ITS NOT ENOUGH TO SAY “I’M NOT A RACIST”
Last year a group of parishioners of Our Lady of Fátima in White City –which, despite its name, is a vibrant multicultural community in one of west London’s largest social housing estates – began to meet regularly on Zoom. They talked together about the reality of racism in the wider society – and also in their own community. These testimonies illustrate the everyday reality of racism within an ordinary Catholic parish in inner London.
I am a “cradle Catholic”, born into the thick of racist and discriminatory practices in west London. Our family used to live in a dilapidated house in Notting Hill, where we were subjected to racist attacks from “Teddy boys” and National Front arsonists. In the early-1970s we were relocated to a flat on the White City Estate. As a teacher, I was reminded by colleagues that my “face doesn’t fit” when it came to promotion to positions of leadership. I found myself fighting to progress professionally, in spite of years of success and experience, The parishioners’ testimonies are very personal, and are anonymised as a form of protection for the writers. For many readers, across our parish community and beyond – perhaps across the United Kingdom. (The Tablet)
