Introduction

This short course has been created as a first step for anyone who wants to learn about racism and its relation to and impact on human rights in the UK and around the world.

Racism is deeply rooted in the structures of our society. Challenging these structures and the ideologies that support them is key to human rights progress.

At Amnesty International, we believe that activists need anti-racism knowledge and an anti-racist approach to effectively defend human rights. You can create change in your community and wider society.

The course will focus on:

• Expanding your knowledge of the history of racism deeply rooted in Britain’s colonial past.
• The forms that racism and racial discrimination can take in people’s lives.
• Anti-racist approaches you can take to create human rights change.

By the end of this course, learners will:

• Understand that racism is a human rights violation. It is prohibited in all core international human rights treaties.
• Understand that activists who want to defend human rights need anti-racism knowledge and practice.
• Recognise the historical and ongoing legacy of racism.
• Define and recognise racism as a system of inequality and race as a social and colonial construct.
• Commit to anti-racist actions to tackle racial inequality.

If you want to read more about Amnesty UK’s journey to anti-racism, read about our IDEA action plan.