The not-so-innocuous question

Abstract

The not so innocuous question of “where are you really from?” is a racial microaggression, grounded on faux ignorance and innocence, placing the white aggressor in the place of victim, when challenged. Microaggression is not only found at Buckingham Palace receptions, but is everywhere: job interviews, bus stops, pubs and staff rooms. What it contains is a belief that people of the global majority “owe” white people, who see themselves as “native” to the UK, despite the undeniable historical facts surrounding how most of the African and Caribbean diaspora that live in the UK have ended up on this island: as a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism. Cornering a black woman in an overwhelmingly white space and cross-examining her about her heritage – a heritage rooted in displacement, discrimination and violence – that the white British benefit from, is denying, deflecting and defending racism.