'Are you sure you go here?' Three black Oxford students discuss racism and fitting in at one of Britain's most prestigious universities. Read more on their story here:
Just one of the questions Esther has faced as a student at the University of Oxford, serving as a daily reminder that she only makes up a tiny percentage of the institution's black population.
The university says it is making "steady progress" towards a more inclusive and diverse student body.Esther, Nadia and Cherelle tell their stories.Being the only black person in some lectures is one of the most obvious reminders Nadia faces that she makes up just 3.2% of Oxford's black student cohort.
"There have been lots of small-scale incidences but they do add up and make you feel detached from the place." "Efforts to decolonise the curriculum need to be pushed a lot further because there is still an element of Eurocentricity which needs to be tackled," she says.She believes racism in the UK is "structural, institutional and pervasive".Nadia is the BAME officer for Somerville College's student committee
The 21-year-old from south London says the query was also coupled with the speaker "looking her up and down". "So I can only infer from the fact that it did not happen to my peers and I was the only black person and therefore the only thing that I believe distinguished me from my peers was the colour of my skin."Esther has just finished her finals and will be starting a job in finance later this summer"But some of the reasons it’s been difficult for me are because I’m black, because I am a black woman.
Born and raised in south London, Esther has been involved in the Rhodes Must Fall campaign as a student.The campaign for its removal - Rhodes Must Fall - has been reignited by the death of George Floyd.Campaigners say the statue of Cecil Rhodes is a symbol of imperialism and racism."I’ve never learned anything from the fact the statue is up there," she says.
"But every single day, every single thing we do, we can look at it through a lens of 'how can I make this less racist?"“I remember I was in a lecture and we were talking about slavery and everyone turned to me," recalls Cherelle.
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