The Extent of Racism and Racial Discrimination in Britain - Essay Example

?Describe and discuss the extent of racism and racial discrimination in Britain Introduction The identification of the characteristics and the challenges of each particular society usually requires the study of its major political and social events; in Britain, a similar condition can exist when the extent of racism and racial discrimination across the country needs to be evaluated. In accordance with the existing literature, as presented below, many efforts have been made up today by politicians and academics in Britain regarding the limitation of racial discrimination. All these efforts have been treated with the same practice: the suggestions made have been taken into consideration by the legislative bodies and the members of the government; however, these suggestions have not yet been transformed to texts or arrangements, which can be, legally, enforced. In this context, the development of racial discrimination in Britain is continued; however, the fact that efforts for the control of the phenomenon are also in progress is quite encouraging, proving that the signs for the limitation of racism in Britain are positive, no matter if their results are made visible in the short or the long term. 2. Racism and racial discrimination in Britain background and extent 2.1 Overview of racism and racial discrimination in Britain Immigrants represent an important part of the British population. More specifically, it has been estimated that immigrants across Britain are 4.6 million – in a total population of 60 million (Morris et al. 2007). The research on the living conditions and the daily challenges of these people, revealed that many of them are likely to become ‘victim of a racially motivated crime’ (Easton 2006); in fact, it has been revealed that in 2004, 87,000 immigrants in Britain have faced such problem (Easton 2006). The above number shows increasing trends; in 2005 the prosecutions for racially motivated offences showed an increase of 28% - compared to 2005 (Easton, 2006). It should be noted at this point that immigrants in Britain have a key influence on the country’s politics, being an important electoral body (McAllister 1984); however, it seems that they are not able of using their power – as described above – in order to secure their rights – reference is made primarily to health, employment and education. In order to identify and understand the extent of racial discrimination in Britain it would be necessary to refer primarily to the framework of discrimination, as developed in the particular country. The elements of discrimination in Britain are made clear through the definition provided by Blackstone et al. (1998). In accordance with the above definition ‘direct discrimination is defined as treating a person less favourably than others on racial grounds’ (Blackstone et al. 1998, p.37). There is also the case of indirect discrimination which is described as an activity of setting a requirement to which the persons belonging in a particular race are most likely to be able to respond – compared to people belonging to a different race (Blackstone et al. 1998, p.37). The above descriptions, which have been presented by Blackstone as they are included in the Race Relations Act 1976, are particularly important in order to understand the level at which racial discrimination has been developed across Britain. In any case, it should be noted that the issue of racial discrimination in Britain is active for many years – having been started approximately at 1940s – with the pressure then for ‘the settlement of black people in the particular country’ (Rich 1990, p.142). 2.2 Racial discrimination in education, employment and housing Racial discrimination in Britain has many different aspects; it can be identified in the education, the housing and the employment of immigrants, as members of the population. Regarding the relationship between education and immigration, the following issues need to be highlighted: the existence of racism in certain social settings, as for example, schools, cannot be ignored. In the study of Derrington (2007) reference is made to the difficulties faced by Gypsy adolescents in British schools; it is noted that those adolescents have developed a series of strategies in order to face racism. These strategies include: ‘fight (physical and verbal retaliation and non-compliance), flight (self-imposed exclusion) and playing white (denying one's heritage)’ (Derrington, 2007, p.357). In the study of Lindley (2009) emphasis is given on the quality of education provided to immigrants; the above researcher tried to identify the chances of people belonging to ethnic and minority groups to enter high education in UK. It was revealed that people in ethnic and minority groups ‘are more likely to be over-educated’ (Lindley 2009, p.80). From another point of view, it is noted that the need for the provision of education to immigrants in Britain has not been traditionally considered as emergent – mostly because immigrants in Britain are expected ‘to fill low-skill occupations’ (Pumfrey et al. 1990, p.280). In the context of employment, the chances offered to immigrants for entering the job market are satisfactory if compared to other countries, for instance Germany (Kogan, 2007, p.50); however, still the employment difficulties and challenges for immigrants in UK are many. In accordance with Kirton et al. (2010), in the past – reference is made