Wow! I haven’t wrottien since 26th August. That’s the longest I’ve gone without talking to you guys since I started Oo! That’s A Bit Racey! just over a year ago.
Covid hit me quite hard at the start of September. While I was lucky, I didn’t have horendous symptoms, it did knock me for six, and it’s only in the last week or so that the fog has lifted and my energy levels have come back up to speed.
It’s weird, and scary, having covid. After spending 18 months reading about it, trying to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, you have it. Your loved ones are at risk. You can’t leave the house for ten days. You’re fears have come true!
And I couldn’t help but think about the report published over a year ago, in June 2020, that stated that the BAME community are more likely to both catch and die from covid.
We were never really given the reasons why. Of course we can work things out – poverty, multi-generational households, distrust of the healthcare system and the government – but we have never been given the full explanation that we deserved. Neither have we seen the systemic change demanded by the report.
All seems to have gone quiet, and put in the “too hard” or, worse, the “not important” box.
Like many issues that we’ve discussed here on Oo! That’s A Bit Racey! it’s vital that we talk about this. It’s important that people ask questions, challenge the status quo, learn together, build our knowledge and take informed action to drive systemic change.
Covid has not gone anywhere. People are still getting ill, needing treatment, and sadly, too many are dying. And it’s affecting particular groups of society more than others. That’s not acceptable. It’s certainly not equal.
It’s tough to acknoweldge. Systemic inequality is around every corner. Not everyone takes it seriously. In some quarters, it’s a fad that’s passed. But there’s no getting away from it. The fight is still on. And I truly thank everyone who is standing with me in their own way. Anti-racism work is hard, because the more you start to understand about racial inequalities, the more you start to question, and the more work you discover there is to do.
So, as I sit at my computer again, talking to my beloved Racey! community, I’m taking a moment to re-focus, take a deep breath, and keep fighting. Writing is my way of doing this. Whatever your way, keep going. Every voice counts. And there’s a whole community here to keep each other strong when the going gets tough.
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