“In Western education, Whiteness has been normalized, leading people to naturally regard Western thinking as the norm and the appropriate reference point” (Hu, 2024).
Lonnie Holley below, describes how he has been excluded from the arts.
Many aspects form our identity including, race, gender and class. When these intersect, this can lead to discrimination because of “who we are and because of institutions that have been structured in a race, gender, class discriminatory way” (Crenshaw, n.d.).
To understand why discrimination and racism is still prevalent in universities, we must understand their history. The first universities in the UK, were formed in the 13th century, funded by the monarchy and the church[1], for white wealthy men. Two centuries later, Colonialism was enacted by and benefited the descents of the same men, church and monarchy. Colonizers saw themselves as “civilised” and native peoples as “savages” (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, 2006). Colonialism has shaped the world as we know it!
White Europeans from birth are taught our lives are normative “so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work which will allow “them” to be more like “us” (McIntosh, 1989). This follows through the same thought pattern that normalised colonialism, so it isn’t hard to understand, that a society and its institutions put in place by white people for white people discriminates against those who are not white.
As McIntosh puts it, “my schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture” (1989). Robin DiAngelo writes that colonialism has shaped modern European and Western society based on inequality, and white people benefit from this inequality (2019). To refuse to acknowledge this is as she puts it to “maintains our dominance within the racial hierarchy” and “the protection of white advantage” (2019). As someone who grew up in Brazil (ex-colony) is white and from a middle-class background, it’s impossible not to acknowledge my privilege or to refuse to engage with the colonial past and how it’s shaped our present.
The most recent UAL EDI data shows that the B.A.M.E. to White degree awarding gap has decreased by 12% and the university is 4.5% short of their 30% B.A.M.E. staff representation goal. But is this enough to fully address systemic racism and oppression?
If “Equality, diversity and inclusion are critical to everything we do at” UAL (2025), there must be opportunities created for the uncomfortable conversations around race to take place. Hayes and Singleton set out a guideline for ‘Courageous Conversations’, based on four agreements; to stay engaged, expect discomfort, speak your truth and accept a lack of closure (2006). They state that by normalizing different points of view, “we can avoid a situation in which one dominant way of understanding race invalidates” others (Hayes & Singleton, 2006). To create real change, we need to allow ourselves as individuals and as an institution to feel uncomfortable as otherwise “We can’t get there from here” (DiAngelo, 2018).
[1] From the University history page of the Oxford and Cambridge
websites.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/history
https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-the-university/history
[1] From the University history page of the Oxford and Cambridge websites.
References
Crenshaw, K. (n.d.). Intersectionality is a recognition that people are multidimensional. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/P-QRBdckDaw [Accessed 25 May 2025].
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, Identity politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp.1241–1299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Diangelo, R. (2019) White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. United Kingdom: Penguin Books. Pages 15-33.
Gallacher, Alex. (2025) ‘Lonnie Holley unveils new single ‘That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music’, KLOF Mag, Available at: URL https://klofmag.com/2025/02/lonnie-holley-unveils-new-single-thats-not-art-thats-not-music/(Accessed: 30.06.25).
Hays, C & Singleton, G (2006) Beginning Courageous Conversations about Race. Available at: chrome extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://courts.ca.gov/sites/default/files/courts/default/2024-12/btb_23_precon_make_it_plain_2.pdf(Accessed: 16/06/25).
Hu, M (2024), International Students’ Feeling of Shame in the Higher Education: An Intersectional Analysis of Their Racialised, Gendered and Classed Experiences in the UK Universities, Vol. 14, No. 1, 69-89 doi: 10.17265/2159-5526/2024.01.006.
Loonie Holley (2025) That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music (Official Video) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ERWWPETAc (Downloaded: 21.06.25).
McIntosh, P (1989)’White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack’. Available at: https://www.nationalseedproject.org/key-seed-texts/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack?ref=nakedpolitics.co.uk (Accessed on:30.06.25)
National Geographic (2025) What is colonialism? How the exploitative practice shaped the world. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/colonialism (Accessed:30.06.25).
Nieto, L (2010) Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment: A Developmental Strategy to Liberate Everyone. Olympia, WA: Cuetzpalin. Page 11-21.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy(2023) Colonialism Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/ (Accessed: 30/06/25).
UAL (2025), Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) report update. Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/News/264626/equality-diversity-and-inclusion-edi-report-update (Accessed: 20.06.25).
University of Cambridge (2025) History. Available at: https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-the-university/history (Accessed: 30.06.25).
University of Oxford (2025) History. Available at: https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/history(Accessed: 30.06.25).
Dear Emilia
Straight into the fray. Difficult to discuss race without discussing colonisation and what made Europe great!! What an impressive list of references. Great use of the way white privilege is normalised as a way of being and not worthy of discussion. Nothing to see here! If institutes such as UAL are dedicated to redressing imbalance and inequity in the system, then the system needs to change. Obviously, students benefit from having more representation and diversity in the teaching staff but they would also benefit from a deep and sincere acknowledgement that race matters. Life chances are not based on luck but on access. Access and participation has to be supported to ensure that failure to acknowledge bias to peoples’ intersectionality doesn’t result in a failure to succeed.
Thanks. I enjoyed reading this.
Hi Frances,
Thank you for your kind comment, I spent along time reseacrhing for this blog post to fully articulate and back up my point. I agree with you completely.
“If institutes such as UAL are dedicated to redressing imbalance and inequity in the system, then the system needs to change.”
Now, how do we encourage UAL to create the space to start having those uncorfotable conversations? As until then not much will change.
Thanks for sharing the D’Angelo (2018) clip ‘We Can’t Get There from Here’. It’s a powerful and effective opener for this conversation, particularly in the way it prompts reflection on how art is perceived through the lens of race. You make a compelling case by drawing clear links between historical contexts, particularly colonialism, and the way they continue to shape academic discourse today.
Your engagement with McIntosh’s (1989) work on white privilege is especially resonant, and I appreciated how you used it to reflect on your own positionality. The idea of “privilege checking” as a continuous, embedded part of our roles as educators feels like an essential takeaway. One that supports more conscious and equitable practice within the academic space.
Your reflections on the EDI report are also well placed, particularly in how they lead into a hopeful assertion: that change begins with recognising and celebrating individuality, even within systems that are often shaped by external and institutional power.
This was a genuinely insightful and thought-provoking read. Thank you!
Hi Mikolai,
Thank you for your feedback, it is always so encouraging.
Yes, I agree we do need to keep checking ur privilege as part of our roles at UAL, “that supports more conscious and equitable practice within the academic space”.
I look froward to learning more about ways in which this can be implemented and discussed going forward.
Dear Emilia, many thanks for sharing this lovely post, which flows quite well with all the references you have adopted. To quote your compatriot, the pedagogist Paulo Freire in relation to the ‘discovery’ of America (2004, p. 53): “The past. cannot be changed. It can be understood, refused, accepted, but it cannot be changed”. I would also add that the past cannot be forgotten, and as a spectre from the past, we have to remind ourselves that the present can be changed instead. So let’s praise and glorify the heroic gesture of those who fought and struggled against the invaders, and let’s share this spirit of freedom with our colleagues and students.
Hi Giuseppe,
Thank you for your feedback, I love this quote!
“The past. cannot be changed. It can be understood, refused, accepted, but it cannot be changed”.
Thank you 🙂