I listened to one of Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table talks’ (Black America In Crisis) that motivated me to write this blog.

I guess the conversation put words to some of the angry feelings that have surfaced recently, actually probably more like over that past xx years.  It was the realisation that we (as black and brown individuals) need to get to a place where ‘we are not afraid to speak our truth’ that really tugged on my heartstrings. I’ve had a very difficult ride over that past 5+ years some of which involved experiences of microaggression; yes that stuff that white people do not want to hear about and the stuff that we are pushed to ‘prove’. I’ve heard comments such as “you may as well drop it because it’s too hard to prove”, “leave the racism stuff to one side for now and just focus on xxx”, “we value diversity” and that’s when I wasn’t afraid to point out the racism that I was experiencing.

After reading a post on Twitter referencing a blog posted on nurses.co.uk where the author said “I could not prove that the reason [that I was experiencing what I was experiencing] was due to the colour of my skin, but with every bone, I knew that was the sole and only reason” I realised that this was one of the reasons (and possible the reason) why I remain angry after hearing a result that should have had me rejoicing. “…We are taught to compartmentalize, store it away and move on, because these are the people that we have to continue to work with and maintain good professional conduct with. We have a fear of being scrutinized or being labeled as a troublemaker*…” These words hold so much truth in our daily experiences, these words are why we sit in silence and ‘leave the race thing aside’ because we are too afraid of how we will be seen, judged or treated if we don’t.

When there is “no justice, there is no peace“**

• *nurses.co.uk “The Challenges I Faced Progressing To Band 8A As A BAME Nurse”
• ** Red Table talk – Black America In Crisis