“We’re on a journey”: antiracist discourse in British development and humanitarian INGOs

On reviewing 30 public statements by British international development NGOs (INGOs) on race and antiracism between 2020 and 2022, this article begins its query with the metaphor of a ‘journey’. The idea of a journey is a useful and evocative discursive strategy to portray INGOs as socially and culturally progressive at an extraordinary moment: in the wake of a revived global Black Lives Matter movement and a series of scandals on accusations of racism from INGO staff since 2020. As a discursive strategy, the use of rhetorical devices enables particular self-portrayals of the organisations as thoughtful and action-orientated, and simultaneously reveals wider political manoeuvres to steer organisations complicit in global racism to places easier to navigate. Such a strategy aligns with a wider discursive apparatus that portrays INGOs as caring and compassionate entities. Closely reading these 30 statements, I ask: how is the idea of race, racism, and antiracism used in the text? Exploring in turn, where do British INGOs locate racism in development and humanitarianism? And what is their responsibility for it and to undoing it? Such an exploration reveals discursive tactics for managing charges of racism and demands for transformation in the sector, and how INGOs capture antiracist discourse.