Alright here’s my thread on racism in U.K. academia... David Starkey edition. Last year, @AfricaJacs approached me to take part in this fabulous collection about “ethics in collaboration”. Almost every paper touched on problems of these collaborations w/o using the word “racism”. https://twitter.com/africajacs/status/1153240347629240320

Even in my own paper, I spoke candidly about being ignored by Global North scholars about the conditions African PHD and postdocs face working in joint collaborative projects without mentioning “racism” because I was worried about the impact that would have on my career.

But then #BlackLivesMattter emerged & then #BlackintheIvory gave us a platform for airing our grievances & now David Starkey’s stank ass has spoken and I’m quite annoyed at the people saying “this doesn’t represent British historians”. Yes, it literally does.

This type candid racism is normal. They say shit like this quite publicly. Most of us have a few stories about having comments like this directed at us while our peers stood silently. It is so normalised that no one would say anything but give a gentle pat on the back later.

Then there’s the power dynamics that affect these highly profitable GN/GS partnerships where GS contingents are routinely humiliated with no where to go as they are supposed to be grateful for the opportunity of receiving global north money while enduring unspeakable racial abuse

And as Mary Beard proved, many people still don’t understand that GN scholars don’t go to GS counties to help but they know the “optics of saviourism” is so alluring that it’s hard to convince people they are racist when they’ve given up so much to live in a “shithole country”.

And I have become increasingly vocal in my personal commitment not to partake in any such partnerships unless I know the GN scholars and can confirm their longstanding commitment to anti-racism because the racism from GN academics that goes unchecked in Africa is rampant.

So while every U.K. HE institution put out a notice of solidarity for #blackLivesMatter every institution has also said they are leaving it to their largely unqualified staff and student bodies to work through, presumably through REFable outputs. This is utterly useless & lazy.

We still have to wait for the David Starkeys in our midst to make such a public cock up for anything to be done about racism. I still worry about the impact speaking up will have on my career. Lots of racists sit on hiring committeees after all. But I’m resigned, maybe determined

I’m statistically not designed to make it in U.K. academe so if I’m going down, I’ll do so fighting for a better space and fighting to allow this praxis to inform my work on african medical humanities as well.