PUBLISHED ON: https://www.ucu.org.uk/black-voices
The Black Members’ Standing Committee of UCU (BMSC) abhors the violence that has claimed innocent Palestinian, Lebanese and Israeli lives in recent days. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends who have lost loved ones and who continue to do so at this very moment. We were glad to read the communique sent out by UCU on 13 October 2023 which reaffirms that “achieving a lasting peace in the region must start with an end to the occupation and a recognition of the rights of all people”. We agree with UCU’s assessment that ‘the events of recent days are part of a continuing cycle of violence that has been the result of decades of brutal occupation.’ Palestinians have lived in a perpetual state of fear and suffering for the past 75 years, facing both slow and sudden forms of death. As the Standing Committee of this member-led union – one that exists in the service of Black staff and by extension Black students to whom we have a duty of care – we are also very concerned for our constituents in FE, HE and in the post-16 education sector (including Adult and Prison Education), and all Black colleagues outside it. For this reason, we make two points.
Firstly, global political conflicts do not only happen innocuously far away but usually because of the continuation of past colonial structures of injustice. These are in turn tied to political-economic systems including, such as the British military industrial complex. In other words: British colonialism means that for many of us here the developments there are not abstract and we call on the UK government to urge Israel to halt its siege in Gaza. The BMSC is alarmed about the worrying developments it observed over the past days. We note in particular the calls for censure of academics in British universities that targets mostly educators of colour. We have taken note of a shocking shift against those who express concern for Palestinian rights or who detail Israel’s violation of human rights are facing direct threats. It is our duty to express solidarity and raise concerns when our rights and safety is at risk. We are heartened by the UCU’s statement which reminds that Staff must not be hindered or impeded in exercising their civil rights as citizens, including the right to contribute to social change through free expression of opinion on matters of public interest. We recognise that this may touch upon sensitive or controversial issues. We share the concerns laid out in the statement of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) of 14 October 2023, and we encourage all members to access the tool kit on academic freedom shared by Warwick UCU. Please contact us if you are facing harassment or feel you are being targeted. We will raise awareness for the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which defends advocates of Palestinian rights across the UK.
Secondly, we are anti-racist trade unionists and continuing the legacy of trade union history, in cases of colonial injustice our affiliation lies with the oppressed. Our shared trade union and antiracism history has been enriched by the solidarity between struggles for self-determination and equality around the world. This has been informed by the anti-imperialism of activist scholars such as Stuart Hall, CLR James, and Angela Davis, and of course the legacy of the British Black Panthers and Darcus Howe, Althea Jones-Lecointe, and others, shaped our political histories. It’s been heartening to see the internationalism and affinity amongst the marginalized and the global dynamic of solidarity. The kinship between Black political voices about Palestine in the past week has been extraordinary, especially their reminder that Decolonisation is Not a Metaphor. As has been documented and shown in many examples over the past days – for instance activists for Black Lives in Ferguson, who received support from Palestine, and now returning this radical love – this is an important heritage. But this spirit is also thanks to those in the Black radical tradition in Britain who paved the way before us, we have a platform today as Black workers in unions. This year is the 50th anniversary of the National Conference of Trade Unionists Against Racism, its wide-ranging deliberations about black autonomy in the unions indeed need to be recognised and we will not allow this heritage to be swept under the carpet in order to be seen as acceptable. We do not perform our presence as evidence of diversity in the union: we convey our diversity through how we co-shape the policies of the union.
Black politics is about working-class struggles for equality and it stands for internationalism, solidarity and liberation. These are our core ethics and for that reason the BMSC deplores the injunction to condemn acts, the demand to address “both sides” when discussing Palestine. This rejection is not whataboutism but a basic understanding of the power structure shaping the colonized versus the colonizer. As Desmond Tutu said, ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’ Some may think that not explicitly condemning or publicly grieving is akin to accepting the indiscriminate murder of civilians. We want to reiterate, loudly, that calling attention to the systematic discrimination of Palestinians and/or criticizing the Israeli government for its contravention of international law must not be conflated with antisemitism. In fact, where it concerns Palestine/Israel, how to grieve is a ‘political question whether we like it or not.’ This is an important reminder that the demands for such public expressions constitutes the structural and everyday racism we reject. This is not separate from a longer existing racism faced by our Muslim and Arab colleagues in particular who are subject to Prevent policies that are widely identified as racist. These assumptions exist in part due to a dehumanizing narrative about Palestine and Palestinians.
In conclusion, we remind that our union’s Congress carried several motions this year, reaffirming its commitment to solidarity with Palestinian liberation. These include: a duty to report on the moral and political consequences of Israeli policies with regards to attacks on academic freedom; to protect students and staff under attack for supporting the cause of the Palestinian people; to continue to pledge support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). We thus reiterate that UCU reaffirms its commitment in support of anticolonial struggles and academic freedom, including against the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. We wholehearted support to our Palestinian educator colleagues whose universities have been bombed and who face an unprecedented challenge in continuing with their work. We send our solidarity to the Palestinian University Union and we ask others to do the same.
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