Racism is an occurring global issue that many people of colour face every day. There are inevitably people out there who are ignorant and choose to hate others that do not fit what they believe in. I agree with the idea of having freedom of speech, however, I extremely hate it when some of these opinions result in violence and oppression.
As a young child who was born in the Philippines and moved to the United Kingdom where I spent most of my childhood, I initially found it difficult to communicate with those who were around me. There was an obvious difference between the languages I grew up speaking and English but this does not mean that we are all different. After all, there are no biological differences between people. No race is superior or inferior to another. We are all the same.
Before I suggest some ideas on how to tackle this global issue, we must first understand why people hold special grudges against people of colour in the first place.
There are many reasons why people have racist attitudes. A lot of our attitudes come from when we’re young. If racist attitudes are brought up by other people, younger kids are more than likely to take on those same views which can be very difficult to change later on in life. When these certain views are carried on to later life, it is expected that we meet like-minded people along the way. It is natural to have a desire when it comes to spend time with individuals who share similar interests, backgrounds, cultures, and language since it makes us feel more at ease. However, the negative factor is that it might develop distinctions across groups, which may encourage us to believe that our group is better than others over time. Furthermore, people are quick to judge. Those that say to “never judge a book by its cover” often don’t due to stereotypes. We typically look for someone else to blame for our difficulties when we are upset or disappointed. As a society, we do the same thing. People who look or talk differently are an easy target for those who have opposing views to others. However, there are no reasons or excuses for racism.
I understand that it is easier said than done, but if the population had no people with racist attitudes, I honestly believe that we would thrive more as a community. Architectural projects are a good representation of the Architect’s creativity. There is a huge underrepresentation of other races in the world of Architecture and according to an article, it states that there has been an increase in reports of racism. In 2020, 33 percent of BAME respondents said racism was “widespread” in architecture, up 10 percent from two years ago. This idea will only further discourage people of colour who are aspiring to be architects.
Here are my suggestions for society to overcome racism:
Educate – Ensure that positive representation of ethnic and racial diversity is taught in an educational environment.
Support – Find, gather, and support people who have experienced any type of racism. Perhaps having a group of people that have gone through the same can be more comforting rather than one-to-one.
Understand – To unfortunately accept the idea that racism will inevitably happen.
Encourage – Encouraging others to stop racism.
Events – Holding events that celebrate each race. This will give people a more intimate and interactive way of educating themselves.
Poster created by Dharenz Delos Santos
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