Photo Credit - Fraser Bremner / Scottish Daily Mail
During a debate in the Scottish Parliament, Brian Whittle MSP spoke powerfully about his own experiences of witnessing racism as a young man.
In a debate showing solidarity with anti-racism campaigners, the South Scotland MSP was almost moved to tears as he recalled witnessing the racist abuse during a trip to London as a young man. Speaking about the episode that took place when he visited London as a 21 year old athlete, Brian recounted how he had been in a car with three other people when the driver stopped to allow an elderly Asian man to cross the road before suddenly revving the engine and moving forward to frighten him. Brian said
“I sat in the back in absolute shock, and I’m ashamed to say, shocked into silence.”
He went on to say that the episode had lingered in his thoughts ever since and that he had deeply regretted not taking action at the time but had vowed never to stand by again in the face of racism.
According to the MSP, many of the ideas in his speech had come from discussions with his former athletics teammates, including Phil Brown and Kriss Akabusi, about racism and sport. Brian spoke about some of his sporting heroes, whose successes helped to break down racial barriers. In particular, he mentioned Jesse Owens, a black American athlete who won 4 medals at the 1933 Olympic Games in Berlin in front of Adolf Hitler. Despite his astonishing achievements, Owens returned to an America in the midst of segregation and wasn’t recognised by the White House for his achievements.
The former Olympic athlete also spoke about how sport can bring people together, either playing in a spirit of competition or sharing the experience of watching gifted athletes succeed. Closing the speech, he argued that instead of criticising the problems of racism in the US or other parts of the world, we should begin with examining our own attitudes, saying
“If we are serious about racism, we must look in the mirror and ask whether that is us—and we should never let racism go unchallenged again.”
Brian’s speech won praise from MSPs across the different parties at Holyrood, including the Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf, Green MSP John Finnie, and Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw.
Speaking afterwards Brian said:
“That was a difficult speech to give, not so much because of the experience I was talking about, but because I’ve always felt guilty that I didn’t speak up at the time. So much so that I only told my friends about it when I was thinking about what to say for the speech.
The scenes we’ve seen in the US have left many of us looking at Scotland’s history and our own actions as individuals more seriously. Very few figures from history whose names adorn streets or statues can be judged as faultless by modern standards and we have to be willing to face that. I’m not sure removing all traces of them is the best way to do that.
These monuments can also be uncomfortable reminders of darker sides of our past. Acknowledging our failures and educating ourselves about them is how we do better in future.
What matters most to me is tackling the racism that still exists in our society today. I believe the best way to do that is by looking at what unites us building on the experiences we can all share.”
