10 things you can do about racism in Ireland

Be an ally – combat racism

The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, sparked protests across the US which echoed across the world. In Ireland, we have seen unprecedented levels of interest in the problem of racism, and urgent calls for justice by those directly affected. We have never seen such a vibrant and passionate ‘awaking’ of public awareness and realisation that racism is nothing new in Ireland and has existed here for a long time. While standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and Black people in the US, we must also have a long and honest look at our own country’s racist legacies – from the deeply rooted systemic racism against Travellers, the prevalence of anti-Black racism, the stigmatisation of Muslims and refugees, and the inhumane treatment of people living in Direct Provision. These legacies put into context the high toll of interpersonal racism and the overt acts of racism that Asian people are experiencing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic recorded by iReport.ie. This only shows us how much work we, both as individuals and as a society, still must do to address racism in Ireland.

Realising the scope of racism in our own country may feel upsetting and overwhelming, especially for affected communities, but also for those from the majority community who are coming to grips with the breadth and scope of the problem. However, rather than feeling hopeless about that racism is still being ever-present and seemingly insurmountable, we would like instead to help inspire you to channel that frustration and take positive action. In recent years, for example with the popular movements which won marriage equality and repeal of the 8th Amendment, we have seen that the change is possible and that every person has a role to play to make Ireland a more just and equal country.

We hope that this list will help you in your quest to focus your frustration in a constructive way and help you ‘be the change you want to see in the world’.

1. Recognise your privilege and its meaning

Start your anti-racism work from the perspective of recognising your own circumstances and privilege, this is key to understanding any role you could inadvertently play in reinforcing systemic racism. It may be an unpleasant and uncomfortable exercise for many. White privilege may be hard to see for those of us born with access to power and resources. On the other hand, it is very visible for those to whom privilege was not granted. These words by Harry Brod can help you understand it better:

“We need to be clear that there is no such thing as giving up one’s privilege to be ‘outside’ the system. One is always in the system. The only question is whether one is part of the system in a way that challenges or strengthens the status quo. Privilege is not something I take and which therefore have the option of not taking. It is something that society gives me, and unless I change the institutions which give it to me, they will continue to give it, and I will continue to have it, however noble and equalitarian my intentions.”

Understanding white privilege by F.E. Kendall and Teaching Tolerance article which explores the term and its true meaning, are both excellent resources that will help you explore and understand your privilege further.

3. Educate yourself

• Learn about the history of racism, how it manifests, who it affects and how it impacts our society to be able to effectively respond to racism in Ireland. Educate yourself about the scope of racial inequities and disparities in our country and beyond as well why people fight for racial justice.

• Read our Understanding Racism: Defining Racism in an Irish Context booklet which gives a comprehensive answer in an Irish and international historical context to the question “what is racism?”.
• Racism in Ireland Today: What are the issues? is a useful jumping-off point for the main issues which shape the state of racism in Ireland these days, with links to further resources and INAR’s policy positions.
• To dig deeper you can explore Policy & Advocacy section of our website and the statistical information we’ve been collecting via iReport.ie since 2013.
• Read our Beyond Hate Crime Journal which presents various perspectives on racism in Ireland.

• Part of education includes reading books on the subject, watching documentaries, movies and series based on real stories to improve your understanding of systemic racism and its devastating effect on people’s lives. TIME has a handy list of 12 Movies to Watch to Educate Yourself About Racism and Protest History and Insider combined a list of what to watch to learn about racism. This list of books can be helpful in deepening your understanding of systematic racism, white privilege and white supremacy.
• Upskill – participate in intercultural or anti-racism training organised by INAR or one of the training, programmes and activities provided by its Members and other expert organisations. We recommend the excellent Monitoring and responding to hate crimes training online co-created by INAR and our partners at Facing Facts. Check the FF website to find out when the next course is taking place. The registration is now open for the Understanding and countering hate speech in global crises online course starting on 13th July. 

NOTE: We will be publishing a list of intercultural & anti-racism training available from our Network in coming weeks so watch this space for updates.

4. Educate others

We all have power to influence others

• Recognise that you have the power to influence others around you by talking to your friends, family and colleagues about racism and discussing what you have learnt yourself. Commit to disrupting hate and intolerance at home, at school, in the workplace and in faith communities. Challenge racism when you see it. Speak up. Confront racism and inappropriate behaviour and language when you see, hear, read, or experience it.

