Four British women share their first-hand experiences of racism

We look back at our #calloutracism campaign, where four young women spoke to Marie Claire about how it feels to be a young, black or Asian woman in modern day Britain

Anti-racism protests have broken out across the world, calling for justice for George Floyd.

George, an unarmed black man, died whilst being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 25 May.

In viral video footage taken by a bystander, a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, can be seen kneeling on the 46-year-old’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, whilst pinning him to the ground. ‘I can’t breathe…please stop,’ were his last words but the police officer continued to choke him until he lost consciousness. He died in hospital an hour later.

George Floyd’s brutal killing has brought to light a much deeper issue about the deeply engrained systemic racism felt across the world, with people standing up across the globe to say enough is enough.

As we educate ourselves on racial injustice, we look back at our 2017 #CallOutRacism campaign, where we spoke to four women who shared their emotional experiences of what racism really feels like. Their accounts highlight why it is everyone's responsibility to #CallOutRacism.

Also in our campaign, Anita Bhagwandas talked of her experiences on dating websites where she is regularly lauded for her 'exotic' looks and comments from men looking to date a 'brown girl'. Lawyer and author Saurav Dutt told of his shock when, during a discussion with a publisher, they asked if they could change his name. ‘They said the subject wasn’t about “Asian matters”, so there wasn’t much precedent for a “name like mine” to appear on a non-ethnic book', he explained. And fashion designer Heidy Rehman shared her feelings on Trump's Muslim ban.

This article and video was originally posted in January 2017.