The Chambers dictionary definition of racism is: hatred; rivalry or bad feeling between races; belief in the inherent superiority of some races over others, usu with the implication of a right to be dominant; discriminative treatment based on such a belief. !nderson et al. "###: "$%#&. !bdullah'(han et al. )**$: ")", point out that the notion of +race, is a social construction: an idea created by, and lin-ed into& the way that our society is organised, especially in relation to its systems of power and privilege. .uring the ) nd /orld /ar blac- immigrants were brought in to the country from the commonwealth in order to be utilised ' to fight in the 0ritish !rmy or to help with the war effort. 1olomos, "##2: %$&. !fter the war, during the late "#2*,s and "#%*,s, immigration continued and family members arrived to be with their loved ones&: intense debate developed about the impact of continued immigration on housing, the /elfare 1tate, crime and other social problems. 1uch debates were not purely about +the practicalities, ' but also about the effect of immigration on the supposed or constructed& +racial character of the 0ritish people,, and the national identity. 3ichmond. "#%2; and 1herwood. "#42&. The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. 1 Dr. $artin L!ther %in"& 'ivil Ri"hts in the (S& a star) remin#er of the effect of the ne"ative constr!ction of racial characteristics. BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. Race as a social construct: Ethnicity as cultural difference The +race, situation became even more pronounced during and after the "#%4 riots in 5otting 6ill and 5ottingham, which served to further politicise the issue of 0lac- immigration. The political climate in the aftermath of the riots gave rise to 7noch 8owell,s +rivers of blood, speech, !pril "#94&. 6is intention was to popularise the +racial, message, claiming that tighter controls on immigration would not be enough to deal with the +race problem,.
8owell created an image of white 0ritons becoming increasingly isolated: +strangers in their own country,. :n ;uly "#9< the 6ome =ffice issued to Chief Constables, the circular: +The 8olice and Coloured Communities, which issued advice and recommendations on the appointment of liaison officers, with the intention to develop better relations with blac- communities, and to educate the police themselves on the comple> problems of policing such areas ?iles. "##$&. @rom "#9<'"#<* articles began to appear in specialist Aournals discussing the impact of policing multi'racial localities, many of which began to highlight inappropriate behaviour by the police in blac- communities ?ason. "##%&. !t least in part as a result of these initiatives, the police began to recognise the need to develop an understanding of the conte>t of policing multi'racial areas. The impact of the 1tephen Bawrence murder and the ?c8herson report "###& and its verdict of +institutional racism, in relation to the ?etropolitan police force also reCuire consideration: The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. * BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. the 1tephen Bawrence case became a potent symbol and catalyst for change; it became a +mediatiDed public crisis, challenging the 0ritish system of in&Austice and proved to be a litmus test of the e>tent to which 0ritish society was prepared to move beyond the anachronistic practices of the past, ac-nowledge institutional racism, and embrace cultural diversity. Cottle. )**%: %"&. 8olicing and racial diversity was brought into star- focus in the E( by ?c8herson, who also made reference bac- to the earlier findings of the 1carman report "#4*,s&: 9.< :n "#4" Bord 1carmanFs 3eport into The 0ri>ton .isorders was presented to 8arliament. :n that seminal report Bord 1carman responded to the suggestion that G0ritain is an institutionally racist society,G in this way:' G:f, by Hinstitutionally racistI it is meant that it H0ritainI is a society which -nowingly, as a matter of policy, discriminates against blac- people, : reAect the allegation. :f, however, the suggestion being made is that practices may be adopted by public bodies as well as private individuals which are unwittingly discriminatory against blac- people, then this is an allegation which deserves serious consideration, and, where proved, swift remedyG. 8ara ).)): "" ' 1carman 3eport&. Clarify the differences between: 3acism J :nstitutional 3acism The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. + BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. Satpal Ram /hat follows are real events K no conspiracy theories, no interpretation K this happened: 8icture this ' a 0irmingham curry house in "#4%. 1atpal 3am a )*'year' old !sian warehouse wor-er& was sat at a table. Clar-e 8earce, a white man out with five friends K was sat at another. The 3estaurant was playing :ndian music, which 1atpal li-ed and so he as-ed the waiters if they could turn it up. 8earce protested to this, and shouted G/e donFt want any more of this fLLLing wog musicG ' an argument ensued. 8earce smashed a glass on the table and stabbed 3am with it twice ' in the face and in the wrist. 6is five friends began throwing plates and glasses. 1atpal was trapped in a corner. /hen 8earce came for him again 1atpal too- out a -nife the pen-nife he used for opening parcels at the warehouse& and stabbed him. 0oth men were ta-en to hospital, 1atpal 3am received treatment, but 8earce, drun- and in shoc-, resisted treatment and died of blood loss. /hen 1atpal heard that 8earce had died, he went into hiding. 