Nearly three weeks have passed since George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died at the hands of a white police officer in the U.S. city of Minneapolis. His death has proved the catalyst for worldwide protests against racism and many international law firms have thrown their weight behind racial justice charities as a result. 

In an impassioned piece originally shared on the firm's website, Linklaters' global diversity manager, Daniel Danso, details his experiences of structural and institutional racism, and how a commitment to bring about positive change requires open and frank discussions about race across society.

As many of you know, I'm African American. What's happening in my country and to people like me is a frightening reminder of how little has changed.

My family are there now and I fear for them. I have cousins that are afraid of getting their drivers licences because they know they will get killed by police at routine traffic stops. Or, that they won't get jobs because their names are too "black".

"I've been called the "N" word standing outside our office in Belgium by a cab driver. I've been stopped and searched nine times by police in the UK since 2004."

So when I've gone around the globe teaching our firm about privilege, this is what I was talking about. And let me tell you, being black skinned in a variety of countries in which we operate is still downright dangerous, not always physically, but certainly socially and riddled with bias.

Personally, I've been called the "N" word standing outside our office in Belgium by a cab driver. I've been stopped and searched nine times by police in the UK since 2004. I had an entire wait staff stand around my table watching me pay for dinner in Shanghai. I've had cab drivers refuse to pick me up in Singapore. I've been questioned by police, guns drawn, because I "fit the description" of a criminal in California while attending UCLA.

This isn't new for us and we have been managing racism for most of our lives. I navigate it today despite my education and working at a world-leading law firm. My skin colour supersedes my accomplishments and maligns my personal and professional trajectory.

I cannot exhibit the full range of human emotions because the stereotypes associated with "aggressive black people" are so pervasive. I can't be passionate without it being labelled aggressive, I can't be angry because somehow my anger is threatening, and I can't defend myself because it makes people uncomfortable.

So I smile, and I work around it, because for us, to keep allies and make any progress, we have to be the "model minority".

My experiences are not every black person's experiences; the concepts of "Diversity" teaches us that. "Diversity" also teaches us that it is something that every black person is privy to no matter how affluent we become.

Even Oprah Winfrey, billionaire US media mogul, was denied being shown a bag while shopping in Zurich because the shop worker thought it was "too expensive for her". She saw her colour first and later her celebrity.

"I can't be passionate without it being labelled aggressive, I can't be angry because somehow my anger is threatening, and I can't defend myself because it makes people uncomfortable."

For those of you who would never be racist or share those views, it may be hard for you to conceptualise that this still goes on, even when provided with news footage, articles, examples in various forms of social media, and yes, even our own people's feedback.

It may be difficult for some of you to know what to do to show support, acknowledgement or even your own anger at this situation because you may not be from a black background.

My hope from this is that the next time you hear from a person of colour that this has been their experience, you'd be less likely to shrug it off or worse invalidate it. That we are less likely to think that "this can't happen here" because we are "educated" people.

I hope that this helps the black community across the globe to feel empowered to share our stories and experiences with our colleagues and those people we don't want to potentially lose because the "race" discussion is so volatile. It's time we talked about race, and hopefully situations like this will open the door for conversations to emerge.

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