How do you evidence structures of anti-Blackness in England’s social housing system?
Structures of Anti-Blackness in Social Housing
Structures of Anti-Blackness, anti-Black racism and intersecting forms of discrimination have a long history in England’s social housing system.
Recent Research
In recent months two reports were released about racism in the social housing system. The first was by {{I_Sphere_Heriot_Watt_University_Report_of_our_Homelessness_Race_and_Ethnicity_Research}} and the second was by Shelter {{MY_COLOUR_SPEAKS_BEFORE_ME}}. Investigations into racism and discrimination within the social housing system have evidenced the overt, covert and aversive ways that anti-Black racism and intersecting forms of discrimination operate.
Unfortunately, despite several decades of research and evidence into racism, discrimination and anti-Black racism ({{Institutional_racism _and_local_authority_housing}}, {{Like_counting_deckchairs_on_the_Titanic:_A_study_of_institutional_racism_and_housing_allocations_in_Haringey_and_Lambeth}}, and {{Racial_discrimination_in_UK_housing_has_a_long_history_and_deep_roots}}) in the housing system there is little evidence that things are getting better.
Ongoing Denial
There are several factors that make anti-Black racism and intersecting forms of discrimination even more difficult to evidence. The on-going denial of the issue within local authorities, housing associations, the ombudsman and the regulator; The invisiblised way it often operates; The emotional labour that is placed on those who experience anti-Black racism; and intersecting forms of discrimination; and The lack of effective mechanisms to address it. Local authority and social landlords are well versed in denying and dismissing the presence of anti-Black racism in their structures and systems. Often placing the burden on ‘proving’ claims on those who are experience and are harmed by it.
Burdened
When people racialised as Black (Black people) experience anti-Black racism and intersecting forms of discrimination, have to live with the experience, formally complain about it, then are burdened with emotional labour of providing evidence that it has happened, within a housing structure that denies and dismisses its existence. Within these circumstances, how does one provide evidence of anti-Black racism, when it operationalised, invisibilised and conducted in refined covert ways?
By way of example, when in a group setting where white tenants are treated with courtesy and respect but the Black tenants are treated with disrespect, discourtesy, curt responses, cold responses, spoken to in a demeaning tone, intentionally isolated from conversations, ignored, while their white counterparts are responded to, treated with respect and courtesy and not ignored. How does one evidence this? Especially when one is alone.
Evidence?
How do you provide evidence of the sneers, glares, invasive staring, looks of disgust, demeaning tone, dismissiveness, insensitivity, callousness, sighs, rolls of the eyes, denials of your experiences, gaslighting and denial of the existence of anti-Black racism within social and local authority landlord staff?
How does the Black tenant evidence the psychological, physiological, psychic, and physical distress, harm, injury structures of anti-Black racism have on them?
When you know you have to wait longer for repairs to be completed, or have repairs requests ignored, while white neighbours have their repairs completed with faster response time and more diligence. How do you evidence this? You know it’s happening, but everyone else in the housing association or local government housing department dismisses, denies and ignores it?
How can you provide evidence to prove what is being structurally denied, invisibilised and legitimised through organisational structures and complicity?