If Suella Braverman were white, she wouldn’t get away with spouting the hate she does

I think I should take the heat and emotion out of this debate and focus on the facts (Picture: PA)

‘You couldn’t really have a white Home Secretary saying the sort of things that Suella (Braverman) is saying and getting away with it that easily, I don’t think.’

Those were the comments I made during a wide-ranging, hour-long interview, in the context of some of the Home Secretary’s dehumanising language. 

That sparked a barrage of abuse from right-wingers, ranging from the usual trolls who go crazy on social media whenever I dare to speak out about race, to senior figures like the Conservative Party Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson MP. 

I think I should take the heat and emotion out of this debate and focus on the facts – not only because I stand by my statement, but because I want to explain why. 

I have just been involved in high level talks around artificial intelligence and during these discussions I constantly heard the phrase computer illiterate. Not able to use computers well, or not understanding basic things. And this got me thinking.

Amid the noise and the right wing rage, it’s important I do so because the backlash has proved we still have to overcome unconscious bias to tackle institutional racism. 

This is very much the case of bias illiteracy, and the fact people still won’t listen to the lived experience of someone regarding racism shows just how far we have to go.

It felt that some people were so desperate to abuse me, that they didn’t stop to consider my point. 

She has described the arrival of asylum seekers in the UK on the South coast as an ‘invasion’ (Picture: PA)

Let’s start by examining the things Suella Braverman has actually said.  

Braverman once claimed that asylum seekers crossing the Channel have values ‘at odds with the UK’ and have ‘heightened levels of criminality’.  

She has described the arrival of asylum seekers in the UK on the South coast as an ‘invasion’ – and told a Holocaust survivor who raised concerns over her language that she would not apologise.  

Braverman has said that grooming gangs are ‘almost all British-Pakistani’ – not only offensive but, according to Home Office own data, not supported by evidence.

Just pretend for a second if a white Home Secretary made comments like this – it’s not hard to imagine that they would be roundly condemned and accused of racism.  

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This is why I argued that this Tory Government is very strategic in who they place in these positions to do their dirty work on very sensitive issues like immigration.

Predictably, trolls accused me of ‘race-baiting’ because they don’t like me speaking out, and inevitably, some even ended up racially abusing me.

I was forced to report multiple abuses this week to the police, including one message calling me a ‘racist n*****r’.

My message, however, is clear – you will never silence me – you need to educate yourself and you need to take Black people’s input on racism seriously. 

The truth is, this Conservative Government is no stranger to putting people forward to say things the quiet part out loud.

Remember when Kemi Badenoch endorsed the Government’s ‘Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’, which somehow found no evidence of institutional racism in the UK and was emphatically rejected by UN rights experts.

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To me, the evidence of institutional racism in this country is as clear as day, yet the Government seems determined to deny its existence. 

Instead of attacking me, one should be asking why our government is trying too hard to deny something that obviously exists. I try to call out racism when I see it, and that is why I suffered this awful backlash.

If people were to consider the nuance of my argument, rather than rush to abuse me, we would achieve progress faster. And there will be less racism.

It is galling to see Lee Anderson’s opportunistic attacks labelling my comments racist. 

This is a man who criticised – and boycotted – the England football team for taking the knee, an act explicitly about taking a stand against racism. 

And this is the same Lee Anderson who told asylum seekers to ‘f**k off back to France’ if they don’t like being on a barge. 

If anyone knows about racism, they can smell his game a mile off.

I try to call out racism when I see it, and that is why I suffered this awful backlash (Picture: In Pictures via Getty Images)

I have suffered from racism all my life and have dedicated my career to fighting against it – I’ve even discussed it in my book – I’ve lived the reality and put the work in.

No person should be expected to hold a certain view because of their skin colour, that was never my argument, and not what I said, despite what trolls claim.

However, no one should use the privilege of a high profile position in the media to deny the facts about racism. 

Yet this is the strategy of our government and many of their allies in parts of the media – to manipulate and agitate an angry audience. They put forward people of colour to deny that racism exists and some do, sadly, fall for it. But plenty of people are starting to catch on.  

It’s time to accept the truth – racism exists, institutional racism exists, structural racism exists and to deny people’s experience of racism, or shout down people like me for raising it, only makes it harder to tackle.

The sooner we all accept facts, regardless of our political persuasion, the sooner we will tackle these problems and achieve a fairer, more equitable society.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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