Black Lives Matter – European Institute Statement

4 June 2020

The UCL European Institute is horrified at the murder of George Floyd and the wider treatment of Black individuals and communities in the U.S. at the hands of police, the government, and other public institutions. We stand in solidarity with protesters and activists, whose anger and despair is more than justified, as well as with Black UCL students and staff. Black Lives Matter.

While eyes are on the U.S. this week, racism is also very much alive and well in the UK and Europe. Academic work on Europe remains overwhelmingly centered around the white perspective, and this has been reflected in our work. As an institute dedicated to generating and exchanging knowledge about Europe, it is time we used our platform to address this shortcoming.

We have not paid anywhere near enough attention to the long history of racism experienced by black people in Europe and issues pertaining to racial injustice in Europe today; nor invested sufficiently in raising the profile of Black academics and researchers, as well as academics who are doing important work on race. Going forward, we are committed to listening and proactively changing this.

The European Institute aims to amplify research and commentary from UCL academics working on European issues – this includes racism. If you or your colleagues are working on issues of racial inequalities or identities in Europe, please let us know. We will also proactively seek out opportunities to address this gap in our own work. Finally, we will ensure more diverse representation of voices in our events and publications.

We also want to draw attention to the organisations and initiatives at UCL that are doing excellent work on these issues and could use your attention and support. This list is non-exhaustive and we apologise for any omission.

Black Lives Matter – European Institute Statement

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