Racism, psychology and higher education: A response to ‘Seeking equality of educational outcomes for Black students: A personal account’ by Louise Taylor

Abstract

Universities, white ignorance and historical amnesia '…there will be characteristic and pervasive patterns of not seeing and not knowingstructured white ignorance, motivated inattention, self-deception, historical amnesia, and moral rationalization -that people of color, for their own survival, have to learn to become familiar with and overcome in making their case for racial equality. ' Charles W. Mills (2003, p. 190) It may come as a surprise to some readers to learn that, in the early years of this century, all universities in Britain faced a series of legally binding responsibilities to address race inequities. Following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (Macpherson, 1999) the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (RRAA) placed upon universities 'a statutory general duty to work to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination, and to promote equal opportunities and good race relations. The duty is not optional and colleges and universities have to meet it even if they have very few students from ethnic minority backgrounds' (CRE, 2002).Universities were required to analyse information about race equality pertaining to student access and achievement, and staff recruitment, retention and promotion. This data had to be published alongside the institutions' plans to address any inequities that were uncovered. For a brief period, it seemed that British universities (and institutions across the public sector) would finally have to take race equity seriously. But the moment was fleeting. Having reviewed the state of universities' planning, in 2003, Professor Gus John (one this country's leading race equality advocates) noted: 'There is a general reluctance to address issues of racisms and especially of institutional racisms' (Curtis & MacLeod, 2003). Currently universities have the option to sign up to the Race Equality Charter -a scheme that carries no financial penalty/benefit and where research suggests that it is racially minoritized staff who bear the burden of the necessary workload, but not the rewards (Bhopal & Henderson 2019;2021). This is what Charles Mills means by 'structured white ignorance ' and 'historical amnesia' (2003). This 'will to forget' institutional racism (Tate & Page, 2018: 141) explains how -two decades on from the RRAA -we come to be responding to an article about a White academic's 'challenging journey' as they researched students' experience of anti-Black racism in a university. If the relevant authorities, including successive governments and university leaders, had delivered on the rhetoric that followed the Lawrence Inquiry, the system would by now have mainstreamed a concern with race equity rather than seemly coming to yet another delayed recognition that they even have a problem.