Thread by @brolezholloway

Nobody likes 'BAME', but how to describe all 'BAME' ppl, not just individual communities where the matter is common barriers, disparities etc. People of Colour (a bit American)? Non-white (negative)? Black as a unity term (old fashioned, embraced less by some communities)? 1/

https://twitter.com/Nadine_Writes/status/1367967303304945665

There's totally an issue with 'BAME/BME/BAEM' hiding even worse stats afflicting some groups, eg ppl of African descent (incl Afriphobia) & Bangladeshi/Pakistani (added Islamophobia). But why can't we use unity terms together with disaggregated data for worst impacted groups? 2/

The danger is losing unity terms because some communities are worst hit by the same issue that's also affecting other communities takes away power from the argument to deal with the underlining causes, fracturing an anti-racist coalition & playing into divide-and-rule. 3/

One problem is that unity terms have lost its' most strident advocates as the anti-racist movement waned, however #BlackLivesMatter analysis was centred around 'political Black' approach even if the word wasn't always used. 4/

Another is that the positive elements of unity terms (celebrating pride, strength in unity) has been eclipsed the negative (victims of racism), and the balance has been lost along with people who would otherwise subscribe to a balanced understanding of such terms. 5/

We used to have the principle that anti-racist action must be Black-led, but what does that mean if we are only comparing which community is worst affected? The very platform for alliance-building with white allies begins to crumble. 6/

The debate around terminology within & between 'BAME' communities is of course important - we need to define ourselves. But it is also a symptom of the combination of data overload on how bad #structuralracism is plus the absence of coalescing around demands for change. 7/

Which brings us back to The Sun. Why are they ditching 'BAME'? I would argue because it's in the interests of the same people who are seeking to turn the clock back to a pre-Macpherson era of a 'few bad apples' to ditch the concepts of institutional & structural racism. 8/8