Surviving in a racist society

I was born in a British colony. As a child I was led to believe that the white man was superior to the non-white. At least, everything that I saw convinced me that this was true. The white man enjoyed wealth, position in society, the best paying jobs, was among the ruling class and lived in bigger houses with servants to tend to his needs. If you were born white you did not have to struggle to get a good education, you did not have to get good grades at school, but you had the pick of the best jobs in government and industry. This is what the colonial system was about,jobs for the boys.
When I went to Ireland and England to further my education in universities, I discovered that non-whites in these societies were not considered any different. The only difference was that it was not thought to be in good taste to openly vaunt the white man's superiority. Even in academic circles you were not given an open door to relations between students. You could go so far but no further especially in friendships with female students.
After I completed my first degree, and decided to change universities, and go to London, I discovered that although I had graduated first in my class, I had been denied a post-graduate scholarship on the grounds that I was not an Irish citizen.I do not remember ever meeting a non-white Irish citizen. On completing my post-graduate degree, the dissertation for which was awarded the distinction of being permitted to be published under the name of the university, I began my search for
a position on the teaching staff of a university. I was hopeful that I could lecture in the University College of the West Indies in Jamaica, since I was born on one of these islands. I soon realized that the white man had a decisive role even there.
I will continue my tale about my search for an academic position in my next blog.