Commenting on the current protests to the BBC, the Birmingham based singer said: “It’s not enough to just say ‘I’m not racist’ because you’re not a purveyor of overt racism”. Tara Pilkington reports.
Jamelia, in a new interview on racism and discrimination in the UK, has commented on the ongoing protests taking place across the globe, saying: “It’s not enough to just say ‘I’m not racist’ because you’re not a purveyor of overt racism”.
Sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month, Jamelia added that the UK “has a serious issue” with racism “that goes far beyond the overt”.
She also commented: “It’s the covert racism that is so damaging and it’s insidious because it’s literally woven into the fabric of society… The ignorance and indifference of white people allows a level of complicity, so you contribute by not being aware. It actually serves the racial bias.”
She went on to say that the UK “has issues at the heart of its education system, its healthcare system, in the judicial system, when it comes to loans and insurance, house [and] home ownership, opening a small business…there are so many things that affect black people on a daily basis”.