Decolonisation Group Statement on #BlackLivesMatter and Racism.

The decolonisation research group stands with and affirms anti-racism campaigns and the global Black Lives Matter movement. We condemn police brutality against black Americans and against people of colour worldwide. We call out the systems of racialised inequality that make this violence possible – ideological structures that value whiteness more highly than other skin colours, that result in policing and in unequal access to and quality of housing, education, and healthcare. We stand in solidarity with all who face blatant and subtle racism and discrimination. Racial oppression may vary locally but occurs globally.

We bear witness to the lives lost due to police brutality, from Trayvon Martin, to George Floyd, from Sandra Bland to Brionna Taylor, Adama Traoré in France, Mitch Henriquez in the Netherlands, and countless others.

We pledge to continue our work of anti-racism in its various forms. As scholars, we do this by tackling the legacies of colonialism in the University. We do this in workshops, in events and lectures open to the public, and in ensuring that we continue to represent, include, feature, and amplify voices of scholars, students, and community experts who have historically been marginalised from the University due to institutionalised racism, discrimination, and colonialism. Equally, we encourage those of us complicit in supporting systems of oppression to engage in dialogue and critical self-reflexivity.

We encourage members and followers to consult the following resources on institutionalised racism, on anti-racism, on decolonisation and decoloniality

and on allyship and solidarity and invite them to suggest more via our email or twitter feed:

https://folukeafrica.com/an-anti-racism-reading-list/

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/06/03/europe-protests-police-brutality-298073

https://www.enar-eu.org/how-to-support-the-anti-racist-movement

https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/

https://twitter.com/BlackInTheIvory

https://www.decolonisationgroup.com/

http://www.postcolonialstudies.nl/

http://www.theblackarchives.nl/

https://aces.uva.nl/content/events/events/2020/06/decolonising-europe.html