6e -new the implications of -illing a white man. ! few days later, he emerged with a lawyer and gave himself up. !fter the trial, an all'white Aury found him guilty of murder and he was sentenced to life. The trial ;udge =gnall& recommended ") years, reduced by the then lord chief Austice, Bord Bane, to "*, and increased by the home secretary to "". 3amFs supporters say his trial was a farce. 6e was given only a 2*'minute consultation with his barrister shortly before going into the doc-. 6e was advised to change his plea from self'defence to provocation, and not to spea- in his own defence. There were no interpreters provided for the 0engali'spea-ing waiters who gave evidence. :mportant defence witnesses were not called, while the group that attac-ed 3am gave evidence for the prosecution. The Aury were never as-ed to consider the racist nature of the attac-. The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. , BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. :n his recommendations ;udge =gnall concluded: GThe verdict was to a degree une>pected. There was independent evidence which suggested that the deceased may well have initiated the incident both verbally and physically, by wounding the defendant with a bro-en glass.G September 2000: @ifteen years on, 3am is still in prison. 6e has been transferred from Aail to Aail 9% times, and is regarded as a troublema-er. 6e has refused to accept that he was guilty of murder, refused to do prison wor-, and often challenged the authorities. /hy has he been refused paroleM The prison service says it cannot comment on a specific case, but offers a general statement: G3elease on or after tariff e>piry is dependent on whether the prisonerFs ris- has reduced to a level compatible with public safety.G /hat has 3am done to offend themM 6e has made legitimate complaints about his treatment, and they donFt li-e that. !nother possible factor is that 8earceFs brother'in'law was an officer at /inson Nreen prison at the time of the -illing while on trial 1atpal was held at /inson Nreen&. January 2001: 3am has been transferred to /ellingborough, a category' C prison. There are visible mar-s on his wrists from the last time he was ratchet'cuffed in prison. 3am says that right from the early days the officers abused him: !t /inson Nreen: G! group of screws would come into my cell and call me a 8a-i and subAect me to all forms of racial abuse. !t times they beat the crap out of me.G 6e claims they encouraged him to -ill himself. GTheyFd come to my door and say, FNo on, 3am, why donFt you hang yourself.F =ver the years, 3am has read up on the law and human rights. @ellow prisoners now visit him for advice. 6e recently challenged the prison authorities on their monitoring of telephone calls: G=fficers had to ma-e a log of all the phone calls, and when we were tal-ing in, say, 8unAabi, the officers recorded their own comments, signing and dating each entry. The log was full of stuff li-e: FThey were tal-ing 8a-i crap.F :f they can e>press such blatant preAudices in these official documents, can you imagine what they are saying in privateM The reality is that we canFt get a fair hearing within this environment.G The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. - BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. /hy does he thin- heFs still in prison: 0ecause he,s never admitted my guilt. /hilst accepting that a man died as a result of his actions, the circumstances which led up to the incident were never really ta-en into account properly. 6aving been stabbed twice with a bro-en glass, and after being subAected to a torrent of racial abuse, he was in fear for his own safety and acted in self'defence. There was no time to reflect because it all happened so Cuic-ly. !n appeal to the 7uropean Court of 6uman 3ights by lawyer .ennis 1tafford was upheld regarding this case. !s a result, the 6ome 1ecretary was bound by law to free 1atpal. The 7uropean ruling made his continued detention after the parole boards recommendation to release him& illegal. ;udges at 1trasbourg ruled that government e>ecutives such as the 6ome 1ecretary had no right to overrule a decision of a parole board. .anuel Nuedalla, lawyer of 1atpal 3am, said: G:t does not mean that the government& accepts he is innocent, and he is still challenging his wrongful conviction. This is a victory but not a complete vindication.G :n other words K the 1tate has not recognised the 1atpal 3am case as a miscarriage of ;ustice. Clive /al-er suggests that a miscarriage occurs as follows: whenever suspects or defendants or convicts are treated by the 1tate in breach of their rights, whether due to: "& deficient processes or, )& the laws which are applied to them or, $& because there is no factual Austification for the applied treatment or punishment; 2& whenever suspects or defendants or convicts are treated adversely by the 1tate to a disproportionate e>tent in comparison with the need to protect the rights of others; or, %& whenever the rights of others are not effectively or proportionately protected or vindicated by 1tate action against wrongdoers or, The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. . BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. 9& by 1tate law itself. To what e>tent using the above criteria& do you thin- that 1atpal,s case was a ?iscarriage of ;usticeM Consider the evidence surrounding 1atpal,s: offence, trial J prison e>perience. /hat types& of racism was he subAected toM Esing various aspects of the theories we have covered so far, produce a few main pointsOideas to suggest how each theory might attempt to e>plain the events surrounding 1atpal,s case: :nteractionism: The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. / BA (Hons) Social Science. Level 1 Semester B. Social Differentiation Racism. ?ar>ism The East Lancs nstit!te of Hi"her E#!cation. 0