Global majority

"Global majority" is a collective term for ethnic groups which 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.

Terminology

The term was used as early as 2003 as a way to challenge the normativity of a white majority or Eurocentric perspective. 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.[1][2][3] Reflecting concerns of racialized citizens of post-colonial countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the term was globally popularized in 2004 by Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam.[4][5]

However, the term "global majority" has been challenged on several 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.[6] It is also seen as using "majority" out of context and, thereby, distorting language.[7]

By country

Canada

The term visible minority is a legal term used in different sectors of the Canadian government,[8] 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."[9] The term is likewise used by Statistics Canada, although it is currently under consultative review.[10]

In certain parts of Canada, like Vancouver and Toronto, "visible minorities" make up the majority of the population.[11] Advocates of "global majority" argue that the term "visible minority" creates a racialized group, in contrast with the white Canadian population.[3]

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."[12][13]

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).[14] 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.[15] The language of "Global Majority Heritage" is seen as a reminder that minorities often come from a majority culture before migrating to the UK.[16] However, some have rejected the term because it is seen as associated with critical race and intersectional theories.[17]

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."[7]

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.[18] 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.[19][20]

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.[21] "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.[22]

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Maharaj, Sachin (9 February 2021). "We are not visible minorities; we are the global majority". Toronto Star. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  4. "Harvard Magazine".
  5. "Majority World".
  6. Fuller, Kay (2013). Gender, Identity and Educational Leadership. London: Bloomsbury. p. 143. ISBN 978-1-4411-1841-7.
  7. Beal, James (25 November 2022). "Westminster council rebrand dubs minorities 'global majority'". The Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022.
  8. Canadian Race Relations Foundation. "Visible Minority". Canadian Race Relations Foundation Fondation canadienne des relations raciales. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  9. Canada, Public Service Commission of (19 June 2013). "Employment equity". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  10. "Visible minority concept consultative engagement". Statistics Canada. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  11. 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.
  12. McGuinness, Alan (29 March 2021). "Boris Johnson told to 'scrap use of BAME label' as critics brand it 'unhelpful and redundant'". Sky News.
  13. Sharman, Laura (29 March 2021). "Abandon redundant BAME label, race commission tells Downing St". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021.
  14. "Statement from the Anti-Racism Taskforce". The Church of England. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  15. "From Lament to Action" (PDF). Church of England. 22 April 2021. p. 11. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  16. Kerr, Karlene (29 April 2021). "What's in a name? Why Karlene's role title has changed". Diocese of Norwich.
  17. Wide, Charles (August 2022). "How the Church blew it on race". The Critic Magazine. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  18. "Who we are". Global Majority. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  19. "GenEd Area Three". American University. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  20. "Global Majority E-Journal". American University. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  21. Lim, Daniel (11 May 2020). "I'm Embracing the Term 'People of the Global Majority'". Medium.
  22. 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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