Something that has become apparent from reading and watching the resources is how anti-racist policies and practices tend to be created in corporate systems, often created for people rather than with them. Usually, the structures of power who direct this work are rarely the ones who face day to day discrimination which results in a superficial form of anti-racism, where the goal is institutional protection, not structural change. Lived experience is marginalised in favour of metrics, training modules, and PR-friendly statements. Rather than being embedded as an ongoing, evolving practice of accountability and co-creation, anti-racism is reduced to a single action plan or one-time training. Despite its lengthy list of objectives, UAL’s Anti-Racism Action Plan rarely centres the voices of those most impacted by systemic racism, hasn’t been updated since 2021, although it claims to be a ‘living document’, and lacks clear actions. The language of the document is administrative and top-down, positioning leadership as drivers of change while those with lived, frontline experience appear as passive beneficiaries rather than active co-creators. As Bradbury argues in A CRT Framework for Education Policy Analysis, policies that claim neutrality but exclude racialised perspectives often work to “maintain white dominance” Bradbury, A. (2020)
Although the task in Workshop 3 was aligned to the progress of our interventions, I also took away how all three groups had addressed different objectives from the UAL Anti-Racism Action Plan. Within 20 Minutes each group proposed enlightening, practical, and in some cases radical alternatives to how these objectives could be approached. All emerged from first-hand, collaborative knowledge about what students and staff need to create spaces that are inclusive, safe, considered, and inspiring and all had a point of the work being long-term. Asif Sadiq in the TEDx video pointed out, anti-racism must be ongoing and active, however in its current format has become a tick-box exercise. For me Sadiq offered up ideas that at first felt quite obvious, but I’ve come to recognise the importance of unpacking the fundamentals of why we should be conducting DEI for those not yet convinced on why it matters, and how it can be beneficial. Sadiq ends the Ted Talk with how DEI is here to stay and therefore its beneficial for businesses and institutions to adapt and consider this. However, it is clear that 3 years on from this video the political and social landscape, particularly in the UK and US, is seeing strong pushes to remove DEI training and policies from employers and institutions.
In a recent article, The Guardian reported a Blue Labour proposal stating: “We should legislate to root out DEI in hiring practices, sentencing decisions and wherever else we find it in our public bodies” (The Guardian, 2025). This is incredibly dangerous moving forward in affecting the possibility for a more equitable, inclusive work and life environment.
The Telegraph video, which frames racial equity efforts in universities as a threat to tradition, reveals the deep discomfort some have with even modest anti-racist initiatives. It echoes what Garrett highlights in Racism Shapes Careers that racism in higher education isn’t just interpersonal, it’s systemic, shaping who belongs, who advances, and whose futures are imagined.
“Whiteness must be seen as more than an optical privilege… but as an ecology of hostile structures and practices that shape what we consider to be daily norms” Garrett, R. (2024)
For anti-racism to mean anything, institutions must be willing to disrupt their own norms. That means listening to those with lived experience, not just when it’s politically safe, but as a permanent and central part of their practice and be advocates of sustained change.
References:
Bradbury, A. (2020). A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England. Race Ethnicity and Education. Routledge.
Garrett, R. (2024). Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education. Routledge.
Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU (Accessed on 3 June 2025)
Osuh, C. (2025) ‘Blue Labour group urges ministers to “root out DE” to win over Reform voters’ The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/02/blue-labour-group-urges-ministers-root-out-dei-win-over-reform-voters (Accessed on 2 June 2025)
Osuh, C. and Mohdin, A. (2025) ‘Firms “Rebranding” diversity initiatives to avoid unwanted attention’ The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/may/26/firms-rebranding-diversity-initiatives-avoid-unwanted-political-attention (Accessed on 2 June 2025)
Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw
UAL (2021) Anti-Racism Action Plan. [Online] Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0032/296537/UAL-Anti-racism-action-plan-summary-2021.pdf (Accessed on 3 June 2025)
Ellie, I think what you said about anti-racism being done for people rather than with them really stuck with me. It’s so true that the people making these policies are often the furthest from the realities of discrimination, and that disconnect really comes through in things like the UAL Action Plan. I hadn’t noticed it hadn’t been updated since 2021, that says a lot, especially for something that claims to be a “living document.”
Even though I wasn’t in Workshop 3, I found your reflections on it so useful. It’s encouraging to hear that the group work pushed against the limits of institutional policy and offered more grounded, creative ideas. And I totally get what you mean about Sadiq’s talk, at first I thought “this is obvious,” but actually, reframing the basics for people who aren’t yet on board is a really useful way to think about it, great post.
Ellie, this is a well written blog entry. I really liked the Garret quote, it resonated so much with the material that we have been looking at during this unit. I was disappointed to not have been able to attend the third workshop session, it sounded like a productive one. It was good to read your reflections on the session, particularly because I had sensed a feeling of despondency at times in the group. However, on reading your post, it was great to see that new alternatives were being discussed. It does feel like this unit can be a catalyst for change on a micro level. I think it was John Lydon who once said “Anger is an energy”.
Ellie, I really enjoyed this blog post, and as Romany mentions, how you highlight that the anti-racism policy that is something done for people, instead of co-created. It’s not only telling that the document we read was published in 2021, but also that the people represented in authoring it, namely James Purnell, has now left due to the student body’s occupation and support of Palestine. That Blue Labour article was so depressing – I am so disheartened by this push to gain Reform voters while promoting this anti-progressive agenda. Do you think the readings are easy to implement into your teaching practices?