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There ain't no black in the Union Jack;
and in St Andrew's Cross, there's even more lack...
...but we are here because you were there.

Welcome to the Scottish Racism Project which shines a light on racial bigotry and xenophobia in the northernmost part of the UK. The Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community in Scotland has always been small but steady growing, comprising 1.3% of the population in 1991, 2% in 2001, 4% in 2011 and currently stands at around 7% in 2020. The tenets of diversity, equality and inclusion however have not always come naturally to the wider Scottish community over the years. 

The Scottish Racism Project (ScRaP) does two things: 

(1) take deep dives into the various ways racism has manifested itself up north, explore courses of action to remedy this, and look at how BAME communities can empower themselves in the face of adversity 

(2) offer and find solidarity with BAME individuals who have shared real lives personal stories of racism and want the truth of their experiences to be known far and wide, often because the wider Scottish Press were uninterested when approached.

If you celebrate the diversity,

              but ignore the disparity,

                                 then that is hypocrisy.

Tune into the Scottish Racism Project interview on Jambo! Radio to find out more.

Also check out the 'How can we change the consequences of racism when it is rooted in systems and slavery? ' panel discussion.

In This Together 2023: George Floyd anniversary

- Poets Against Racism USA/UK 

In This Together 2023 is a free online poetry showcase organised by Poets Against Racism & Hate (PARH) USA and Poets Against Racism (PAR) UK. It takes place annually on the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Thurs 25th May, 7-8.30pm EST, which is Fri 26th May, 12-1.30am BST. The poetry and its impacts will be discussed by event host PARH USA co-founder Patricia Thrushart on a panel including PAR UK co-founder Manjit Sahota and Dr. Michelle Torregano, associate professor at Penn West University, who is also the invited speaker. This international event can be watched live on PARH USA’s YouTube channel. 

This international event is a celebration and call for allyship that is occurring in our area and worldwide. I will be reading Ọ̀nà Kikúrú - Abridged Pathways (UK equivalent of George Floyd: David Olúwálé); Horizon (racism/misaligned identities); and if time allows Ride the Waves (soul replenishment). Join us for original performances from poets all over the world!

You can watch the event livestream here:

Deep Dives: Education / Football / Medicine / Policing / Legal System / Arts / History / Asylum Seekers & Refugees / Employment

Scottish Racism in Employment

November 2020

Model Eunice Olúmidé, scout Scottie Brannan

‘The way the media presents and packages Scotland to the world is as if it’s a completely white country, [but] walk down the street and you’ll see every single race of person on the planet.’ Edinburgh-born Nigerian model Eunice Olúmidé makes up part of the diversity she espouses, her dark brown skin displaying Scotland’s visual contrast beyond its streets through the international fashion campaigns she poses for. Such a glamourous career was not an initial life choice for Eunice as a school student growing up in the city’s Wester Hailes council estate. So when a model scout approached her aged 15 walking down Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, she first thought it was a joke having never been previously told she was attractive or pretty, quite the opposite from her racist school peers. Regardless, the afro-crowned sporty tomboy was eventually signed by Scottie Brannan, apparently determined to make her ‘Scotland’s Next Top Model’. It was certainly a unique way to gain employment, having it passively handed to you versus actively pursuing various companies to land your dream role as the vast majority of job seekers must do. However, doing so is ordinarily more difficult for workers such as Eunice because ethnic minorities are ‘more likely to be unemployed or in low-paid work, and are under-represented in senior management roles’. This despite people of colour largely having better academic attainment compared to white Scots, demonstrated by Eunice’s own impressive qualifications with a first-class BA in Communication and Mass Media, MA in Film Studies and another MA in Metaphysics through a scholarship she was awarded. (Yip, with that amount of educational achievement, she definitely comes from a Nigerian household!) Undisputedly, the odd racial disparity in the Scottish workforce is therefore due to "significant barriers" rooted in racism...read more

Scottish Racism in Social Services

(watch this space...)

...What other topics would you like to see a ‘deep dive’ on? Leave a comment below.

Real Lives: Education, university /  Football, local & national games 

Racism Stories: Education, university (Adérónkẹ́)

September 2020

University of Ìbàdàn, Nigeria

When you win several academic awards throughout your studies, get a first-class for your first degree, and even land a lofty masters scholarship halfway across the world, you can certainly expect great things to unfold in your future. That was the case with a brilliant Nigerian graduate who we’ll call Adérónkẹ́ from the revered University of Ìbàdàn heading to St Andrews University on Scotland’s east coast, just over an hour’s drive north of Edinburgh. Adding to the self-assuredness was an instructor at the destination university, Professor Robin Flowerdew, filling out the scholarship application on her behalf, such was the promise seen in this talented young mind. Then with all the academic paperwork completed, it was time for the 27-year-old to pack her bags with pluck and head off into the beyond…slightly stalled with a few days delay processing the UK visa meaning a slight delay arriving on Scottish shores to start the academic term 2004-2005. Having missed some induction sessions, there was more to quickly adjust to than the sharp climate contrast from humid equatorial heat to chilling North Sea winds. Adérónkẹ́ was more than ready to catch up with any content she’d missed, but utterly unprepared for the behaviour about to be directed her way…read more

Racism Stories: Medicine, mental health

(watch this space...)

...Would you like to share your own personal experiences of racism? 

   Get in touch through the contact page. 

‘If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it’ - Zora Neale Hurston

‘We as Black people have to tell our own stories. We have to document our history. When we allow someone else to document our history, our history becomes twisted and we get written out. We get our noses blown off’ - Erykah Badu 

‘Black people must write our own stories, otherwise they will die with us’ - Stella Dadzie