Black Lives Matter - Statement by BASEES President, Dr Matthias Neumann, and the National Committee

We share in the pain and anger at the murder of George Floyd. As scholars, we sadly recognise that this is only one case in a painful history of racism. Higher education has a long way to go in terms of racial equality; there are too few Black professors, members of executive teams, or vice-chancellors in the UK. Within this sector, my own discipline of History has a very long way to go indeed. A Royal Historical Society report in 2018 highlighted the lack of Black representation and highlighted the discrimination, bias and harassment faced by BME students and colleagues. The situation in most other disciplines in our field of Slavic and East European studies is sadly not better. It behoves each of us to fight for better representation and to struggle against racism and discrimination in our field. As a historian, I am acutely aware of the existence of white privilege, which has been produced by centuries of systemic racism. It is not easy and sometimes painful for all of us who are white to admit that we have benefitted from it in one way or another. But it is an important step in the process to acknowledge that we could, and should, do more to right these wrongs.

Combating racism starts at home, and these events rightly lead us to a moment of reflection and introspection. We commit to using our position to echo and amplify the voices of our Black colleagues and students. BASEES is promoting and supporting the drive to decolonise the curriculum in universities across the UK and beyond. At this year’s annual conference we had planned to hold a series of events to reflect critically on issues affecting ethnic and racial minorities in our community and our practice. Sadly, the conference had to be cancelled at short notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The events that have unfolded in the last two week remind us that we must not let this pressing issue drop from our agenda. We must take action.

We want our Black colleagues and students to know that we are here to listen, protect, support, and empower you. It is beholden on each and every one of us to call out racism when we encounter it and to intervene in the face of discrimination. We want BASEES to be a community that fosters justice and equality in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. We must, and we will, hold ourselves to higher standards in achieving this.

Dr Matthias Neumann (BASEES President)

BASEES National Committee