This is England. And this also is England.

Content warning: Racism; anti-Muslim racism; Southport attack

There is a list circulating.?

A list of around 40 places that provide services of support for immigrants and people seeking asylum across England.?

These are amongst tonight’s (Wednesday 7th August 2024) targets for those emboldened by the violence that has exploded onto the streets since Monday 29th July.?

That date is when a Cardiff-born 17-year-old boy of Rwandan parentage attacked a primary school-aged yoga and dance workshop with a knife, in Southport. Three children died of their wounds: six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. [Source: Sky News]

Disinformation about who the attacker was quickly circulated online, spreading false information such as that he was an illegal Muslim migrant who arrived in the UK on a boat last year. He was given a 'Muslim-sounding' name, which was incorrect. Posters calling for protests, deportations, justice and decrying ‘Islam attacks’ likewise spread through social media and messaging services. Known far-right agitators were involved in amplifying and spreading the disinformation, while certain politicians got involved in stoking the anger and rage. [Source: Sky News]

It could be said that that’s what it took for the violent rioters to have been detonated.

Rioters who have been targeting hotels where people seeking asylum are housed. Who have set cars on fire, libraries. Mobs and individuals who have stamped on a man’s head, and attacked a boy in racist attacks. Who have attacked women and girls in hijabs. Attacked Black men, Muslim men, mosques. And that’s not an exhaustive list.

Rioters who are white men draped in St George’s flags, white men with swastika tattoos, white men chanting that they want their country back, telling 'foreigners' to get out, who have stuck up fascist stickers with razor blades in them, who have no issue violently attacking someone simply because of the colour of their skin or what clothes they happen to be wearing.?

White women are involved too. And children, who have been encouraged to throw stones at police.?

People of colour and people who present as Muslim based on their clothing are being physically attacked, harassed, verbally abused across the UK.

The space for grieving and mourning of the young lives lost and harmed in the Southport attack hasn't been allowed to manifest.

Are you shocked, surprised??

Are you questioning how on earth this is happening??

Do you say to yourself, ‘This isn’t England’, or 'This isn't England today'?

How does my use of 'white men' and 'white women' as descriptors for the rioters make you feel? Where do you feel it in your body? Wherever that is, breathe into it, slowly. Send it love, and care. Place a warm hand over that place.

I remember what happened after Brexit; the reports of people of colour and anyone speaking a language other than English or with a non-UK accent being abused.?

I remember Farage standing in front of that ‘Breaking point’ billboard.?

I remember all the anti-immigrant and racist and anti-Muslim headlines.?

The racism that was unleashed towards Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jason Sancho after Euro 2020.?

Anti-Asian racism off the back of the COVID pandemic.

The spiking of antisemitic attacks. Swastikas gratified on bus stops and Tube armrests.?

The videos of Reform members leading up to last month's election.

Social media platforms refusing to deal with right-wing, racist, fascist creators and content.

Politicians stoking the culture wars by decrying ‘wokeness' and leaning into inflammatory and racist language and policies.

The quiet after Daniel Anjorin, a Black 14-year-old boy, was killed in a machete attack on Tuesday 30th April of this year.?

The constant testimony from Black people, brown people, racialised people, Jewish people, Muslim people, Hindu people, Sikh people, Asian people, immigrants, anyone who isn’t white and Christian and English, about the abuse they have faced daily, monthly, yearly, within this country.

The stories being shared online right now by these same people of their experiences, and their fears, of leaving their homes. ?

The warning cries that have often gone unheeded.

The history of England, the UK, rooted in colonialism, imperialism, racism, the legacies of which are very much alive today.

We have a long way to go. The ‘social cohesion’ that is being called for doesn’t happen by accident. And likewise, the lack of social cohesion also doesn’t happen by accident.?

The Conservatives’ own former adviser Dame Sara Khan, has said that:

The writing was clearly on the wall for some time. All my reports have shown, in a nutshell that, firstly, these extremist and cohesion threats are worsening; secondly, that our country is woefully unprepared. We’ve got a gap in our legislation which is allowing these extremists to operate with impunity. Previous governments have astonishingly failed to address these trends, and they’ve taken instead, in my view, approaches that have actually been counterproductive and actually just defy any logical rationale… They’ve (the Conservatives) actually failed those people in communities who are trying to protect cohesion, you know, who are trying to push back against extremist actors.

