Global majority

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"Global majority" is a collective term for people of Indigenous, African, Asian, or Latin American descent, [1] who constitute approximately 85 percent of the global population. It has been used as an alternative to terms which are seen as racialized like "ethnic minority" and "person of color" (POC), or more regional terms like "visible minority" in Canada and "Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic" (BAME) in the United Kingdom. It roughly corresponds to people whose heritage can be traced back to nations of the Global South. [2]

Contents

Terminology

The term was used as early as 2003 as a way to challenge the normativity of a white majority or Eurocentric perspective, through Rosemary Campbell-Stephens' work on leadership preparation within the school sector. [3] Its proponents argue that terms like "ethnic minority" marginalize the skills, the ways of thinking, and the lived experiences of those from African, Asian, indigenous, or dual-heritage backgrounds. Collectively, these groups are said to constitute 85 percent of the global population. Therefore, terms like ethnic minority, person of color, visible minority, and BAME were criticized as racializing ethnicity. [4] [5] [6]

However, the term "global majority" has been challenged on two fronts. It does not include white ethnic groups that are cultural minorities in white majority societies, such as Irish, Jews, and Travellers in the United Kingdom. [7] It is also seen as using "majority" out of context and, thereby, distorting language. [8]

By country

Canada

The term visible minority is a legal term used in different sectors of the Canadian government, [9] and has been defined by Employment Equity Act as "someone (other than an Indigenous person...) who is non-white in colour/race, regardless of place of birth." [10] The term is likewise used by Statistics Canada, although it is currently under consultative review. [11]

In certain parts of Canada, like Vancouver and Toronto, "visible minorities" make up the majority of the population. [12] Advocates of "global majority" argue that the term "visible minority" creates a racialized group, in contrast with the white Canadian population. [6]

United Kingdom

In the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests in the United Kingdom, there was a growing debate around how best to describe different ethnic groups. This led to the creation of the UK government "Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities," which concluded in March 2021 that the term BAME was "unhelpful and redundant." [13] [14]

In 2020, the Church of England created an Archbishops' Anti-Racism Taskforce to examine racism in the church. At the time, it primarily used the term "United Kingdom Minority Ethnic" (UKME). [15] When the taskforce's report was published in April 2021, it chose a broader description of "United Kingdom Minority Ethnic/Global Majority Heritage" (UKME/GMH) as more appropriate than BAME. [16] The language of "Global Majority Heritage" is seen as a reminder that minorities often come from a majority culture before migrating to the UK. [17] However, some have rejected the term because it is seen as associated with critical race and intersectional theories. [18]

In November 2022, the Labour-run Westminster City Council committed to replace BAME with "global majority." However, Conservative MP John Hayes remarked that the change was part of the "liberal left agenda" and said "Minorities and majorities are about the context — you can't use the term 'majority' out of context and assume it affords some sort of accurate description" and that the change of language is "deeply sinister and must be resisted at every turn." [8]

United States

In the United States, the term "global majority" has been used since the early-2000s as a way to refer to developing countries. Organizations like the "Global Majority," founded by California senator Bill Monning, focus on non-violent conflict resolution with respect to global disputes. [19] Likewise, the American University in Washington, DC offers a general education undergraduate course on the subject that focuses on developing countries. Since 2010, the American University has published a student Global Majority E-Journal connected to this course. [20] [21]

However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the term has been used as a way to speak about racism in the United States. Some prefer the term over "person of color," as the latter focuses on a historical binary between African Americans as "colored people" and "color-free white people," thereby emphasizing race and white centrality. [22] "Global majority" has been seen as a way to highlight race-related psychological processes and to place greater emphasis on less prominent voices in white-dominated spaces. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as dark-skinned compared to other populations. It is most commonly used for people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, Indigenous Australians and Melanesians, though it has been applied in many contexts to other groups, and is no indicator of any close ancestral relationship whatsoever. Indigenous African societies do not use the term black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.

Racism is discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity. Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices. The ideology underlying racist practices often assumes that humans can be subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as inferior or superior. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life. Associated social actions may include nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical ranking, supremacism, and related social phenomena.

Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involves discrimination against minority populations and often builds on negative stereotypes of the targeted demographic. Racial profiling can involve disproportionate stop searches, traffic stops, and the use of surveillance technology for facial identification.

White is a racialized classification of people generally used for those of mostly European ancestry. It is also a skin color specifier, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, ethnicity and point of view.

Racial color blindness refers to the belief that a person's race or ethnicity should not influence their legal or social treatment in society.

Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is defined as policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race or ethnic group. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, healthcare, education and political representation.

The term "minority group" has different usages, depending on the context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority". Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority, and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority.

<i>Colored</i> Racial exonym

Colored is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow Era to refer to an African American. In many places, it may be considered a slur, though it has taken on a special meaning in Southern Africa referring to a person of mixed or Cape Coloured heritage.

The term "person of color" is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the United States; however, since the 2010s, it has been adopted elsewhere in the Anglosphere, including relatively limited usage in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa, and Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visible minority</span> Canadian demographic category

A visible minority is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with that country's Employment Equity policies. The qualifier "visible" was chosen by the Canadian authorities as a way to single out newer immigrant minorities from both Aboriginal Canadians and other "older" minorities distinguishable by language and religion, which are "invisible" traits.

Covert racism is a form of racial discrimination that is disguised and subtle, rather than public or obvious. Concealed in the fabric of society, covert racism discriminates against individuals through often evasive or seemingly passive methods. Covert, racially biased decisions are often hidden or rationalized with an explanation that society is more willing to accept. These racial biases cause a variety of problems that work to empower the suppressors while diminishing the rights and powers of the oppressed. Covert racism often works subliminally, and much of the discrimination is done subconsciously.

