'Let's move the conversation away from ourselves'
In the weekly 'From the Newsroom' column, editor Jeremy Ransome discusses the Palace racism row...
The recent Buckingham Palace racism row involving the late Queen’s former Lady in Waiting Lady Susan Hussey and founder of the Sistah Space charity Ngozi Fulani has become a talking point during the last week.
Lady Hussey, the Prince of Wales’ godmother, resigned from the Royal household and apologised after subjecting Ms Fulani to a grilling over her ethic origins during a reception at the Palace last Tuesday for campaigners against domestic violence.
Many are divided over whether Lady Hussey was being genuinely racist or was merely trying to find out Ms Ngozi’s roots, albeit in an interrogative way.
I’ve done it, I bet many of you have. Not in the seemingly aggressive style of Lady Hussey, but still inappropriately early in a conversation with someone we’ve only just met. Having listened carefully to people of colour in the media over the last few days, I’ve come to realise that, by focusing on what Lady Hussey’s intentions were, we’re all getting it wrong.
What matters is that Ms Ngozi, who described the encounter as “a form of abuse” was upset by the questioning. And many others have come forward since to say they are sick of the same, constant questioning about their ethnicity.
When engaging with British-born people with roots elsewhere, or any person of non-British ethnicity, it is their feelings which should be paramount in our minds.
I can remember a few years ago asking a black footballer “where he originated from”. And it’s not good enough. Not in the early stages of a first meeting, and I’m ashamed.
It may come up eventually, as does employment, relationship status and a whole host of other questions when two inquisitive people meet. But race should not define anyone. So let’s move the conversation around, whether we mean offence or not. Let’s think of others when we meet them, and remember that certain lines of questioning are tedious and can make us seem boring.
