Racism in European Societies: A Parasite Rooted in our History and our Mind
In the United States, the demonstrations following the death of George Floyd have pushed the inherently racist nature of North American society to the forefront of the public consciousness. An ocean apart, in many European squares, more or less socially distant demonstrators have shown support to the cause of Black Americans. The social unrest in the United States is pushing many to reflect on both the historical and ideological factors that determine and sometimes justify racism in the country, and it is time for European people and institutions to undergo such a process too. In this regard, supporting the US Black Lives Matter movement has to be the starting point for contextualising the issue of racism in the “Old Continent” and acknowledging our very own failings on racism through the understanding of its origins and expressions.
Racism and colonialism
The way racism manifests in a country is strongly tied to the history that led to developing a discriminating mindset towards black people. The events in US history from which episodes of racial discrimination originated can be traced back to the age of slavery, followed by years characterised by racial segregation and “redlining,” when the gap between black and white people became even greater. Redlining was a practice that identified certain neighbourhoods as “less desirable for investments”, and those neighbourhoods were for the large majority populated by black people. The consequent lack of private and public investments prevented the development of these areas and discouraged white people to move there: systemic racism and inequality started to permeate more and more the societal structures of the United States, creating the ground for contemporary expressions of racism.
On the other side of the Atlantic sea, the historical context is quite different. African people were enslaved in their own countries by European colonists, a process that damaged the occupied territories through exploitation of human and natural resources, and political control. The tie between colonisation of Africa and modern racism in former colonial countries is relevant as the idea of white supremacy could hardly develop in European societies without the contact with -- and subjugation of -- African populations. Racism as discrimination on the basis of an alledged inferiority of a certain group is strongly related to the position of power that white Europeans have claimed over black Africans since the very first interactions that the two parts had, during the colonial era.
For many generations of Europeans, colonialist propaganda and stories of “discoveries” as reported by the first colonists have been the first source of information on the African continent and its people.
Taking Italy and its colonisation history as a case study, let us look at the Italian fascist propaganda during the colonisation of Ethiopia. In a documentary from 1935 on East Africa, the chaotic nature of the African country is repeatedly emphasised, and its citizens are defined as people with a “barbaric instinct” who let out “wild screams.” The Italians, on the other hand, are presented as those that brought civilization to the country: they are the “white magicians,” put in contrast with the “not that cheerful” Ethiopian kids. The impression one gets from this picture is that colonists are intellectually and culturally superior, and thus legitimate to impose their control and “protectorate.” Being influenced by such a representation of Africa led the generation raised during the Fascist colonisation era to develop a distorted perception of the continent. As a consequence, Italian society started to develop a racist mentality that makes them unconsciously perceive black people as potentially dangerous and inferior in terms of abilities, opportunities, and social development.
Colonialism in general was also permeated by an extreme attraction for the “African exotism,” a concept that contributed to dehumanisation of the African people in the eyes of Europeans. A concrete example of misleading representation of colonised countries and populations is the exhibition inaugurated in Naples in 1940, to celebrate the “Italian Empire” in Somalia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. The purpose of the exposition was to show the peculiarities of the colonised countries: the different African ethnicities were shown through casts of faces, and indigenous people were literally exhibited as objects to showcase their habits and customs. Similarly, in many other colonised African countries, indigenous artifacts and archeological findings that amazed the occupying powers were taken away from their countries of origin and nowadays are still exhibited in European museums and private houses.
We should reflect: how is it possible to understand a culture and compare it to our own, when we limit our engagement to staring at it behind a glass case, like it was a weird piece of art? And how is it possible to perceive someone as your equal when you detach them from their more human and rational dimension, showcasing them? The fetishization of Africa’s exotism is still dangerous for our contemporary societies, as it focuses on the diversity of African people in a way that obstructs their inclusion in a European context. One could argue that such an attitude pollutes the idea of nationality in the contemporary multicultural European societies, where being identified as a citizen of a specific country is still too connected to one's physical attributes and ethnicity, and who is different and “exotic” does not really belong. Not surprisingly, this is just one of many cases showing the repercussions of colonialism on the expressions of racism in Europe today.
Racism in Europe: more individual and “traditional” than systemic.
