Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said the following in June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd:
“I do not know what it is to be Black.
I do not know what it is to be Black, or a member of any other ethnic, religious or sexual minority in the places I have lived.
I have never experienced what it is to be treated differently simply because of the way I was born…
Let us look around here in this very hemicycle. The diversity of our society is not represented, and I will be the first to admit that things are not better in the College of Commissioners or among the European Commission staff. And this is why I say we need to talk about racism, and we need to act”.
EU officials have been talking for far too long about issues they know nothing about. Yet, they think they know best, even despite von der Leyen’s statement to the contrary. And it is clear that in October 2024, so much work is still to be done, and so many more actions need to be taken.
In the latest European Commission report on the implementation of the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020-2025, the Commission “observed that it encouraged EU countries to take action by adopting national strategies, action plans and by supporting national bodies and civil society organisations working to promote equality. However, despite some progress, levels of racial and ethnic discrimination remain high. Not all EU countries have adopted national action plans or strategies, and not all EU countries sufficiently collect data to paint a full picture of the levels of discrimination in their country”.
The European Union’s motto is that we are all “united in diversity”. However, the reality of the EU is very different. Black Europeans do not celebrate Black History Month because we have no reasons to do so. There is nothing to celebrate. We will not submit ourselves to the motto of the EU because it is not the reality.
How can we be united in diversity, when in the name of so-called democratic values, our justice system is weaponised to silence us, put us behind bars, strip us of our voices, dignity and right to liberty, humiliate us, and degrade us?
How can we be united in diversity, when the EU Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Union are all White?
Are we united in diversity, when security forces stop and search us on the streets? Are we united in diversity, when our daughters are stripped and searched in schools, the places where they are supposed to be safe?
Are we united in diversity when we can vote to elect our White EU officials at the European Parliament, but Black Europeans can not stand for official posts?
Are we united in diversity when we are detained on the side of the road because we drive a nice car? Are we united in diversity, when we are fined because we “dare” wear or carry the Palestinian flag in some EU countries? Are we united in diversity, when our sisters are stripped down to the bones on beaches?
We accept that Europe is united. However, we reject the assertion that Europe is united in diversity. We submit instead that it is united in Whiteness. If we want to be united in diversity, our officials must accept that there is an issue. This is the starting point.
We have never been hard to reach. We are the most visible citizens in Europe. Europe has simply chosen not to see us. Now you see us.
by Aké Achi, Founder of Black Europeans and Migrants at Work, for Black History Month.