Reverse racism, sometimes referred to as reverse discrimination, is the concept that affirmative action and similar color-conscious programs for redressing racial inequality are forms of anti-white racism. The concept is often associated with conservative social movements and reflects a belief that social and economic gains by Black people and other people of color cause disadvantages for white people.

Internalized racism is a form of internalized oppression, defined by sociologist Karen D. Pyke as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In her study The Psychology of Racism, Robin Nicole Johnson emphasizes that internalized racism involves both "conscious and unconscious acceptance of a racial hierarchy in which whites are consistently ranked above people of color." These definitions encompass a wide range of instances, including, but not limited to, belief in negative stereotypes, adaptations to white cultural standards, and thinking that supports the status quo.

A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship between ethnicity, race, and nationality.

Racism in North America and the state of race relations there are described in this article. Racism manifests itself in different ways and severities throughout North America depending on the country. Colonial processes shaped the continent culturally, demographically, religiously, economically, and linguistically. Racism was part of that process and is exemplified throughout North America today but varies regionally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race relations</span> Sociological concept of relationship between races

Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in the United Kingdom. As a sociological field, race relations attempts to explain how racial groups relate to each other. These relations vary depending on historical, social, and cultural context. The term is used in a generic way to designate race related interactions, dynamics, and issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on African diaspora</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed race-based health care disparities in many countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Singapore. These disparities are believed to originate from structural racism in these countries which pre-dates the pandemic; a commentary in The BMJ noted that "ethnoracialised differences in health outcomes have become the new normal across the world" as a result of ethnic and racial disparities in COVID-19 healthcare, determined by social factors. Data from the United States and elsewhere shows that minorities, especially black people, have been infected and killed at a disproportionate rate to white people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White people in the United Kingdom</span> Racial and multi-ethnic group

White people in the United Kingdom are a multi-ethnic group of UK residents who identify as and are perceived to be 'white people'. White people constitute the historical and current majority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 87.2% of the population identifying as white in the 2011 United Kingdom census.

White demographic decline is a decrease in the White populace numerically and or as a percentage of the total population in a city, state, subregion, or nation. It has been recorded in a number of countries and smaller jurisdictions. For example, according to national censuses, White Americans, White Canadians, White Latin Americans, and White people in the United Kingdom are in demographic decline in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the United Kingdom, respectively. White demographic decline can also be observed in other countries including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Zimbabwe.

In the Western world or in non-Asian countries, terms such as "racism against Asians" or "anti-Asian racism" are typically used in reference to racist policies, discrimination against, and mistreatment of Asian people and Asian immigrants by institutions and/or non-Asian people.

References

  1. ↑ "People of the Global Majority". Immigration Law Practitioners' Association. Immigration Law Practitioners' Association. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Alkin, Kerem (3 October 2023). "Economic domination of the 'global majority' | Column". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Campbell-Stephens, Rosemary M. (2021). Educational Leadership and the Global Majority: Decolonising Narratives. Springer Nature. p. 4–6. ISBN   978-3-030-88282-2.
  4. ↑ Campbell-Stephens, Rosemary M. (2021). Educational Leadership and the Global Majority: Decolonising Narratives. Springer Nature. p. 8–9, 57–58. ISBN   978-3-030-88282-2.
  5. ↑ Weller, Paul (2 January 2022). "'The Problems of the White Ethnic Majority' revisited: A personal, theological and political review". Practical Theology. 15 (1–2): 31. doi: 10.1080/1756073X.2021.2023950 . S2CID   246656285.
  6. 1 2 Maharaj, Sachin (9 February 2021). "We are not visible minorities; we are the global majority". Toronto Star. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Fuller, Kay (2013). Gender, Identity and Educational Leadership. London: Bloomsbury. p. 143. ISBN   978-1-4411-1841-7.
  8. 1 2 Beal, James (25 November 2022). "Westminster council rebrand dubs minorities 'global majority'". The Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Canadian Race Relations Foundation. "Visible Minority". Canadian Race Relations Foundation Fondation canadienne des relations raciales. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Canada, Public Service Commission of (19 June 2013). "Employment equity". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "Visible minority concept consultative engagement". Statistics Canada. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Hiranandani, Vanmala (14 November 2012). "Diversity Management in the Canadian Workplace: Towards an Antiracism Approach". Urban Studies Research. 2012: 11. doi: 10.1155/2012/385806 .
  13. ↑ McGuinness, Alan (29 March 2021). "Boris Johnson told to 'scrap use of BAME label' as critics brand it 'unhelpful and redundant'". Sky News.
  14. ↑ Sharman, Laura (29 March 2021). "Abandon redundant BAME label, race commission tells Downing St". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "Statement from the Anti-Racism Taskforce". The Church of England. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "From Lament to Action" (PDF). Church of England. 22 April 2021. p. 11. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  17. ↑ Kerr, Karlene (29 April 2021). "What's in a name? Why Karlene's role title has changed". Diocese of Norwich.
  18. ↑ Wide, Charles (August 2022). "How the Church blew it on race". The Critic Magazine. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Who we are". Global Majority. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  20. ↑ "GenEd Area Three". American University. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  21. ↑ "Global Majority E-Journal". American University. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  22. ↑ Lim, Daniel (11 May 2020). "I'm Embracing the Term 'People of the Global Majority'". Medium.
  23. ↑ Lee, B. Andi; Ogunfemi, Nimot; Neville, Helen A.; Tettegah, Sharon (2021). "Resistance and restoration: Healing research methodologies for the global majority". Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. 29 (1): 6–14. doi:10.1037/cdp0000394. PMID   34291985. S2CID   236175413.
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