Race and Ethnicity

Race was not a major social or political issue in the UK until the 1950 s when there was the first wave of immigration from the West Indies to fill the skills shortages in several industries which included NHS and transport (due t the development of the welfare state). These immigrants were promised good wages, decent housing and guaranteed employment. Then the second wave of immigration arrived in the 1960 s and 1970 s who were of Asian descent (either from India or Pakistan later Bangladesh). They were travelling for economic reasons looking for a better life. There were also refugees from East Africa after they had been forced to leave Uganda and Kenya. When employment began to rise in the 1960 s it was seen that control were needed to reduce immigration; this was done through the Common Wealth Immigration Acts 1962 and 1968 which introduced quotas. This legislation was seen as racists as it mainly affect those from Afro-Caribbean and Asian backgrounds. 1981 British Nationality Act was seen to be the harshest and is the one which further immigration laws are based on. It stated that those who were holders of British passports were not entitled to residence in the UK, unless they had a grandparent or a parent who were born in the country. This meant that meant that those from the commonwealth countries were no longer entitled to stay in the UK. Discrimination against ethnic minorities was now becoming a concern especially in areas of employment, housing, education and social life. Race Relations Act 1965 y y y It was the first ground breaking legislation and was influence by the American Civil Rights movement. It had its weaknesses in that it stopped short of codifying discrimination laws It set up the Race Relation Board which had the two main tasks of:  Investigating ways of improving race relations in the country  It received complaints from individuals and organisations concerning racial discrimination It was only able to recommend changes to organisational and recommend positive discrimination practices However this act had its shortcomings in that:  It was unable to enforce any laws  It did not cover housing and employment  It only went as far as protecting people from racial discrimination in public places

y y

Race Relations Act 1968 y y y y y This act was introduced to strengthen the previous act making it illegal to refuse housing, employment or public services to people because of their ethnic background It granted greater powers to the Race Relation Board to deal with complaints of discrimination where systematic discrimination could be shown Community Relations commission was set up to promote harmonious community relations It looked at the broader issue of racism and discrimination in general However it was only able to make recommendations

Race Relations Act 1976 y y y y This act made any form of direct/indirect discrimination against race, religion and ethnicity illegal and prosecution could take place It widened the areas in which racial discrimination was to be outlawed and it created a powerful pressure group which could campaign for better race relations in the UK The Commission for Racial Equality was set up and it consists of 15 board members and over 200 members of staff The role of the CRE is:  To advise and assist people and organisations, including the media on racial issues  Investigate discrimination policies by companies, the media and other organisations, requiring them to change as necessary  To take legal action against specific discrimination incidents  To sponsor judicial reviews by individuals and groups where they feel they have suffered discriminatory practices by a public body  To advise the government on possible future legislation and race policy  To liaise with local Racial Equality Councils which have been set up to foster good community race relations The act still has its weaknesses in that the police and private organisations are exempt from this legislation It was unable to effectively deal with attitudes towards race; hence race riots followed

y y

Race Relations Act 2000 (Amendment) y y y This aimed to change attitudes towards race, particularly in organisations. It followed the Macpherson Report into the death of Stephen Lawrence which found that there was institutional racism in the police This act gave the CRE the power to: Introduce codes of practice on racial matters to a variety of institutions notably over recruitment and promotion practices  All public bodies were given a statutory duty to promote both racial equality and equality of opportunity  The concept of racially aggravated crime was introduced  Incitement to racial hatred was made a serious offence

 Senior police officers could be held legally responsible for race discrimination on practices by their subordinate officers  The government set up a race legislation unit in 10 downing street to consider new legislation Macpherson Report 1999 Commissioned after the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 which was found to be racial motivated y It was believed that the police did not secure a conviction because they had failed to offer sufficient protection and understand the racial nature of the crime y The Report concluded that the police did indeed suffer from institutional racism y The Report made these recommendations: A new category of crime- racially aggravated crimes- should be created with more severe punishments  All racist incidents should be recorded regardless if they lead to a conviction  The police should monitor its relations with ethnic minorities, especially with regard to stop and search incidents  The police should combat institution racism and set targets to improve race relations  There should be a programme to improve race relations  This programme should include re-education for police officers, an anti-racist code of practice and the removal of known racist officers. In addition senior police officers should be made responsible for the racial attitudes of their subordinates  The police should made strenuous efforts to recruit more officers from ethnic minority backgrounds and set appropriate targets for this  Other institutions should agree on programmes to remove institutional racism and to introduce codes of practice to improve recruitment and promotion procedures, as well as changing attitudes towards race issues. This Recommendation were included in the Race Relations Act 2000 Amendments through the police action plan y Police Action Plan y y y y y Education for police officers to prevent racially motivated actions. Awareness of possible racial problems in policing to be raised Efforts were to be made to ensure that recruitment, retention and promotion policies are non-discriminatory The recording of racial incidents Logging of all stop and search' incidents to ensure that there was no systematic discrimination against ethnic minorities Strict disciplinary procedures were introduced against officers guilty of racial prejudices

Amsterdam Treaty of the EU (enforced from 2003)

y y

It asserts a minimum standard of legal protection for all ethnic minorities The introduction of the Amsterdam Treaty meant that more action is to be taken to combat not only discrimination based on nationality but also discrimination based on sexual, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation

