HERE ARE SOME OTHER COMMON MICROAGGRESSIONS:

You guys are meant to be really smart.

Do a search into the Model Minority myth. Beliefs and comments like this harm all BAME students, especially Asian students.

Can I touch your hair? Is it all yours?

This phrase is heard by many POC, specifically Black people. Curiosity is not the issue. Expressing curiosity is not the issue. The issue is desire versus respect. You may desire to touch a POC’s hair - ask first. Remember personal space, general manners, etc. POC are people not animals. If someone says no, respect it and move on. I’ve said respect like twelve times because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.

I really want to travel. Thailand, Greece, New York - and Africa.

Really? Ironically, this phrase is characterised by unspecificity but makes me think of something really specific. The 1986 South African TV show Shaka Zulu. One of the overhead wide shots presents the Black people on screen as this indistinguishable mass. No wonder POC continually say “we are not a monolith.” If you can name individual European countries and even states within a country in the West but cannot do the same with African or Asian countries - there’s an issue. Do you desire to enjoy the forests of Gabon, the rugged mountains of Djibouti or the white sand beaches of Sierra Leone (shout out to my people!)? Either way an awareness of cultural particularity never killed anybody.

You’re from London, right?

British cities have the highest populations of non-white people than British towns, villages etc. 46% of Londoners are BAME. Statistically, it’s not a bad guess. It just doesn’t leave room for getting to know someone’s background from them telling you rather than you assuming based on demographics.

The terminology may not always be this colloquial. Some may say they prefer “light skinned women/men.” No matter the wording, the colourist sentiment is the same. The offensiveness of this line lies in the idea that the light-skinned person from the non-white race is “tempered” by whiteness, thus making said person attractive. Without their lightness they aren’t acceptable. I said “WOC” in my example specially because though men go through this too (and other struggles), in general, women disproportionately hear this phrase in comparison to men.

You could pass for one of us.

Oof. Being mixed race can already be hard as one would expect when you’re an embodiment of the merging two different cultural backgrounds. If you have a white parent and a BAME parent and are identifiably non-white, that comes with its own set of issues. But what happens when you don’t look like your ethnic minority parent AT ALL? Comments like the above don’t make someone feel included but further alienates them.

Calling a Native American a “Red Indian” or “redskin”.

Very racist. Very antiquated. Doesn’t matter if we don’t live in the US, when referring to Native Americans in History or Politics classes, we can still be respectful. But it’s in X book or Y song so why can’t I say (racial slur)? Sigh. Ever had a teacher that was reading a certain older text and it seemed like they just relished saying those racial slurs? Whatever medium a racial slur is in, whether it is reclaimed or in its original context - it’s still racist when a white person says/sings it. It’s upsetting for BAME people. That’s reason enough.

Ebonics when used by white people. Self-explanatory.

But it’s in X book or Y song so why can’t I say (racial slur)?

Sigh. Ever had a teacher that was reading a certain older text and it seemed like they just relished saying those racial slurs? Whatever medium a racial slur is in, whether it is reclaimed or in its original context - it’s still racist when a white person says/sings it. It’s upsetting for BAME people. That’s reason enough.

I can’t be racist my friend is XYZ.

You can be. Proximity to a person from an ethnic minority background does not make one immune from being racist - it just makes it sadder.

I hope this article has given some insight into how microaggressive comments can be harmful to POC. What’s the take away? Don’t avoid talking to POC out of fear of saying the wrong thing, just make sure to think about how your words affect another person before speaking. A little bit of empathy goes a long way.

BAME - Both ‘BAME’ (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) and ‘BME’ (Black and minority ethnic) are often used when making comparisons with the white population in the UK and reflect a common way of gathering and collating statistics, for example, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and in company diversity monitoring. - The Law Society

POC - People of Colour (Used in the US more than the UK).

WOC - Women of Colour.

Light-skinned - Usually referring to non-white people with lighter than Black, darker than white complexions. I.e., being a Black, Latinx, Indigenous, mixed-race, or other person of colour with such a complexion.

Microaggression - a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalised group such as a racial or ethnic minority.