maybe this would not have happened if I were not the only black staff member in my organisation?
I did not write this thread to attack others, but only to point out that even in the places – and from the people you would least expect – white privilege exists. It exists everywhere. Racism is in the UK and is systemic.
It is also worth saying that the majority of my six years at Hull were a wonderful experience, and I still am very fond of it and the students’ unions in general, which do vital and often under-represented work.
I’m sure this would be uncomfortable for any white person reading this, in particular if you were in and around my SU at that time, in the past, or now. But it was far more uncomfortable living it.
#BlackLivesMatter and I hope by sharing this story, it makes others reflect on their past behaviours and most importantly – their behaviour in the future.
and I hope by sharing this story, it makes others reflect on their past behaviours and most importantly – their behaviour in the future.
I’m now running a campaign to make it a legal requirement for all UK registered orgs (charities, ed orgs, public sector) to have a visible policy detailing their process for dealing with complaints of discrimination.
It should include a timescale for investigation and an accessible, safe way for filing complaints, not to mention formal documentation of proceedings and meetings relating to the complaint. Please sign this petition here: http://chng.it/LCW6ZRvDSk
#makediversitycount
#makediversitycount
500 supporters! Thank you! The next target is now 1000!
For long-term change we must change the law: http://change.org/makediversitycount
Make sure we are better protected in the places where we work, live and learn.
#makediversitycount #blacklivesmatter
For long-term change we must change the law: http://change.org/makediversitycount
Make sure we are better protected in the places where we work, live and learn.
#makediversitycount #blacklivesmatter
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽:
Sign the petition: http://change.org/makediversitycount
Share the petition - On your social media, in your WhatsApp groups etc.
Send direct messages - Send 10 messages to people you know.
Sign the petition: http://change.org/makediversitycount Share the petition - On your social media, in your WhatsApp groups etc. Send direct messages - Send 10 messages to people you know.
Retweet my story: https://twitter.com/OsaroHazel/status/1269670078943019008?s=20
Share my story on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/671489326/posts/10157320969659327/?d=n
Speak up about your own experiences if you feel comfortable doing so
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗟𝗠:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10iIz_pFB8DzPkwddc8dcmJdJ0ZMITfTs7lvs4uyusZk/edit
https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10iIz_pFB8DzPkwddc8dcmJdJ0ZMITfTs7lvs4uyusZk/edit https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co
