So sad. This is why the Black Lives Matter movement is important.

I have no words of wisdom but I am appalled at how humans treat one another over something as silly as skin color. We appreciate animals of varying colors but not our own species....

I'm sorry for the pain this is causing you and the kids, IMO a lot of this is being brought to a boil by the trump effect and I'm afraid it is not going away soon enough for me.

Shocking...and yet I’m not really surprised. In the areas away from the large metropolitan areas, where there are very many less black and ethnic minority people than you would find in any of the bigger cities, the amount of racism is high. I think it’s always been there, but it wasn’t always so obvious before the Brexit Referendum. The leave campaign seemed to unleash a flood of repressed racists....it was as though they were just waiting for permission to vent their ideas of hatred and bigotry. This government are not in control of anything, and the Police Commissioner has just stated that funding cuts are affecting the ability of the police to prevent and prosecute crime. I’m sure raciallly motivated crime is hugely on the increase, but the chance of the authorities getting to grips with it, especially preventing and countering it, is remote at present. Sad for people such as your students.

I honestly don't understand it either. It's truly mind boggling to me how people can discriminate others based on their skin color. Something that is literally determined by the sun and how close your ancestors were to it. It's an adaptation, nothing more.

The "I hate you because you're different from me" attitude is the inner working of a small, ignorant mind revealing its fears and insecurities. Consider the source and dismiss it for what it is; the verbal diarrhea of an idiot.

These people and their stupidity are beneath the rest of us. Don't give them the power to upset you.

The ameriKKKan Racist Approach had been Exported to Other Countries. People act Surprised when I tell My Story that I didn't Learned Meaning of the Word Nigger until I was 27 Years Old. We Live in Such a Sad World... Mankind is Doomed.

Though racism is very much alive, it is my belief that is is dying a slow death. It is the people like you with empathy and compassion that's gonna play an important role in the necessary changes coming about. Thanks for sharing this experience here.

The ONLY thing any of us can do is call it out when we witness it.
Influence the people in our lives as much as possible.
Refuse to accept it, and make those we catch acting that way, feel as
terrible as possible about it.
Shame them for being assholes.
Use your anger. Channel it into not remaining silent.

maybe the fact that they were doing so well on the course had something to do.

It's terrible. Our current political situation, with Brexit over there and Trump over here seems to be making people feel justified voicing these racist views. It's such a step backwards.

It's is horrible the way some people behave. I have come upon racism myself. As I am originally from Europe but live in Australia. I speak with a slight Scandinavian accent and sometimes at work when people call they want to speak to an Australian they say, they want to speak to my supervisor or someone higher up. Well I don't fall for that, I straight away pull them up about their racist remarks and ask them if they are Aborigines to have a right to question my nationality, most of them just hang up, some start swearing but they I end the call.

Unfortunately it is so because we do not know or take time to know each other. When we intermingle, when we take time to sit down and talk, we see that we are not that different, that we want the same things, to belong, to be loved, to be able to bring up our families, to work at a job that pays us at least a living wage, to feel like we are contributing, to feel like we matter. But when we have forces that try to divide us with lies, then it is extra difficult................

Unfortunately, for those of us in the US the disgust and shame you now feel towards your less enlightened countrymen as well as the anger is an every day occurrence. There have always been ignorant racists here, but in the past three years they've become emboldened and take pride in being lowlife scumbags.

That is very sad but in my experience of working in England there is a hard core of "little Englanders " who have been supressed for some time but with Brexit and the rise of "populism" they are becoming more confident and outspoken. We have some in Scotland too and they include the English in their list of people to hate.

and people will say "why don't blacks achieve as much?" This is why... minorities and those perceived as different are systematically beaten down from childhood in small and large ways.

I'm sorry they suffered that. I hope they rise above it and take their places wherever THEY choose to be. I hope they succeed and never look back and most of all I hope their children never suffer that abuse.

As someone of Asian descent, I've always found that my experiences tend to be different from those of my friends who are of European descent (I do have diverse friends, always have). When they discuss travel, especially to Europe, I hear things that don't match with my own experiences. I've had racist comments hurled at my face by total strangers, especially in the Netherlands. I have many relatives in the Netherlands. They have been there for 50-60 years, some were born there. They all speak fluent Dutch (my dad's generation spoke Dutch as a first language). My relatives are successful professionals (though many are retired now). Yet, they are treated as second class citizens at times, such as being served last though they have been waiting in queue earlier than others (I did actually see that myself). When I was a graduate student, I had a fellow grad student friend who's of Japanese descent but Canadian born. We were discussing our experiences in Amsterdam. She told me she had a group of young black men shout racist insults at her.

