When Anti-Racism isn't a tick box exercise

What would an ally look like if it was lead by the community groups impacted?

In 2020, actor and rapper Riz Ahmed showcased his debut album ‘The Long Goodbye’ and with it his short film also titled ‘The Long Goodbye’. When I watched the film I remember crying out of a sense of relief - the fear of persecution is something I have always tucked away in the back of my mind as an irrational thought but when I saw his work it felt like, for the first time, I had been seen and heard to my core. I couldn’t help but feel thankful to him for validating me and truthfully I was feeling less like a weirdo for having all these thoughts about fascists rounding us up one day and quite literally killing us.

Fast forward to 2024 and nobody needs an explanation of the uprising of the far right in the most violent way we had seen for many many years in this country and all I could think was ‘Riz Ahmed predicted this’. Then we had this response to the fascism, it was great to hear so many white counterparts support me and come out to anti fascist demonstrations in solidarity but then when I was speaking to black and brown colleagues we knew it just wasn’t enough. I even told my manager at work that I was just mad because this could have all been prevented if people had done the hard work years ago and the fact that we are where we are today was a product of empty platitudes and apathy. I mean, I could count on my hand how many of my white counterparts had ever picked up Renni Eddo Lodges’ ‘Why I Am No Longer Talking To White People About Race’.

I remember attending a Black Lives Matter rally in Preston during the pandemic and instead of listening, a line of white activists queued up to admit of their past ignorance and absolve themselves of their past sins as ex-racists in some sort of group confessional it had been turned into whilst being cheered on by one another for what I can only assume was their bravery in admitting they used to be racist?! The point is, we need to just completely start again.

So then, where to begin? One word: Co-production. A really simple concept that goes beyond just data gathering or using predetermined assumptions to base our interactions on. Co-producing means that the people at the forefront of the issue or concern get to lead on what the next steps are or if there are any steps at all. Racism is not a one size fits all issue and so co-production allows the freedom to work with racialised communities in a way that takes in to account the intersectionalities of that particular group and works for them in their own unique way. Instead of attempting to fix a problem with a band aid, why not eradicate it through radical change. I think co-production does just that.