What's with the increase in the BAME?

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

- Martin Luther King Jr

It’s taken me a bit of time to get myself writing about the surreal horrid incident that happened in the US last week and the impact it has had around us all, no matter where you are and what minority you are from. How did this happen again? Why is this still happening? Why is institutional racism still allowed? How many years will it take to change this? All these questions make you think how much more education do people need to know that this needs to stop? I remember the day that I had the privilege to sit next to Neville Lawrence (father of Stephen Lawrence) at a MOJ Hate Crime event back in 2014 at Birmingham where I felt and saw his heart and his passion crying for racial deaths and race hate crime to STOP! But what have we seen again? We have seen it happen again. Why? Why won’t this world change? Why won’t this stop? Why 27 years later does Stephen Lawrence's father have to see another racial death?

Suddenly there is this wave of the word ‘BAME.' You hear workplaces saying they 'have a different range of BAME' and that they are working to increase the BAME – BAME BAME BAME. But what they don’t realise is that saying for example ‘we are working to increase the BAME’ actually creates further division. You have categorised me and others into the BAME on top of making a statement that sounds like you're doing us a favour. This silent or hidden racism is something that is happening in workplaces, between friends, on the streets, in the media. And using privilege to make big statements of 'working to increase the BAME' is in my eyes creating division, sounding like favours and portraying silent or hidden racism. Why not embrace and appreciate our heritage and culture instead of making broad BAME statements? Why not make us feel like we aren’t categories into the 'BAME' because we are all meant to be one? But that is the thing, we aren’t all one are we really? As much as people try, as much as diversity is the aim but really it starts with taking off those ‘BAME glasses’ and actually seeing everyone as one.

Whether you are black or brown we have all experienced racism, whether it was directly or indirectly, we have all had that moment that has left us thinking it’s because I’m brown/black they said that or it’s because I’m brown/black they don’t talk to me and so on. And I remember the very first time seeing the racism that I saw myself happen back in primary school in Bend it like Beckham and that specific scene throw our real life racism onto the big screen. To then see pure racism with Shilpa Shetty being called a ‘poppadom’ on Celebrity Big Brother a well known British television reality show. To then see Keegan, a young black man in EastEnders tell his wife Tiffany that she doesn’t understand how he feels because being black isn’t the same as being a red head. And this is it, isn’t it? No matter how much we see in films, reality shows or dramas they won’t get it so why do they try with big statements?

It’s the lack of awareness that I think gets me the most in my personal experiences. The stupid conversations of ‘where are you from?’ I reply ‘Kent’ they reply ‘no as in where are your family from?’ I reply ‘Kenya’ and the amount of responses I’ve had with first their face full of confusion and because they can’t get their head around it I've had responses with ‘but you’re brown.’ Yes I am brown and my family are Kenyan Sikhs but ignorance responded back there just as it has a lot of times. And it’s these ignorant comments that leave you thinking wow where did my colour come into that conversation? It’s not only colour but it’s even my culture that I have had comments on. ‘Oh you guys have weddings that go on for ages’ or ‘you all have the same middle names that’s weird’ or ‘why do you guys wear those things on your head?’ or ‘oh you don’t drink I’m guessing?’ or ‘when will you make us a curry?’ or 'will you have to get an arranged marriage?' Oh I could go on!

But I am Sikh, I am Punjabi, I am Brown and I am proud. I am proud of who I am and I feel the most proudest of who I am when someone wants to remind me that I am brown, even if it is out of racism because I know being brown is who I am. But when your colour becomes the reason for injustice then we need to speak, stand and fight because our justice needs to be given. We all hope, we all have identities, cultures, morals and families so what’s with all the BAME? Why not increase making us all united and one? Why not stop the need for us to feel that we have to fit-in? Why not increase equal opportunities without the advertisement? Why not increase movement to kill institutional racism? Why not stand to stop all this injustice happening in this mad world, no matter what colour you are?

There’s all this anti-discrimination practice, equality and human rights law but it makes you think how effective can they really be because again we have seen a tragic racial death happen in the world today, just like we did 27 years ago with Stephen Lawrence. It’s felt us all feeling heavy hearted with even the clouds turning grey and remained grey since. We can’t see this happen anymore, whether you’re black or brown, we shouldn’t see this injustice happen to our people anymore.