to 1950s and 1960s – immigrants in Britain were most likely to enter the public sector ‘with lower wage levels than private industry’ (Kirton et al. 2010, p.21); at a next level, a trend for the engagement of immigrants in specific sectors, like ‘manufacturing, transport and communications’ (Kirton et al. 2010, p.21) has been identified; both the above trends seem to exist up today. The difficulties faced by immigrants in Britain regarding the entrance in the job market and the allocation of a house are made clear in Figures 1&2 (Appendix). The research on the effects of immigration on the political, economic and social framework of Britain also revealed that immigration in the specific country can affect the housing sector. The interaction between immigration and housing in Britain is explained as follows: through the increase of immigration, prices of available houses are increased; in fact, it has been proved that immigration in Britain has resulted to an increase of 10% in the prices of houses – referring to the last 20 years (Parliament, House of Lords, 2008, p.61). Another aspect of the relationship between immigration and housing is the following one: because many immigrants cannot afford houses of an average quality they are likely to prefer houses in quite bad condition – meaning houses which need extended repairs or those which are small for hosting high numbers of immigrants (Parliament, House of Lords, 2008, p.61). Modood et al. (2001) note that a trend for supporting ‘multiculturalism and anti-racism’ (Modood et al. 2001, p.305) has started in Britain from 1980s; however, the effects of this trend are still not clear – moreover, it seems that the limitation of racism in Britain does not progress fast; this issue is highlighted in the study of Blackaby et al. (2005) where it is mentioned that the immigrants who were born in Britain faced less difficulties – compared to their parents – in order to enter the job market (Blackaby et al. 2005). 2.3 Racial discrimination and politics in Britain One of the most important characteristics of racial discrimination in Britain is its relationship with the country’s political powers; this issue is highlighted in the study of Bleich (2003) where reference is made to the failure of the Conservatives – as government in 1970 and 1974 – ‘to remake British race institutions’ (Bleich 2003, p.95). On the other hand, emphasis is given on the continuous efforts of the Labour party – almost all the time that they have been in the government – to promote the issue of racial discrimination and to support a series of changes aiming to control racism in various social and political activities. It should be noted that immigration in Britain has been used through different aspects – referring to the country’s politics; either an opposition to immigration has been developed for gaining the votes of those who are negative towards the increase of immigrants in the country – for instance, the case of Margaret Thatcher (Garnett et al., p.46) or a support of immigration for getting the votes of immigrants – the latter trend seems to be extremely strong especially because of the annually increase of immigrants in Britain (Garnett et al. p.46). 2.4 Political and legislative for the limitation of racial discrimination in Britain The extent of racial discrimination in Britain can be identified through the social and political initiatives and measures that have been developed in regard to the specific problem. Reference can be made for instance to the Conference of NCCI (National Committee for Commonswealth Immigrants) in 1967; in the above Conference two important documents were discussed: the first study was developed in 1966 by the Political and Economic Planning (PEP) while the second was prepared after the relevant ‘inquiry of the professor Harry Street’ (MacEwen 2002, p.54); both these studies aimed to reflect the level of racial discrimination in Britain; furthermore, these studies had to include suggestions regarding the reform of the Race Relations Act 1965 – which in fact supported the racial discrimination trends included in the Commonswealth Immigrants Act of 1962. At this point, it should be mentioned that the Race Relations Act 1965 was supposed to fight racial discrimination; since it was not possible to eliminate it. This view is based on the fact that when the Commonswealth Immigrants Act of 1962 was introduced there was a strong opposition from the Labour party – not in government then – under the claim that through this Act the racial discrimination in Britain was enforced (MacEwen 2002, p.53). However, in August 1965 – when the same issue was set under discussion – the Labour Party, now in government, changed its previous views. Now, the party’s members – who had become in the meantime members of the British government – admitted that ‘the larger the number of black people who were admitted to Britain the more racial prejudice was likely to increase’ (MacEwen 2002, p.53). Therefore, the Race Relations Act of 1965 continued to support the development of racial discrimination in Britain – even if this support was not obvious. This problem was set under examination in the Conference of 1967 – as explained before. In the specific Conference the two reports, which referred to racial discrimination – prepared in 1966, as noted above – were discussed. Both of them highlighted the same problem: racial discrimination in Britain should be considered as a severe problem – in fact, in accordance