On Racism - Chris Snuggs : Berners/Halls 58-64


I do not remember ANY "racism" during my 6 years at WHS. You would have to ask non-whites if they encountered any, but I never saw any instance of it. I do remember some non-whites at school:

  • Khalil Rashid was Indian I think. He was a hero of mine, though he probably never knew it. I am not sure I have ever met a nicer guy. I played in rugby and cricket teams with him, and to do so was an absolute privilege.
  • Martin Colley was in my year. He was a very fast but very erratic bowler! I never remember him being treated by anyone differently to any of the rest of us.
  • John Percival was a year or so above me and as I recall a musician; I seem to remember him playing the guitar and singing.
  • Ajit Bose was quite tall and slim and a very fast runner, excelling in the 400 yards. He once beat me in a sports day race, running 56 seconds to my 60. But he had long athletic legs and I had short fat ones!
  • Adil Cowan was also in our year, not black, but not 100% white I think. I can't remember where he came from. To be honest, nobody cared. He was another really nice guy, self-effacing and a fine scrum-half and selfless team-player.

Of course, I may have missed something, and would be very sad to hear from any of the above (I think John Percival is dead) that they suffered any racial abuse at school. As far as I am concerned, I don't remember anyone I knew treating them any differently to anyone else. Later, there were many more black boys at WHS, and I wonder what they might have to say about this?

And when and why did this all start? My first teaching job was in 1971 at Dane Court Technical High School in Boadstairs. There was only ONE non-white in the school, a girl in the 2nd form when I arrived, and she was as black as could be. She absolutely stood out, but once again I never remember any hint of racism. This all seems to be a 21st century thing, but WHY?

I am finding the current hysteria in 2020 about racism very depressing. This is not the world I hoped to enjoy on leaving school. And this incessant virtue-signalling and blaming is not likely to improve things. I am not a racist, but if black MPs are going to stand up and routinely CALL me one then I am going to be very angry.

PS Anyone guilty of slavery is long-dead. "Britain" is not guilty of slavery. In fact, Britain was instrumental in ending it.