If you are a parent

• Teach your children diversity. Prejudice is learned early, at home, school or via traditional and social media, where children can be exposed to biased news headlines and images daily. Talk with them openly about racism, so they learn the values of fairness and equality from a young age. You can follow the advice from talking to kids about racism and this age-specific guide for fighting hate for parents. These 31 Children’s books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance. The NY Times list of books for children can help you explain racism and protest to your kids. You can find additional information for parents here and here.

Racism and children: Tips for parents

• Examine children’s textbooks and the curricula at their schools and media they consume (from internet sites to the commercials during their favourite TV shows) to determine whether they are equitable and intercultural. Discuss openly situations where racist stereotypes and examples of intolerance are present, as you would the dangers of cigarette smoking.
• Introduce your child to other cultures and people from minorities by intentionally expanding your circle of friends and exposing them to intercultural experiences (i.e. movies, festivals, interfaith events etc). Make sure they see Black people and other minorities also as heroes in a wide range of their own stories, and not just as victims of oppression.
• Encourage your children to become activists. They can form harmony clubs, participate in the Yellow Flag programme Diversity Committee in their school, participate with your family in the #TogetherAgainstRacism social media action, sponsor “walk in my shoes” activities, and create ways to interact with children of other cultures.
• Model inclusive language and behaviour. Children learn from the language you use and the attitudes you model. If you demonstrate a deep respect for other cultures, ethnicities, and walks of life, they most likely will, too.
• If your child is experiencing racist bullying at school, refer to ‘Responding to Racism Gide’ for information on your options and resources on dealing with bullying. Be an advocate for including anti-racism in school’s policies.

If you are an educator

• If you are an educator, through programmes such as the Yellow Flag programme,  Show Racism the Red Card Ireland, Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI), can organise training, activities and, in the case of YF, even provide the whole-school comprehensive programmes focused on anti-racism, interculturalism and diversity.
• You can host a diversity and inclusion day on campus, review your policies to include anti-racist aspect, or, through a youth club, reach out to young people who may be susceptible to hate group propaganda and prejudice.
• Yellow Flag Programme’s website offers a range of resources for teachers on a primary and secondary level to support intercultural and inclusive education and Show Racism the Red Card has the Anti-Racism Awareness Online Programme for educators and useful education packs for primary and secondary school teachers.
• The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment developed intercultural guidelines for primary and post-primary education and the Department of Education published guidelines for Traveller education in primary and second-level schools. 
• Educate Together developed a thorough list of actions and resources useful in applying anti-racism in schools and Aontas discusses the role of Adult and Community Education can play in the process of anti-racism in this article.
• The UK-based National Education Union’s framework for developing an anti-racist approach can provide a hand in developing anti-racism policies in schools.
• The Educational Institute of Scotland has a comprehensive list of anti-racist resources for educators including Black Lives Matter materials.
• In this article universities can find useful advice on steps to take to become anti-racist institutions.

If you are a youth worker

• Youth workers can access a number of resources on the National Youth Council, including the excellent How can the youth work sector respond to young people’s calls to tackle racism. You can also use or refer yong people to resources and information on racism and Black Lives Matter developed specifically for youth by SpunOut.ie.

• Support anti-racist and minority organisations and activist groups and amplify their messages. Become a member, donate, participate in their events, protests and campaigns, sign petitions and promote anti-racism and inclusive messages via your social media. See the list of INAR’s 100+ Members organisations across Ireland to find your local group or organisation to support and/or get involved with grassroots activist groups such as MASI, Places of Sanctuary, MERJ, RAMSI, find and get involved with your local intercultural or refugee suppoort groups or start one yourself.
• Give space to minority voices. Invite, encourage and listen to underrepresented voices and perspectives. Build your links with various minorities, figure out how to get them involved when hosting an event, a protest, training or while talking to the media. Make sure that you provide a safe space for people from ethnic and religious minorities to have their voices and experiences heard and their perspective represented. Involve ethnic minority-led groups and organisations in your events. If you are from the majority community, know when to hold back.
• Create alternatives:
  – Hold alternative events at the same hour, some distance away, emphasising strength in community and diversity to draw media attention away from hate. These events give people a safe outlet for the frustration and anger they want to vent.
  – Develop counternarratives to reduce support for extremist and racist groups and ideologies and decrease the impact of hate speech. See here for ideas.