Race Riots 1958 riots in Notting Hill and Nottingham 1981 Brixton race riots due to racial tension 1985 Toxeth and Peckham 2001 race riots in Burnley, Oldham, and Bradford 2005 Birmingham Multiculturalism It is a complex and contested term that even in 2005 Tony Blair admitted that he did not know what it meant and Trevor Phillips the former chairman for the commission of racial equality wanted to get rid of the term in 2004. The three main views on multiculturalism are: Conservative view y Ethnic minorities should integrate into UK society y Assimilation of people from different ethnic minorities and cultures ensures and orderly society y British society should unite people of different backgrounds y Rejects the liberal approach for leading to a society divided by different cultural values y Conservative view can be found within the Tory party, and in recent home secretaries. Gordon Brown has also called for a debate about how to promote Britishness Liberal view y Cornerstone of liberal society is tolerance of other people s beliefs and cultures y Ethnic minorities should not seek full integration within British society y Cultural difference should be celebrated y Criticises the conservative approach for forcing people to abandon traditional beliefs and for adopting a cultural identity that may not be appropriate for the individual concerned y Keen to protect minority rights, and prevent racial discrimination The Parekh view y Based on the finding of the Parekh commission (2000) y Recognition of the worth of each individual and the extent of cultural differences within the UK, along with the need to combat racism y Britain should become a community of citizens at the local and national level

y y

Emphasis upon the dual cultural identities Lies half way between the liberal and conservative approach

Immigration y The ethnic minority population has grown from 2.1 million in 1950 to 4.9 million now in 2001 making up 8.3% of the total population y Immigration has grown due to the enlargement of the EU in 2004 which led to the addition of 10 new states from central and eastern Europe y There are 8% ethnic minorities which generate 10% of the wealth y Immigrants have the potential to fill skill shortages Positive Discrimination y y It is a system which actually favours those from members of ethnic groups Examples include: Equal access to promotion scheme  Plans to fast track applications from ethnic minorities in the police force to help reach the target of 7% by 2009 through the use of affirmative action

Role Models y y Paul Boateng became the first black MP to hold a ministerial position in parliament in 1997 Lewis Hamilton became the first black driver to win the Formula One Racing Championship

Growing Support of the British National Party (BNP) y y y y They are a far right party who are against immigration In 2004 they gained nearly 1 million votes in the European Parliamentary elections The party gained its first seat in The London Assembly, despite it was by a small margin Membership has doubled since 1999, with members coming from Oldham and Burnley; where there race riots have occurred

Racism in Sport y Racism is still evident in sport particularly low representation of those from Asian backgrounds y Let s kick racism out of football is a campaign that began in 1993 by the CRE and the football association y It aimed to promote greater ethnic minority participation within sport without fear of racial abuse y However there are still issues of racism in sport, although it is more prominent in other European countries y Football against racism in Europe was started in 1999

Islamophobia y y y y y It is the fear or intolerance of Muslims because of their religion It is said that it became prominent after the 09/11 attacks were within 2 weeks after the event there was 600 cases of islamophobic violence and harassment This has not be aided by the anti-terror laws which target Muslims as suspects for terrorist activity In 2001 The Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism which aims to promote a multi-faith and multi-ethnic Britain It is an independent charitable organisation

Race and politics y y y y y y In 2005 general election there were 15 ethnic minority MPs elected of which two represent the conservatives and the remaining were for the labour party In 2005 two thirds more ethnic minorities stood up for election raising the number to 110 from 57 in June 2001 Of these ethnic minorities 41 were Conservative, 40 were Liberal Democrats and 29 were from Labour However for the number of people in parliament to be representative of the population there needs to be 43 MPs out of the 659 MPs from ethnic minority backgrounds One explanation for this few number of MPs is that very few ethnic minorities are selected to fight winnable seats Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission described what he saw as an institutional resistance to selecting Black and Asian candidates

Race issues y y Out of the 5,000 complain made to the CRE in 2007 43% were linked to employment and race discrimination cases submitted to the tribunals were by 24% on the previous year Institutional racism still exists with the police force. Evidence can be seen in the complaint made by Tarique Ghaffur, the most senior Asian police officer, who claimed he was sidelined and victimised in the Met. Ethnic minorities are still under represented in politics, business and other organisations

Is Britain becoming a multicultural society? Yes y y People from ethnic minorities have excelled in their chosen field More than 360 languages are spoken in the UK and Britain also celebrates festivals as diverse as Ramadan, St. Patricks day and Divali

y y NO y y y

Legislation designed to prevent racial discrimination, along with changing attitudes have helped to create a more culturally diverse society UK society is far more harmonious than previous generations

Racism still is a problem within society, with a particular rise in islamophobia since September 2001 2004 Iraqi Kurds and Pakistanis clash in Peterborough 2005- Racial tension breaks out in the lozells in Birmingham over an unsubstantiated rumour

Keywords Multiracial -It is used to imply a society that is made up of various races Institution Racism- It is the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of the colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amounts to discrimination, through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racial stereotyping which disadvantages many ethnic people