A few weeks ago, my roommate and I took a weekend trip to Tunisia, a short, one-hour plane ride away from Rome. At their closest points, the distance from the Italian coastline to Tunisia is less than 100 kilometers. As we were landing, she mentioned to me that she had recently read about the EU-Tunisia Accord policy from European nations, including Italy, which incentivizes the Tunisian military to bar ships coming from Tunisia to enter European waters. These ships are often filled with African migrants searching for work or a better life in Europe. One point of contention with the recent accord is that, as these migrants are denied at the Italian border crossing and sent back to Tunisia–to essentially be left stranded–they face crowded, hot and hostile conditions. We acknowledged that it had only taken us an early morning at the airport and a flight over the Mediterranean to arrive safely, though, for many of these migrants, this journey is much longer and more dangerous–sometimes life-threatening. Right-leaning policies which emerge from the European Union, such as the EU-Tunisia Accord, seem to be moving in a direction away from anti-racism, rather than towards social and racial equity. The Othering & Belonging Institute, a think tank from the University of California Berkeley, refers to this as a “false dichotomy”–an irony that can only be acknowledged upon a deeper look at contemporary social policy within the European Union, and how it is actually affecting the millions of people of color who live here.
“Everyday Dignity”, a film by Ida Does, discusses the life and works of Philomena Essed, a Dutch scholar who published a book–Understanding Everyday Racism–about anti-racism almost 40 years ago, an unprecedented school of thought at the time in the Netherlands. Her work is well-regarded today, though controversial at the time of publication, and I had never heard of her personally. In the film, scholars in Amsterdam gather to discuss Essed’s concepts, their implications in Dutch and general European society, and how to collectively address racism in Europe as young people. They thoroughly discussed promoting antiracist education in schools and considering the roots of generations-old social discrepancies, rather than hallmarking racism as an institution that only exists outside of Europe. This collective, old-fashioned sentiment is fascinating as social policy in Europe is seemingly more progressive than anywhere else in the world, yet manifestations of this feeling (even if disguised) of superiority continue to surface, for example into policy such as the EU-Tunisia Accord. Essed writes in her book: “Even if everyday racism manifests itself as a contingent phenomenon, it plays a central role in reaffirming pre‐existing relationships of power and domination”. Though I am not very familiar with Dutch politics or social dynamics, her book highlights the racist undertones in Dutch culture for the past few hundreds of years, and how it still dominates contemporary Dutch culture, regardless of often-praised progressive social policy.
In my experience, Europeans seem to have a difficult timeopenly discussing racism. This is a hugely generalized claim, but, for me, studying here in Rome, previously living in Spain, dozens of conversations with my European friends and reading contemporary media from European outlets demonstrates this pretty clearly, even today in 2024. In the United States, it was in 2020 that we really began to come to terms with our racist history and ongoing, omnipresent social implications of racism in everyday American life. Anti-racist policy in the United States, like teaching critical race theory in public schools, for example, is hugely controversial and by no means universally progressive. However, if word of this American contention reaches Europe, it does not seem to prompt any aligning discourse on race within Europe itself. Othering & Belonging Institute opine in the same article on European discussion on race which was previously cited: “discourse on race and racism in Europe is said to be a product of Americanization, of American imperialism, and political correctness; an import external to the reality of Europe and European history that should thus be repelled as alien.”
This essay from 2018 specifically describes the realities of acknowledging very visible racism studying abroad in Italy as an American student of color. Though the author didn’t often see outright displays of racism in Italy, she experienced more inherent racist remarks and incidents far more often than she ever had at home, she wrote. She describes largely what I have observed, both in Italy and Spain, as the difference between inherent, institutional racism and a form of more implicit, almost closeted racism. The former is perhaps most cited in the United States––our far-leading statistics in police killings are only one violent example of the reinforcement of the institution of racial hierarchy that originated in colonial-era Europe. The latter, racism that is manifested in microaggressions, social sentiment and far right immigration policy, is what Europeans unfortunately continue to insist is not as racist as ‘American’ racism. Migrants in Italy are observed to often experiencesimilar harsh, racist interactions in everyday life–what Philomena Essed aptly calls everyday racism. Further, multiple recent instances of violence against migrants of color in Italy have actually been defended by far right political groups–the same groups in power behind the EU-Tunisia Accord, or anti-migrant citizenship policies, where Italians born to migrant parents only have the ability to be naturalized after application at the age of 18–even if they are born in Italy, they are only subject to automatic citizenship if they have Italian parents. While many Europeans, including many Italians with whom I personally have had conversations similar to these, insist that racism is not an issue in their country, it is clear that these deep-rooted, centuries-old conceptualizations and implications of racism may just be manifesting differently than it is in the United States.
Post-2020, many of my progressive, American colleagues can agree: Americans are racist, and American racism is an institutional, systemic, multifaceted paradigm which cannot be solved with one solution or in one single period of time. To address racism, we must strive to be anti-racist. But, as a guest in a country that is not my own, how can I promote this idea? Surely, when I witness microaggressions–or flat-out, inherent racism–committed by my Italian colleagues, it may be taboo–for lack of better term–to point it out. Open Democracy writes: “To engage in a conversation about race if one is white and therefore has never endured racism, is pretty ambitious (to put it politely).” But, as European politics enact more far right policies that are harmful to people of color, how is it any better if I continue to spend my tourist dollars and contribute to their economies? We must realize, as tourists, that Europe, just like anywhere else in the world, is a place where real people live and work everyday. We must recognize that far right policies in Europe, Italy included, are harmful to a significant population of people who live here, and recognize the existence of racism as a deeply complex and generational institution. Most importantly, we must share schools of thought like Philomena Essed’s–racism in Europe does exist, and it has existed for years.
In theory, studying abroad encourages the cross-cultural understanding that is paramount to promoting peace and confronting racism, amongst other manifestations of discrimination. But in practice, as we know, this is not always the case. As an American student and tourist myself, I strive to represent my country abroad as what it is–a diverse, culturally-rich and ever-changing dynamic nation full of different traditions and customs. For me, the Culture and Identity Envoy program at Temple Rome has especially prompted some of this deeper thinking for me as a study abroad student. I appreciate the space the program has given me to reflect with other students and integrate myself into my community on a deeper level. So, I hope by taking part in contributing to both the Envoy program and discourse like Essed’s that I can extend (albeit diplomatically) this necessary, progressive thinking to Europe, and to my American peers in Europe.