with the PEP report, racial discrimination in Britain was characterized as ‘ranging from substantial to massive’ (MacEwen 2002, p.54). The Race Relations Act of 1965 was replaced by the Race Relations Act of 1976, which continued to include points indicating racial discrimination and racism – as certain of those opposing the above law have claimed. The current development of racial discrimination in Britain is considered to be mostly related to the British Nationality Act 1981; the above Act introduced a significant change in regard to British Nationality; since the introduction of the above Act, British nationals are categorized into 6 groups; one of this groups refers to British nationals who are about 98% while the rest groups refer to British nationals who are at their majority, 98%, non-white (House of Commons 2009, p.159). The above policy has been characterized by the ‘European Commission and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’ (House of Commons 2009, p.159), as extremely discriminatory. Moreover, within Britain also, the above legislative text has been negatively criticized. An indicative reaction of such type is the view of Lord Goldsmith, as included in ‘his Citizenship Review’ (House of Commons 2009, p.159). Because of the inequalities included in the Race Relations Act of 1976 and the problems also related to the British Nationality Act of 1981 – as explained above – the Race Relations Act of 2000 was introduced aiming to resolve any conflict related to racial discrimination (Abbas, 2005) – as relevant claims were stated against the above legislative texts, also presented above. Indeed, the Race Relations Act of 2000 introduced significant changes allowing the control of racial discrimination; reference was made especially to the public authorities and their advanced role in controlling racial discrimination – as this role is described in the Race Relations Act of 2000. It is made clear that the limitation of racial discrimination and racism in Britain has been among the priorities for political authorities – referring especially to the Labour party; however, the relevant efforts are not always criticized as positive, or, at least, their motives are doubted (Saggar 2000). This issue is highlighted in the study of Reeves (2009) where it is noted that the actual level of racial discrimination and racism in Britain is not such as claimed by the supporters of the racial equality; in fact, it is considered that the willingness of British governments to show ‘their commitment to international brotherhood may be used in order to explain their efforts for improving the treatment of black minorities in Britain’ (Reeves 2009, p.111); similar assumptions would be also made regarding other minorities in the specific country. Of course, racial discrimination is prohibited in the context of the international law – as stated in ‘the article 1(1) of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination’ (Cashmore 1996, p.220). Still the claims on the potential existence of racial discrimination need to be adequately justified – having in mind the view of Reeves (2009), as presented above, that the efforts for the protection of the rights of minorities may have a different scope and target than estimated. The above assumption is also in accordance with the view of Banton (1983) who emphasized on the power of the craft unions to fight for the rights of their members; reference is made by the above researcher to the case of British unions and their involvement in the protection of rights of foreign workers. 3. Conclusion - Recommendations In accordance with the issues discussed above, racial discrimination has been expanded across various aspects of the British social and political life. The key obstacle for the limitation of the phenomenon seems to be the country’s legislative framework. In other words, it has been proved that the continuous failures of controlling racism and racial discrimination in Britain are explained by the following fact: in Britain the specific phenomenon is encouraged by the law, as proved through the legislative texts presented above – even if the reason for such trend is the protection of the nation’s integrity. On the other hand, racial discrimination in Britain needs to be evaluated from a different point of view – compared to other countries worldwide. Indeed, Britain has been a country with a significant presence in the international community. Due to its colonies, the country managed to expand its territory worldwide developing social and political relationships with the local populations. However, the social, political and economic interaction with the colonies has been an unavoidable problem for Britain. However, in terms of its size, the country’s population cannot be compared with that of the colonies of England worldwide. Through the years, the development of close relationships between the British population and the populations of the colonies could lead to a dangerous threat: the limitation of the British population under the influence and the pressure of foreigners (citizens of colonies). In this context, measures were required for ensuring the control over the population’s integration through the centuries. Under these terms, the British legislation which regulates the provision of British Nationality should be kept as in its current status – referring to the Race Relations Amendment Act of 2000 which introduced a series of provisions controlling any potential inequality – as possible – which ‘was set through the Race Relations Act of 1976’ (Abbas 2005, p.40); no differentiation would be made using the claim that racial discrimination is promoted since the right of the State to protect the interests of the citizens is more important – in terms of law also – compared to the right of foreigners to ask for the provision of advantages, which by law, are traditionally related to the citizens as natives. The above view is also supported by the fact that the British legal framework includes a series of laws ensuring the protection of the rights of all people living in the country – not just the British citizens. From this point of view, the rights of people who have different racial characteristics from British citizens (as natives) are not under threat. From this point of view, the claims regarding the development of racial discrimination in Britain should be re-evaluated taking into consideration the hierarchy of laws and interests as held in each country worldwide. Of course, the above view cannot lead to the assumption that the cases where the problem of racial discrimination is identified should not be addressed; on the contrary, the Courts should take all measures so that such phenomena are not repeated; reference can be made at this point to the decision against Bradford Metropolitan Council (in 1993) for racial discrimination (Skellington et al 1996, p.226) and the decision through which the London Underground was enforced to pay ?60,000 as compensation for racial discrimination, in 1992. These cases, and other similar, prove that racial discrimination exists in Britain; moreover, the efforts of the British government to control racism and racial discrimination – as these efforts were analysed above – are expected to be negatively criticized by the local population under the influence of the stereotypes and the media – which relate immigration to violence and social instability. References Abbas, T. (2005) Muslim Britain: communities under pressure. London: Zed Books Banton, M. (1983) Racial and ethnic competition. Cambridge: CUP Archive Blackaby, D.,Leslie, D., Murphy, P., O’Leary, N. (2005) “Born in Britain: How are native ethnic minorities faring in the British labour market?” Economics Letters, Volume 88, Issue 3, pp. 370-375 Blackstone, T., Parekh, B., Sanders, P. (1998) Race relations in Britain: a developing agenda. London: Routledge Bleich, E. (2003) Race politics in Britain and France: ideas and policymaking since the 1960's. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cashmore, E. (1996) Dictionary of race and ethnic relations. London: Routledge Derrington, C. (2007) “Fight, flight and playing white: An examination of coping strategies adopted by Gypsy Traveller Adolescents in English secondary schools”. International Journal of Educational Research, Volume 46, Issue 6, pp. 357-367 Easton, M. (2006) Racism and race crime redefined, [online]. Available at House of Commons (2009) Legislative Scrutiny: Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill Ninth Report of Session 2008-09 Report, Together with Formal Minutes and Written Evidence: House of Lords Paper 62 Session 2008-09. London: The Stationery Office Garnett, M., Lynch, P. (2007) Exploring British politics. London: Pearson Education Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords (2008) The Economic Impact of Immigration. London: The Stationery Office Institute for race relations (2011) [online]. Available at Kehaler, M., Paul, S., Lambert, H., Ahmad, W. (2009) The applicability of measures of socioeconomic position to different ethnic groups within the UK. International Journal for Equity in Health, Volume 8, Issue 4, pp.1-8 Kirton, G., Greene, A. (2010) The Dynamics of Managing Diversity: A Critical Approach. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Kogan, I. (2007) Working through barriers: host country institutions and immigrant labour market performance in Europe. New York: Springer Lindley, J. (2009) “The over-education of UK immigrants and minority ethnic groups: Evidence from the Labour Force Survey”. Economics of Education Review, Volume 28, Issue 1, pp. 80-89 MacEwen, M. (2002) Housing, Race and Law: The British Experience. London: Routledge Modood, T., May, S. (2001) “Multiculturalism and education in Britain: an internally contested debate”. International Journal of Educational Research, Volume 35, Issue 3, pp. 305-317 Morris, N., McSmith, A. (2007) These are the realities of racism in Britain, [online]. Available at Pumfrey, P., Verma, G. (1990) Race relations and urban education: contexts and promising practices. London: Routledge Reeves, F. (2009) British Racial Discourse: A Study of British Political Discourse About Race and Race-related Matters. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Rich, P. (1990) Race and empire in British politics. Cambridge: CUP Archive Saggar, S. (2000) Race and representation: electoral politics and ethnic pluralism in Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press Skellington, R., Morris, P. (1996) "Race" in Britain today. London: SAGE Warikoo, N. (2007) “Racial authenticity among second generation youth in multiethnic New York and London”. Poetics, Volume 35, Issue 6, pp.388-408 Appendix Figure 1 – Employment statistics in UK – working age population in 2004 (Institute for race relations, employment) Figure 2 – Housing conditions in UK – per ethnic group – for 2003 (source: Institute for race relations, housing) Read More