Weekly Reader: Racism is Real by Clive Henry; Personal Story of Encountering Racism and Turning to Activism

 

Weekly Reader: Racism is Real by Clive Henry; Personal Story of Encountering Racism and Turning to Activism

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Some books that strike against racism take the historical or sociopolitical approach. They look at the whole picture of racism in the historical context describing such events as slavery and segregation and also current issues such as police racial profiling and redlining. It defined what racism is, how it was used throughout history, how it can still be recognized, and what can be done to end its still tremendous hold.

Other books are more personal. They discuss the individual experience with this harmful and ultimately destructive belief. How this person encountered racism and was then motivated to act against it. 

Clive Henry's Racism is Real takes the individual personal approach to prejudice. It is a wonderful powerful book that deals with Henry's experiences with institutional racism and how it affected his personal and professional life.

While racism is an important factor to Henry's book, it is not the only aspect to the book. Before he encounters the bigotry that made his adult life very difficult, Henry describes a happy childhood in Nottingham, England (home of Robin Hood) with loving parents, five siblings, and a love of comedy tv shows, 70's soul music, and movies by Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. 

That idyllic youth ended with the death of Henry's father in 1983. The shift from childhood innocence to maturity coinciding with the death of a parent is heartfelt and recognizable. Familial roles shift and young people have to prepare themselves for a harder, tougher world that they are uncertain they are prepared for.

As Henry matured, his world became more complex. He eventually worked in retail, collecting data and managing stock levels. He embraced the New Jack Swing style of the mid-90's, partied, and had many romantic relationships. He also faced fatherhood at a young age, maintaining close relationships with his son and the boy's mother, Henry's former girlfriend turned close friend, Vanessa. He subsequently became the father of three other children. He also had to face the illnesses of his mother and sister.

In these chapters, we see not a perfect man but one who faces early adulthood with wild abandon and ultimately maturity and acceptance of adult responsibilities.

There were two major events that brought Henry face to face with racism. The first happened while Henry worked in the UPS Customer Service. After a great presentation, he was promoted to the Sales Department. He was excellent in making queries and practicing sales techniques, so much that he earned praise from his colleagues. He eventually became Inside Sales Executive for the Nottingham branch.

In 2008, ten years after he started working at UPS, he was put on a Performance Improvement Plan to evaluate his productivity and regain lost sales. This occurred when lynx accounts converted to UPS which Henry helped with. The results were 95% effective. Henry managed 30 staff members and collated the information. 

His work was practically flawless. He was given important managerial responsibilities and handled the merger successfully. There was no lost business. In fact, business had increased.

So why was he put under orders for improvement and why did Human Resources not sign off on it?

Those questions are merely rhetorical. There is one obvious reason especially when upon investigation, Henry realized that only he was singled out for this PIP and no one else, none of the white employees were. Henry filed an appeal and was told that "he was making a mountain out of a molehill." 

 During the appeals process, Henry received no support from his employers. He later left his job at UPS and found work as a taxi driver.

Henry's case was taken to court and made public all the way to the European Commission of Human Rights and Court of Appeal. When Henry's case went viral, he received support from many, some who have been in the same position in which he found himself.

Henry's second major encounter with racism occurred after the end of his relationship with Debbie, a woman with whom he had two children but was diagnosed bipolar. She charged Henry with rape. After Henry was out on bail, he collected information about Debbie's unstable behavior including stalking messages that she sent after Henry had been charged.

Once again Henry found himself in another court case that revealed the many cracks in the justice system, especially towards people of color. He revealed that neither Crown Protective Services (CPS) nor his solicitor sent important documentation regarding Debbie's health status in enough time to help with Henry's defense. Another barrister represented him and he was able to achieve a court victory. 

Some Readers may assume that what happened to Henry was an isolated incident of one individual. Unfortunately, there are many that share similar stories of workplace discrimination, harassment, and challenges when trying to oppose them. They happen too often for them to be seen as "just incidents." It is time for many institutions to look hard at themselves and the people who work within and require their goods and services and whether they are truly helping all people equally and fairly.

The institutional racism that Henry faced when his manager singled him out, his solicitor ignored him, and then when UPS and CPS refused to aid him reveals a harsh reality that many people of color face. They can follow all rules, obey the law, work as hard as they want, become an honest citizen and loving spouse and parent, and be considered a model employee. That doesn't always matter.

If an individual manager doesn't like them because of their skin color and that institution protects the racist manager over the employee, then yes that is institutional racism and they should be called out on it. If a person doesn't receive the proper assistance that they are legally allowed to have, then that service needs to be closely examined for their negligent treatment towards people of color.

Individuals, business, programs, and institutions need to be questioned, called out, and challenged. If a person can't treat everyone who walks through their business or governmental doors with the same care and helpfulness no matter what they look like, that person's behavior needs to be examined and they need to be removed.

Policies need to be changed to benefit all and everyone. It's not dismantling a system. It's asking it to be changed and live up to the promises of true equality, justice, fairness, and accountability 

That is true equity and equality.