I came from a culture that treats visitors with respect. We give foreigners in my home country the opportunities to strive. However, I was deluded, absolved with this notion that such practise was common in every part of the world. Oblivious of the fact that every man has his rules.

Within a few weeks in England, I made a new friend. Jessica was the window into which I viewed the new world I found myself a decade and a half years ago. She introduced me to the world of food, culture and literature of Great Britain. I became conversant with this new world within weeks of meeting my friend. I felt at home and saw the beauty and ingenuity of British culture.

The Opinions Of Others

Jessica’s little flat in Russel Square became a second home to me. I was welcomed to collect the keys at a post whenever Jessica wasn’t in. The first problem began with the keys. Jessica’s neighbour with whom the keys were kept never liked me. He had refused to hand over the keys to me a few times but I didn’t read meaning to it.

In the middle of Summer of that year, Jessica travelled out of the country and I was trusted in keeping her cats alive by popping in once every two days to feed them.

Totally contrast to the plan Jessica made, I was unable to feed the cats because the neighbour refused to give me the keys with these words ” I am afraid, I can’t give you the keys”.

The calls I made to Jessica who was five thousand miles away didn’t change anything. She was forced to find a white substitute who was then allowed in to feed the cats.

What looked like a simple refusal cost Jessica one of her cats. The rigid security measure her neighbour put up in honour of racism claimed an animal’s life. It wasn’t long before I learnt the full meaning of RACISM.

The World Has Failed Me

The world has failed me as a black woman. The world has failed everyone that has the skin I live in. The killing of George Floyd is just the peak of an iceberg. This obvious act of maltreatment of black people is deeply rooted in the song the Master Narrator sang. History had it that I was a slave and the whole world joined in the song.

Racism in the United Kingdom where I live is well contained within the noble institutions. Though not acknowledged we all feel the impact. When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, the world witnessed the gross treatment and racism of British media. Meghan’s African American heritage was widely criticised and the comparison of the couple newborn to a monkey by the popular radio show host and DJ Danny Baker would give a glimpse into the real act of institutionalised racism in the united kingdom.

The rule is different for the blacks in this country, though unsung it’s clear. Take for instance car insurance, the amount you pay is determined by your name or race. If you bear a non-British name, you pay more than those with a British name.

I have grown a thick skin to the glare and the stare, the occasional snarl from ignorant who refused to believe the fact that we breathe the same air. The fake smiles under the eyes that expressed the truth, the favouritism and the common slogan “Go back to where you came from” has become the norm.

Ridicule and Exploitation

The story of Sara Baartman born in 1789 made my blood boil. A South African who was brought to Europe in the 19th century due to her large buttocks (oh yes, you read right). Sara was exhibited at freak show attractions under the stage name “Hottentot Venus”.

Sara Baartman was paraded around the “freak shows” in London and Paris with crowds invited to look at her large buttocks. She died at the age of 25 but her remains and body cast were displayed in a museum, she continued to arouse visitors’ interests before she was repatriated to South Africa in 2002.

Today, she represents an epitome of colonial exploitation, racism, ridicule and commodification of black people. Sara’s captors studied the stories the Master Narrators passed down to them. She was black after all.

Every nation in the world thinks they have an opinion on my skin colour. To the Chinese, the colour of my skin denotes evil, ugliness, dirt and the treatments towards black people all over China proved this fact. Chinese racism towards African has always been underlooked. Theirs is a mixture of xenocide and racism. And the world watched without a word.

Nowhere is Immune For The Black

The Chinese advertisement where a woman washes a black man with the detergent that turned him into a Chinese man was appalling. If such commercials could be accepted on national television, you can only imagine the nightmare of black people in China.

In the wake of Covid-19, the world has seen the darker side of Chinese racism. Black Africans in Southern China were forcibly evicted from their homes, hotels and restaurants. They are ostracised for fear of spreading coronavirus. What an irony!

The classism and micro racism within religion need to be addressed. The Asian Muslims view themselves above the Black Muslims. Islam is personalised by many Arabs. The barbarism nature of this attitude has prejudiced the true teachings of Islam. Black Muslims are not valued, their opinions in religious matters are often doubted. As far as the Asians know, the black Muslims are not Muslim-enough in the grand scale of religion. Again, the slave card is played on the black people.

I watched in horror as Africans with different skin shade mauled, abused and even killed Black Africans. The Libyans are known for their notorious attack on the black Africans. Even within Africa, black-skinned Africans are subjected to unspoken gross racism. The story in history had it that blacks are slaves. Many see black people as nothing but slaves even in Africa!

Poison In Their Veins

The whole world has failed us. The initiation of slave trade poisoned the world. This poison runs in the blood of many, sucking out the human in them. The problem is not my skin, the hatred in the world history continues to bite hard on black people.

At the moment, racists hold the placards inscribed with the words “Black lives matters”. The internet is streaming with the latest slogan. The truth is that the killing of George Floyd has given overnight fame to many but deep within them the animals are raging, they see nothing of black skins. They justify racism and classism, white supremacism and the race supremacism.

Racism is a worldwide scourge and nowhere is immune for the black. I don’t care what story you have been fed with, I don’t want to know how you were served but I didn’t choose the skin I am in and I hope you are clever enough to understand the meaning of melanin composition of my skin.