This is England. The UK. And America. And Germany, France, Spain, so many European countries.

This is us as a species when rooted in fear, and othering, and a 'look over there' from those in and with power who benefit from stoking social unrest.

Practicing hope

And so the antidote is also us. It us as an England, a UK, a species living on this land together, that has also taken to the streets. It is us as a species rooted in hope. It is hope as a practice.

It is an us that can be found in the community-rooted efforts that have emerged to counter the rioters, who have raised funds to begin rebuilding, who have formed human shields, who have led and participated in clean-up efforts. An us that can been found in the community organisers and volunteers who have been working hard this last week to show that alongside this reality of the UK exists another. [EDIT:] And people gathered in their thousands Wednesday night to show that 'this is what community looks like'.

An us that is found in the organisations and managers and colleagues actively supporting their employees of colour through allowing flexible and home working, providing spaces for grief and fear to be felt, in not expecting them to be productive, in providing mental health and emotional and practical support. Who don’t shy away from the hard conversations about what is happening. Who aren’t performative in their words.

We can each be part of trying to create the inclusive and just futures we wish to live in. And it takes work, and active, embodied hope.

It takes an us who don’t just show up for the crisis, but year-round.

It is all too easy to be reactive to these situations, without also thinking through the lessons to be learned, how to embody action going forward, about the preventative actions that need to be taken by each of us individually and collectively every - single - day.?And about those who have already been doing the work, who need supporting, amplifying, learning from.

It takes intentional and consistent community and relationship building. It takes active and lifelong learning about and practising of anti-racism. It takes learning the roots and histories of white supremacy as a systemic ideology. It takes looking at ourselves as well as those around us, and the language that is being used. It takes using our votes and our voices and our bodies, not only now but in every situation, conversation, place and system where racism and prejudice and discrimination show up and we are able to take a stance. It takes knowing that each of us will make mistakes, and keeping going anyway. It takes kinship, and heart, and love, and anger. And action. And so much more.

There are so many people who have been sharing guidance and stories on this platform about what support is needed, some of which I’ll link to below. I invite you to read through these for advice on what organisations need to be doing not just right now in support of their people, but as a matter of course to create cultures of care. Guidance such as:

• Checking in with your employees of colour about how they are, holding space for them and their feelings, asking them what they need, and sharing any mental health and counselling services that are available to them. And not as one-offs, but ongoing. This post on meaningful check-ins is a useful guide on how to do this.?
• Allowing flexible and home working where possible, so that people aren’t having to commute and take public transport through unsafe areas. Or if it’s essential for someone to be on-site, supporting them through safe transport options.?
• Supporting people to take mental health days as needed, and helping them with their workloads if they need time off.?
• Getting involved in community action within your areas, including supporting those organisations who are supporting affected people.
• Any communications that are sent out either internally or externally should be crafted using guidance such as Kim Clark and Janet Stovall’s DEPTH model.

On a personal note, I can’t stress enough how much having the people around you hold you through times like this matters, when it's all too easy to feel isolated, when you can't fathom how others are carrying on as normal and as though nothing is happening, as though there is something wrong with you for what you're feeling. Simply knowing how to be with someone while they are scared and grieving during times of political and social unrest and unease where people like them are being targeted can help create a small bubble and moment of safety, that allows that person to just take a moment to breathe and release all that is held within them.

For our kin of colour, our immigrant siblings, and children of immigrants, who are scared right now and questioning whether this land is for you, I send care, and love. That feeling of, ‘Do I belong here? Am I safe here? Where is home?’ is one that untethers you, that causes a sickness deep within that is invasive. I hope you each have care and support and space holding wrapped around you with your colleagues, and loved ones, and friends, and neighbours.?The land welcomes you, and holds you.

This is England. In all the 'this' that that means.

Selection of LinkedIn posts