Ongoing Institutional Racism in the British Workplace:The case of Azeem Rafiq

No one could have missed the 3½ hours of testimony at the House of Commons on 16 November 2021 about racism in British cricket. Whilst this only focused on the Yorkshire county team (and touched on the England national team) it is an "open secret" that not only is this right across British sport (football being the most well known example) but is riddled throughout all parts of UK society - both in the workplace and in general life.

Azeem Rafiq's emotional personal testimony with a litany of incidents gave horrific examples of both the overt and covert types of racism that he had endured over the years - ranging from direct racial abuse to the racism of inaction (excluding him from services). He suffered both at the hands of managers and fellow staff at work – yes, the cricket field and dressing room are all part of the workplace for a cricketer. Reporting on it also brought an Asian news anchor to tears live on air.

Some might say that - like the Luis Suarez racial abuse of Patrice Evra then refusing the handshake in 2012 (which finally led to a public statement by Man. Utd. manager Alex Ferguson and triggered a response by the USA shareholders) - it was only because Yorkshire started losing money (and board members / senior officers) as a result of sponsors pulling out that this issue has really hit the headlines and been taken seriously.

But why should Azeem be forced to go through the "trauma porn" process of having to relive the traumatic experiences in public just to make a point about racism that is already known (but repeatedly and wilfully ignored)?

Also, as we well know, very little racism is about the overt and extreme headline verbal insults like "p***" and "n****r". The vast majority of racism is the built-in day-to-day type - based on structural frameworks and institutional behaviours (both organisational and individual) - that really does the damage (physically, psychologically, emotionally etc.). That institutional racism can take many forms - disproportionate job losses through restructuring, withholding (or being "slow" to release) data and freezing out those who speak on behalf of BAME people being amongst them.

It was only a few months ago that the widely discredited CRED report claimed that there was no institutional racism in Britain. Yet here we are... again, with not only Azeem's case but other cricketers now coming forward. How many times does the same thing have to be said and the same evidence reproduced in the 75 years since the Windrush landed? Will they still continue to deny that institutional racism is real and present danger, pervasive across all parts of Britain and in all parts of British society.

It was interesting that Azeem also highlighted the condition where - like the “Westworld Robots" who literally cannot see anything that might threaten their worldview - his white colleagues either colluded with the racist behaviour or simply did not recognise it as anything wrong or abnormal (even those colleagues that were otherwise regarded as "good"). Azeem's experiences resonated loudly with BAME staff in workplaces (and when out shopping or socialising or anywhere else) right across the country. The onus now is on leaders of organisations to proactively and prominently ensure that all staff (particularly white colleagues) recognise what racism is (not just the obvious verbal abuse) and fully embrace the widespread existence of institutional, structural and systemic racism and understanding the concepts of white privilege/fragility/gaze etc. It is only when that happens will white people be finally genuinely able to join their BAME colleagues as allies in the fight against racism and progress can, after three-quarters of a century, begin at last.

Azeem Rafiq suffered and lost his job due to racism but even the six-figure sum that he has now received in compensation will not make up for the horrific way he was treated (including around the death of his child). He had to fight, fight and fight again - at significant cost to himself and family - to finally get heard. The litany of examples of staff being fearful to speak out individually and in forums continue. Let us hope that, this time, the call to address systemic racism in Britain will be taken seriously.