In the weeks that followed, I found myself consumed by those 8 minutes and 46 seconds, scarcely believing that in the 21st century we could witness, in slow motion, the racist killing of a black man by a white police officer in full view of a group of bystanders. Little did I know then how this event would shape the next five years of my work at Peace Direct and the sector I care so deeply about.
George Floyd’s murder was just one in a sadly long line of murders of black people by white police officers. What made this case different was how it sparked the incredible activism of the Black Lives Matter movement and other racial justice groups, instigating long overdue conversations around the world on the problem of structural and systemic racism. Even now, these terms are still difficult for many people to grasp and even harder to acknowledge – the idea that racism is embedded in systems, laws, policies, and entrenched practices and beliefs that perpetuate widespread unfair treatment and oppression of people of colour. Five years on, and we are still only slowly beginning to understand what this means in the UK and around the world.
The international peacebuilding, development and humanitarian sectors have not been immune to these problems either. We are still grappling with how we, as international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), activists, funders and allies in Europe, North America and other parts of what we call the ‘Global North’ can be and do better. Contrary to what some political parties and leaders might argue, this is not a ‘woke’ agenda. To call it as such is to insult everyone who believes that society is better when we recognise the values and contributions of people from across all parts of society and when we acknowledge the harm that we may have done to them.
Pride is an odd word to use when talking about confronting structural and systemic racism but I am proud of the work that Peace Direct has done to ensure that our sector confronts its blind spots, examines its power and takes steps to transform itself into the best possibly ally it can be to local peacebuilders. We’ve worked with almost 100 INGOs, as well as major funders in the sector, to support them in changing their approaches. But we haven’t just looked externally, we’ve also transformed our own ways of working. We’ve built stronger, more transformational relationships with our local partners, and envisioned better ways to measure impact, communicate, and fund peacebuilding work.
First, we have a duty to educate ourselves and to call out injustice and harm wherever and whenever we see it. Don’t let the passage of time be the reason we give for not taking action. Second, don’t think it is someone else’s business. Structures and systems that cause harm are kept in place by people, some of whom are deliberately holding back progress, but many of whom are simply good people who do nothing to challenge the status quo. And third, always believe that progress is possible and achievable. Right now, with right wing populists threatening to set back progress of so many causes by decades, it might feel that justice and equity are a long way off. But I like to remind myself of Martin Luther King’s beautiful words that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” My experience has taught me that our collective weight can make it bend just that little bit more.
