Praising foreign students’ English racist ‘microaggression’ – UK university

NZ Herald 16 May 2021
Lecturers should not compliment a foreign student’s English because it is a potentially racist “microaggression“, leading British universities say.

Saying “you speak English so well” or “you’re so articulate” to an ethnic minority student carries an assumption white people are more intelligent, according to Imperial College London, as it issues staff with a list of phrases to avoid on campus.

Microaggressions are “subtle, invisible and insidious” remarks that create an “internal conflict” for minorities who experience them, the university says in diversity training manuals, likening the impact to “death by a thousand cuts”.

Scholars are told it is “denigrating cultural values/communication styles” to tell an East Asian person to “speak up more” or to tell a black person “why do you have to be so loud? Just calm down”.

Campus security guards are told not to ask a black member of staff if they are lost because this carries “assumptions of criminality”.

Imperial’s guide adds that uttering the phrase “I’m not racist. I have several black friends” is denying minorities’ experience of bias.
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