Russia has invaded Ukraine. European
countries bordering Ukraine have welcomed its traumatized neighbors –
an open-arm welcome in stark contrast with Black international
students left out in below-freezing temperatures for days without
life-saving humanitarian assistance. Ukrainian police and border
security officials’ double standard demonstrates that Black
lives don’t matter.
In
disbelief that a double standard would be implemented, a white
neighbor emailed me the following question: “There is chaos and
confusion at the Ukraine boarder. Reports about racism distracts the
world’s focus on the Ukrainians’ hardship. Racism can’t
be in every situation. Do you think it’s all a misunderstanding
since patience and tempers would be short?”
A
deluge of footage and posts on social media shows the mistreatment of
Africans: taken off trains and told to walk to the border; chased
back from the border in specific countries; hit by police armed with
sticks as white Ukrainians were allowed entry; moved to the back of
the line and told to wait; or simply flat-out told by border
officials they were “not tending to Africans.”
Despite
an order that all women and children are allowed to leave Ukraine,
Black mothers, many of whom have lived in Ukraine for years, were
physically prevented from getting on trains and buses.
Poland
might as well erect America’s classic Jim Crow “white
only” placard, since its double standard toward Africans has
been on full display. Polish nationalists have attacked Africans and
made false claims of theft and crimes. “One group of Nigerian
students having been repeatedly refused entry into Poland have
concluded they have no choice but to travel
again across Ukraine
and attempt to exit the country via the border with Hungary,”
according to a Twitter account representing the presidency of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. The hashtag #AfricansInUkraine arose on
Twitter to draw attention to the double-standard and mistreatment,
because mainstream media hadn’t been covering the abuses.
Russia
likes to stoke America’s racial tensions and could now be using
basketball phenom Brittney Griner to do it: On her way home from
Russia last month, she was detained at Moscow Airport and arrested
for allegedly possessing a vape with cannabis oil. According to
Russian authorities, if Griner is found guilty, she could face
between five and 10 years in prison.
Since
Jan. 23, as tension with Ukraine ramped up, there’s been a
State Department “do not travel” advisory in place for
Russia because of “the potential for harassment against U.S.
citizens, the embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens
in Russia, Covid-19 and harassment by Russian government security
officials, and the arbitrary enforcement of local law.”
Griner’s
troubles remind me of what happened to jazz musician Valaida Snow
early in World War II. Snow played concerts throughout the United
States, Europe and China. On a return trip to Nazi-occupied Denmark
after headlining at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Snow, the conductor
of an all-women’s band, was arrested for allegedly possessing
drugs and sent to a Copenhagen jail. After 18 months of imprisonment,
Snow was one of the more fortunate Blacks to make it out of Nazi
Germany, released as an exchange prisoner. Psychologically and
physically scarred, Snow tried to return to performing, but her spark
was gone.
Anti-Black
racism is global. When wars erupt in European countries, African
Diaspora Blacks have difficulty being safe or getting back to their
home country – especially if the country they are in is
anti-American.
Russia’s
Ukraine invasion helps the world see what our inhumanity toward each
other looks like. Also, it highlights the persistence of a global
racist social order even in a humanitarian crisis. Sadly, anti-Black
racism will also be part of Ukraine’s war narrative, because
everyone has the right to cross international borders during a
conflict, notwithstanding their religion or racial identity.