I grew up in a diverse multi-cultural community where someone's skin colour or ethnicity didn't matter. I had friends of all backgrounds and we didn't notice that we were any different. We were all just Canadian kids. Oftentimes, I don't even notice what someone's skin colour or ethnicity is (until someone ultimately reminds me I need to treat different people differently). Someone on this site called me "colour blind", and that is supposedly not a good thing. But I can't help that. I treat everyone as they treat me. I help anyone who needs help no matter who or what they are. I am not naive and unaware of the social/political/economic issues that relate to race and class. After all, I am educated in Anthropology, Sociology, Criminology, History, etc. I've worked pretty closely with indigenous communities as well.

The experiences of those students of yours are probably similar to mine (though may be much more severe and frequent for them). Growing up where we were and highly educated as we are, we just never expect to be singled out for racist comments. We grew up among people who didn't make our race an issue, then we go out to other environments, and we are shocked that some people would throw racist comments in our faces.

But racism isn't a one way street either. My relatives can be very racist towards persons of African/Carribean descent (it was interesting when I dated a couple of such individuals). My auntie came to my parents' anniversary party last year, and she said she didn't like London because "there are too many black people now". I was so disgusted at her. I wear my "colour blindness" with pride. I don't care.

Tell them their best revenge is to succeed at what they are striving for. I am one person rooting for them. I have students of all colors, backgrounds, etc. That makes me feel so free. Please give them hugs for me.

This story just breaks my heart. Do what you can, when you can. That is all we can do. There are good people out there too. We need to speak our minds and drown those bigots out until their voices are so small that nobody can hear them. I wish I could hug and console your students.

Not being a Brit, I do not know what you mean when you say, "I am white, ginger, ...." What the hell is "ginger"?
Other than that, I don't see an end to racism anytime soon.
My first serious girlfriend (in the U.S. Army), was 1/2 white but I was unaware of that (she looked and passed for the most part as white and I did not really care. However, some of the white solders took it upon themselves to inform me that she was Black. "You do know she is Black", etc., as if, if I knew, I would break it off with her. Things did not work out...I as at a very bad point in my life and the relationship did not progress (my fault, not hers), and we made no plans to stay together when I was discharged. Things have come full circle and my son is engaged to be married to a real nice (intelligent as hell, very involved in bettering the world), Black girl.

To me, that is sickening stereo-typing to say the least.
I was 'adopted' by Australian Aboriginal rite and lore with the agreement of my father when I was 13 years old by a very well respected and old Aboriginal friend and his wife.
Jack and Mary, my adoptive Aboriginal parents, had 2 sons and a daughter and ONE major rule in their household, NO Alcohol what-so-ever which both boys broke and were consequently asked to leave the family, young Virginia, " GinGin" as she called herself as a child, is a very brilliant, clever and highly intelligent person who, despite the hassles, etc, etc, has gained numerous degrees in Science and now holds a very prestigious position in a Scientific Research Organisation here in Australia.
My sister still calls herself Gin-Gin and still calls me the albino Brolga, the brolga being a native bird and known as the 'native companion' btw. Both Jack and Mary decided to give me the name Brolga because, like the bird, I had long, skinny legs and was always shuffling them around similar to how the birds 'dance.'
No matter the skin coloration or ethnicity, there should be NO precise little 'boxes' for anyone to made fit into, we can and SHOULD be allowed to strive for and reach our OWN fullest potential.

I feel your pain. It is just too easy now-a-days, to say things without wondering if this/that person will be offered. When I grew up, I was considered ‘poor white trash,’ but it was subdued and by adulthood, I had a decent sense of myself. But, people in my early adult years (back then) seem to show more respect for other people. However, only 50-60 yrs later, there seems to be blatant disregard, for people, in general! And it gets worse, if you are different in some obvious way. Maybe a large segment of any population, lacks empathy! At least, it appears so, here in the US.

This is so painful and sad. As a military brat, I was raised in what I call a mini UN, type of environment, and feel this is what helped me form my views of other people. There were, black, brown, Asian, Indian, every type of people you could imagine. My parents were also very open minded and taught me that racism is an awful way to go through life. I look at behavior before anything else. I keep hoping one day the world will stop all this hatred simply because of the color of a person's skin. Please give a hug to your students from me.?

Nobody is born a racist.

Why are they the ones having to leave?

That is adding extreme unfairness to what they have already endured.

Especially if they are so close to the end of the assignment.