June 9, 2020 1.00 pm This story is over 45 months old

“Ignorance makes racism even worse in Lincolnshire,” says resident

His experiences growing up albino black in Lincoln
Nathan Sealey spoke about his experiences growing up albino black in Lincoln.
By Local Democracy Reporter

A black Lincoln resident has called out the actions of some people in Lincolnshire as “racist and ignorant”.

Nathan Sealey is a 22-year-old student completing an MSc in computer science with electronics at university.

Nathan is of dual heritage, and grew up in Lincolnshire before moving away for his studies.

It was during his time away that he says he realised the extent of racism embedded in some people in Lincolnshire.

Nathan’s personal experiences of dealing with racism have been constant, saying that he’s been called “every racial slur under the sun”.

“Because I also have albinism I’ve heard all of the slurs prefixed with ‘albino’ as well.

“I grew up both being denied my blackness by white people around me, whilst also facing the overt racism that comes with being born black.

“I’ve had racially abusive messages from unknown numbers, I’ve had slurs being shouted at me by people I don’t even know in the middle of the town and there’s been times I’ve felt unsafe.

“Day in day out I receive comments and insults on my appearance and whether it be the daily comments about my hair or the comparisons with my skin colour, it grinds you down and marks you out as different. It’s isolating.”

When asked about the issues with race in the county, Nathan said: “There is a racism issue full stop.

“There is also an ignorance issue in Lincolnshire and that is currently making racism here so much worse.

“I don’t believe most of the people who currently say and perpetuate racism have the conscious aim of doing so, but there is a lot of growth to be done.”

With the recent protests around the country, including the Lincoln march for Black Lives Matter, many criticised the mass gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nathan argued that “whether it’s appropriate or not shouldn’t be the conversation we are having.

“Leave that for discussing Dominic Cummings, or the thousands of good weather beach-goers, or the rampant and renowned disregard for the lockdown restrictions in certain areas of this county unrelated to Black Lives Matter.

“Black people have faced too many years of oppression, and the need to do something that sends a message to the systems that oppress us had to be done.

“Unfortunately that makes leaving your house to do something about it during this pandemic a non-question.”

A second Black Lives Matter protest is to be held in Lincoln on Saturday, June 20.