• When you witness racism, do something. In the face of hatred, apathy will be interpreted as acceptance by the perpetrators, the public, and the victims. Community members must act, because if we do not, hate persists.
• Take seriously even the smallest hint of hate because racist slurs often escalate to harassment, harassment to threats, and threats to physical violence.
• Reach out to allies from community organisations, local authorities, places of worship, schools, clubs, and other civic groups. Create or join a diverse coalition such as intercultural or anti-racism group. Gather ideas from everyone and get everyone involved. Asking for help and organising a group reduces personal fear and vulnerability, spreads the workload, and increases creativity and impact.

Every single act of anti-racism resistance can have a positive ripple effect on victims, our communities and the society. You can explore more tips and ideas in our resource page on how to proactively respond to racism in your community.

Build an anti-racist community

• Bring together people of different nationalities, religions, and ethnic groups. Hold candlelight vigils, interfaith services, and other activities. Gather people around issues important to everyone, such as health, family, community safety, welfare or sport to create opportunities for various members of the community to meet and interact. Provide them with a safe space to share thoughts and get to know each other.
• Mark anniversaries, intercultural celebrations and important dates such as Anti-Racism Day, World Refugee Day, Diwali, Pesach or Eid.
• Begin a community conversation on ethnicity, identity, diversity and/or racism. Discussion groups, book clubs, youth clubs, library gatherings can bring people together. Effective community conversations allow individuals to tell their stories, their immigration history, their daily encounters with discrimination, their fear about revealing sexual orientation, and so on.
• Consider building something the community needs, and use it as an organising tool, from a community garden to a new playground. Make sure residents from different backgrounds are included in the process.
• Create or join your local Facebook page or an online community celebrating diversity and challenging racism. Create counter-narrative against racist discourse.

7. Support those affected by racism

• Don’t be a bystander, react! Lack of reaction can be interpreted as acceptance by the perpetrators, the public and the victims. It can encourage a climate of violence as hateful behaviour can become normalised and accepted. In order not to contribute to this normalising of hostility, bystanders need to be aware of how to stand up to racism and intervene at a time when people need it most, both on an individual and a community level. Intervening not only means reacting in the moment to a potentially violent situation but also challenging and changing the cultural norms that make racism acceptable and make victims feel alone and isolated. Supporting someone who is being harassed can help demonstrate to others that they also have the power to make our communities safer. A range of bystander intervention techniques is listed in Part III of the Responding to Racism Guide.

• Offer support. If you learn about a hate crime victim in your community show support. Victims of racist attacks are especially vulnerable and need a strong, timely message that they are valued, welcome members of the community. You can provide practical support such as clearing a graffiti from their wall, help secure damaged property, offer to assist with making a report to the police or iReport.ie.

• Let victims know you care. Surround them with comfort and protection. Research shows that even small acts of kindness such as a phone call, a positive comment on social media, a letter or providing a listening ear, can make a big difference.

• Help with reporting what happened to the iReport.ie and authorities such as the police, or the Workplace Relations Commission. Link them with one of iReport Reporting Centres.

• Provide information on organisations offering practical assistance to victims of racism, including specialised NGOs, lawyers, free legal support, victim support services, INAR Members or local support groups.

• Accompany him/her while reporting, to court, if appropriate or refer to a specialist victim support service.

  See Responding to Racism Guide for details of victim support services available in our country.

8. Report racism

9. Be an anti-racism advocate in your organisation, work, school

• Get your organisation or group to join your local anti-racism/intercultural group and/or national anti-racism network such as INAR.
• Make sure to eliminate institutionalized practices that are discriminatory towards minorities.
• Make sure your workplace, organisation, school or university has policies in place that reflect the diversity and promotes the inclusion of minorities. You can refer to these practical steps to fight racism in the workplace.

Questions for your organisation

• Does your organization reflect the diversity of your community, at all levels of the organisation?
• Is your organisation’s culture inclusive to all people?
• Do you, as an individual, have a personal and professional network that is diverse?
• Do you invite diverse speakers to your events?
• Do you have an anti-bullying or diversity, anti-racism policy? Is racism named within those documents?

10. Pressure leaders