Myth of Post Racial Britain

Published: 15/01/2010

Post Racial Illusions
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Whoa, steady now, not so fast and loose, I say to Communities Secretary of State, John Denham. Ten years after the amendments to the Race Relations Act, he says race discrimination- though it does still, occasionally rear its ugly head- has become less of a barrier than class and poverty. The focus now should be on social class, community and identity. Racism is so yesterday. The Minister and his department are moving on to the next concern and one that could pay considerable electoral dividends. Denham’s comments had political purpose. He was seductively calling out to bitter and disenfranchised white Britons, telling them in effect that they matter more than those pesky blacks and Asians ( like me) who bang on and on about their rights. The election is five long months away but instead of concentrating on governance ministers are already playing divide and rule tactically for party advantage. I can see no other reason why such a claim would be made by a politician who is usually judicious and thoughtful.

He must know we are not even near the promised land, that post-race nirvana. On Thursday in a taxi going through North Kensington, on a wall I see big, angry graffiti:’ ‘Say it Loud. I’m Black, I‘m Down’ Next to it, in even bigger letters, in red;
’Die you Nigger’. Where is Denham’s solid evidence to prove the end of racism in Britain? In fact last autumn the Department of Works and Pensions revealed the results of undercover trials to test racial discrimination. Three fictional applicants were created, all well qualified, one with an Asian Muslim name, one with an African name and the third with a white name. Applications were sent to 987 actual job vacancies in the private and public sectors. The white applicant got substantially more interview invitations than the other two. Successful restaurateur and government advisor Iqbal Wahab said at the time: ‘We live in a society where racial discrimination systematically occurs and goes, in the main unchallenged’. So, what, in four months all that has been cleaned up?

I was on the Jeremy Vine show discussing the subject and had to remind listeners that middle class, highly talented and qualified black and Asian Britons were out there, jobless and hopeless, some driving cabs, all losing heart. Of their own many presenters – over thirty I think- only one, Trevor Nelson, is black. The recession since last year has made it worse. The top positions in this country are still white and largely male and yes middle class. Jamil Khan has an MBA and big dreams . He wrote to me asking if she should change his name and follow the example of James Caan like his hero on Dragon’s Den. Navdeep Sethia, an architect has applied for 400 jobs and only a few interviews. He too worries it may be his name. Rehana, my friend is a hospital doctor who has been trying for promotion for ten years. One consultant told her she could never join that club because she is an outsider. She is moving to Australia. Just this week the Met has finally accepted that discrimination keeps down black and Asian officers. I have always had to accept that I get less money and status than my white peers. That’s the deal, you live with it. Race matters.

Yet the country is unimaginably more open and easy than it was. Parliament, TV and adverts reflect the mixed nation at its best. In 1972 when I arrived, you could feel over racism pressing against you, the looks, the shoves and pushes. You felt hated and afraid. I was in many of the anti-Fascist demonstrations in Lewisham, Southall, Brixton. When the anti-racist New Zealander Blair Peach was murdered by special force thugs, I was there and a Sikh family hid me and others to protect us from police violence. The anger of young black men exploded like bombs and led to stronger protective laws. ( Nowadays these men kill each other and turn to crime) I had burning rags thrown through the letterbox and had to put out water buckets under the opening. I was a teacher and a Bangladeshi student of mine was stabbed and killed by the National Front. New Labour brought in more effective laws and for that many thanks. Britain is well ahead of all other EU countries when it comes to race equality. The laws have changed attitudes too and big business is eager to promote the ideals. But just as with sexism, progress is slow and we have a long way to go. To be told we have arrived by our sanguine Communities minister reminds me of those Communist regimes where people are ordered to be happy because they have no more problems.

Racism is still blighting lives and things may be getting worse again. Now fewer people will believe us when we complain
I do agree that the poor have been neglected. Poor white people have ITLAS PREVIOUS lost out as income inequality has widened. Their wretchedness increased under New Labour and it is high time the party took up that cause again. The government has a duty to protect citizens from that injustice. But not by pitching one disadvantaged constituency against another, like Brown did with his populist:’ British Jobs for British Workers’. It must attend to those it allowed to sink low over its many years in power and to the evil of racism. One cannot be traded off for the other. If Denham tries to do that, our already broken and divided neighbourhoods will collapse, as they once nearly did in Brixton and Tottenham. And the fires will burn once again, destroying the essential bonds that keep the underprivileged on the same side. It is already happening on many of our estates.

Published in Evening Standard