In Italy, as well as in many other former colonial countries, the racist mindset born during Colonialism was passed over generation to generation. Racism in Europe developed in a way that differentiated its expression from the US one: it is less characterised by physical violence, but more subtle because it is normalised, accepted, and in many cases unconsciously present in people’s mind. As it is unconscious and it affects society in terms of mentality more than in a systemic way, this form of racism results in being more difficult to identify and eradicate. Implicit bias, more than structural racism, is what Europeans should focus on, in order to dismantle the discriminatory beliefs inherited by the colonial era. Here, structural racism is a form of racism rooted in societal and economic systems that leads to disparities between the “dominant race” and minorities in a community and implicit bias as the “unconscious, implicit assumptions that influence [...] judgments and perceptions of others”. However, one should acknowledge that institutionalized racism is also much present in the European reality, especially in circumstances like the mishandling of the migrant crisis and the narrative of exclusion and fear built around Middle Eastern and North African migrants by certain political factions like the League (Lega) in Italy, or the AfD party in Germany, to mention some.
Many are the behaviours that enforce the widespread, yet more hidden form of racism in Europe, starting from the small everyday episodes of discrimination and bigotry. In the folklore and culture of Italy and many European countries there are plenty of jokes built on prejudices and stereotypes that can be easily offensive, and there is a strong tendency to associate certain negative characteristics to a person because native to a specific country. Looking at possible solutions, the idea is not to censor humor nor to condemn every generalisation, but to acknowledge that certain jokes and stereotypes might result in disrespect and that the intention one puts in their attitude towards others is less relevant than the effect that the same has on the recipient.
The hardest step to take in solving the issue of racism in our continent is accepting we have been in the wrong, and have been raised by generations with an inbuilt discriminatory mindset. What is asked of white Europeans is not to feel guilty, rather to actively work towards being more mindful of the possible impact of one’s words and actions, and starting to get used to identify and gradually eradicate racist attitudes and discourses.
Frameworks for change: education and dialogue
One of the reasons why this (un)conscious racism is inherent to the customs of a population is certainly the lack of information on the phenomenon of racism and its history. As an example, one could look at the use of the n-word: in Italy, it is often used especially by young people, as there is no knowledge about the impact and history of the word and many do not even know which term the n-word corresponds to. In addition, education fails to provide consistent and relevant information on the colonial experience at the basis of the rooted racist mindset that has endured up to now. For instance, the average History syllabus in Italy explains the colonisation in Ethiopia in more or less one page: this is not enough to acquire a thorough understanding of the events and their consequences, the first being the implicit bias that we have today. If there is a superficial knowledge around this historical period, it becomes extremely difficult to outline the influence and repercussions that the same has on contemporary mindset and societal structures. Yet, the resources to get educated on the subject are easily accessible to those that actually want to get to know more, in the shape of open State archives, documentaries and historians’ publications. It is crucial then to stimulate curiosity and sense of duty to becoming informed and conscious citizens. Educational institutions should play a fundamental role in this, providing more resources and additional readings on colonialism as it is already done for other historical tragedies like the holocaust.
Moreover, ignorance on such themes makes it difficult to initiate a constructive and effective dialogue between black and white people, a confrontation that is fundamental for a white person to really understand racism. While it is important for a white person to have background knowledge before approaching a dialogue on racial issues, these conversations should also be characterised by opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them. Where there is mutual respect between the parts, then both can ask difficult questions and occasionally slip into slightly politically incorrect statements. Of course, microaggressions must not be justified by the patience of the black person that acknowledges our possible ignorance on the matter. The healthy dialogue we should aim for requires humanity and respect, ability to listen and being humble in learning, openness to understanding others’ perspectives. It should lead to a reflection on racism that goes beyond its mere definition, looking at the more concrete side of the issue. What are my attitudes and ideas that can be considered racist? Do I realise it when I am being racist? What can I do to be more mindful in this regard?
In the United States, a dialogue on racial issues gave new strength to historical and contemporary civil rights movements that succeeded in sparking a moment of reflection and conversation on racism on a societal and political level. Social media allowed a quick spread of ideas and resources on the matter also in Europe, where the target of the message were mainly young people that use digital communication the most. Young people: those that are probably studying at school the historical origins of racism; those that have more time, energies and mental flexibility to shape a brand new opinion on the subject that ses further than the implicit bias and racist attitudes that are part of their countries history and traditions. One could reasonably argue that young people are more than anyone else in the position of pushing the academia to expand towards more diverse literature, to introduce new and reasoned ideas about diversity and inclusion in their workplace, or just to bring up the topic of racism at the dinner table of a typical European family with more over-50 than under-18 members. As much as racism shows itself in small everyday episodes of discrimination, anti-racism can win an important fight just by just starting a dialogue on racism in an environment that, just like the dinner table of a conservative grandmother’s house, might be completely stranger to such a topic.
The message is as direct as it can be: everyone in their smallest reality can contribute to contextualising the cause of BLM in Europe and start a reflection on the shape and history of racism in the continent. So, why not you? Why not us?
