After the arrival of the first wave of immigrants from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom in the 1940s, when the new arrivals went looking for houses to rent, they were sometimes met with signs saying ‘No blacks, no dogs, no Irish'. Today, such blatant racism no longer exists and is probably contrary to the current anti-discrimination laws, but does that mean racism no longer exists in the UK?
There is a trend in some circles to argue that race is no longer such an issue and that it is time to move on. The argument goes like this: since the murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993, and the Macpherson inquiry report that followed in 1999 accusing the police of "institutional racism", race relations in the UK have turned around. They further argue that though there were massive problems of discrimination and unequal opportunities and racial violence before, now the authorities have got their act together.
Now, some ministers tell us that the new disadvantaged group that feels alienated and requires urgent attention because of the many socio-economic problems it is facing is the white working class. Hence TV program makers at the BBC argued that it was right to give the leader of the racist British National Party (BNP) a platform on a national discussion program alongside frontbench politicians from mainstream political parties. Actually, in Italy, France, Denmark and other parts of Europe, mainstream politicians feel ever more comfortable to openly express racist views.
And now, a special issue of the thoughful political publication, Prospect magazine, lays out what is apparently the state-of-the-art thinking on race. Put together by Munira Mirza, who is herself of Asian parentage and the London Mayor's adviser on arts policy and therefore ranks as one of the most powerful ethnic-minority officials in the country. She makes the point over and over that like polio or smallpox, racism has been all but eradicated.
"Old prejudices have faded," declares Mirza. "Race is no longer the significant disadvantage it is often portrayed to be." Which means that "1980s anti-racism", as the magazine refers to it, is presumably as outdated as the fashion from the 1980s and with less chance of a revival.
Two things stand out in these pieces. The first is how little facts they contain, with Mirza and her co-authors offering up scarcely a statistic between them. Instead, we get arguments that begin in the anecdotal or purely personal: "as a black man", or "as a black woman", or "as someone born in Oldham". Well, as "someone who recently took a bus ride", my views on public transport still are not worth much without some evidence.
The other detail that strikes you is how narrowly Mirza and her team define racism. For them it is simply the most humiliating and vicious forms of discrimination - paki-bashing (insults or physical attacks on Asian looking people) or landlords' notices stating ‘No blacks, no dogs, no Irish'.
Although these former everyday horrors are no longer common, and that is an improvement, it cannot be argued that they have entirely disappeared if one thinks of the 89 people killed because of their race since the murder of the black teenager Steven Lawrence in 1993. They might also remember that the government's own figures show that black people are over seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than whites. And they suffer harsher treatment at every stage of the criminal justice system, even when it comes to how long they are put in prison.
The Prospect magazine article and the statement from some senior politicians from all parties paint a picture of racial harmony in Britain and talk of a society where skin colour is no longer a barrier to making it to the top of society.
Yet race remains a massive factor in determining our opportunities and life chances. Two in three British Bangladeshi children grow up in poverty in the UK (compared with two in 10 of their white counterparts). Even those at the top of the career ladder, are still subject to what Bristol academic Tariq Modood calls an "ethnic penalty". What does that mean? The typical Chinese-origin man now earns about 11% more than his white British counterpart; but he is still paid 11% less than would be implied by his qualifications. Since time immemorial, ethnic-minority children have been told they need to work twice, three times as hard as their white friends: that rule hasn't expired yet.
Britain now isn't the same place as it was when the first ships carrying immigrants from the Carribean docked, and the nature of race relations in this country have got more subtle. But racism can still be as simple as being pulled over by a policeman for having the wrong colour of skin and no amount of sophisticated arguments can mask that.
Despite technological advancement, western societies have been unable to create societies where race truly is no longer an issue. Something Islam managed from its very inception.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware [Al Hujurat 49:13]
Taji Mustafa
