‘’Bangladeshis are dirty pigs who bring disease and spit everywhere. I’m not prejudiced, but they’ve got two wives and get about £300 per week. We have to pay. We work all these years and it is for them. This country is finished.’’ (Cited from the Observer 19.9.93)
This is an interesting quote by a Labour voting pensioner, highlighting the prejudicial view of not only her society, but age group. Quick to stress that she is not prejudiced, she then immediately scape-goats her chosen ‘blame group’ by repeating unfounded and stereotypical thinking in a never ending blame cycle.
Structural approaches favour the ideal that racism culminates from the way society is organised. This is in light of the fact that western capitalist societies are based on profit margins and their populations then compete for the best social resources. Differing social groups jockey for control, causing tension and frustration, as institutionalised racism sets in. Ethnic minorities then suffer economic damage, indirectly because of their race. This ideology can also incorporate a ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy between opposing cultures, often instigated by employers to prevent wage rises and opportunities for minority workers. (Taylor et al 1993)
Some functionalists go further in saying that ‘legitimisation’ of racism exists, particularly in capitalist societies because if certain groups are labelled inferior, it makes exploitation more effective. They argue that this covert manipulation of people on grounds of race provides cheap labour, enhanced profit margins, and depletes the success of any coup or collective thinking by rising majority groups. (Taylor et al, 1993) This ideology echoes the Marxist view that capitalism creates tension between the western ruling class and the ethnic working classes, in a perpetual struggle for supremacy in unemployment, pay and social status. Miliband (1987) noted that racial prejudice is also;
‘’.a pathological expression of the cheap injuries of class.’’ (Taylor et al, 1993)
highlighting that a cruel aspect of the capitalist system abuses minorities until they strike out at other racial groups in irrational ways. It is the Marxist view that racism will only be resolved when capitalism is denounced and a classless society is in place with fairness for all.
Cultural theories surrounding racism relate to general attitudes, beliefs, and values operation within societies that conflict and clash with others of a different race. Many white people have been saturated with negative stereotypes of black people, usually stories handed down from generation to generation, promoting biased negative images and prejudicial thinking.
‘’A great deal of cultural racism can therefore be explained in terms of faulty stereotypes and a lack of accurate information about the true nature of black people.’’ (Taylor et al, 1993)
In Britain the Brixton race hate riots of 1981 centered around the stabbing of a black youth, and cultural tensions sparked one of the worst riots the UK has ever seen with black people retaliating out of fear and mistrust of the predominately white Police Service. It was a poignant example of how cultural differences and prejudices can spill into mass conflict across all societies.
Evaluate Legislative Responses both Nation and European to Discrimination and Prejudice.
The Race Relations Act made it unlawful in the UK to discriminate against a person, directly, or indirectly, on racial grounds in employment, education, housing and the provision of goods and services. Racial grounds were defined here on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, nationality, or ethnic origins. (Haralambos, 2000)
The aim of the initial act was to make racial equality an integral part of the way that all public organisations and societies operate, by placing it as of paramount importance in employment law. Any public discrimination by companies whilst carrying out business functions was made unlawful with the implementation of the original 1975 act, along with the obligation that any procedures would not have a discriminatory influence on particular ethnic groups. The Act has since been strengthened twice with additional duties placed upon organisations which are outlined in Section 71 of the Race Relations Act Amendment 2000 as being;
‘’to eliminate unlawful discrimination; to promote equality of opportunity and to promote good relations between people of different racial groups.’’ (Cited by (www.referrersguide.com)
In order to fulfil this new criteria, public bodies would be obligated to identify which of their functions were relevant and to prioritise them on grounds of racial equality, and to consider how these policies may need to be changed to protect the Race Relations Act. (www.referrersguide.com)
It also states its primary objective is to improve public services for everyone by eliminating discrimination and promoting racial equality. The Act was further amended in 2003 to include informal as well as formal procedures and that the ‘burden of proof’ is shifted onto the discriminator to prove they did not commit the offence once an allegation has been made. (www.referrersguide.com)
This timeline of amendments since the implementation of the original act shows that bodies such as the Commission for Racial Equality is constantly reviewing its guidelines and undertaking reviews to ensure that all loopholes are covered and that protection for minorities is at its strongest and most effective.
It maybe said that the Race Relations Act was a solid move by the British Parliament to counter negative effects by racism in society, however it is not without its critics or flaws. In 1999 the Macpherson Report was published which followed an inquiry into the Metropolitan Polices investigation into the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Allegations of racism against police officers soured race relations, and further enquires exonerated police from wrong doing. (www.bbc.co.uk)
The Macpherson Report highlighted institutionalised racism within the police service and recommendations were presented to improve attitudes, including increasing the number of ethnic minority officers, and the implementation of an independent body to monitor the Metropolitan Police. (www.bbc.co.uk) In line with the Race Relations Act the police were obligated to enforce this yet later reviews showed that only 155 minority officers had been recruited after the Report which was deemed insufficient. It also favoured the dissolution of the law ‘double jeopardy’ so that people could be tried twice for the same crime. (www.bbc.co.uk)
Other proposals still being considered are to make the use of racist language in private a criminal offence. However critics believe that this would be a violation of ‘an individual’s human right to freedom of expression’ and is considering a softer approach of banning racial slander in public places. (www.bbc.co.uk)
Similarly to the UK’S stance on racism, the fifteen heads of the European Union revised the Treaty of the European Community to include legislation to combat discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin. Commonly known as the EC Article 13 Race Directive, it established the first minimum standard of protection from racial discrimination across Europe and came into force in June 2003 (www.ljmu.ac.uk)
Although a sincere attempt to combat discrimination on a wide scale, the cost of implementation was a major criticism with businesses. Also concerns were expressed about how successful one single Act could be uniformly implemented and accurately monitored over the whole of the European Union. (www.ljmu.ac.uk) This in itself shows that constant updating of these legislations must be committed on all E.U countries to ensure an effective, timely and appropriate response to the perpetual problem of prejudice and discrimination.
Evaluate a Range of Community Initiatives aimed at Empowering Specific Groups in Combating Prejudice and Discrimination.
Stephen Lawrence was a black teenager who was fatally stabbed to death in a racially motivated attack whilst waiting in a London bus stop in 1993. After a lengthy investigation five white suspects were charged but never convicted and in light of this, the law was eventually changed to counteract the ‘double jeopardy’ rule and anti-discriminatory laws were tightened. (www.wikipedia.org)
However, the tragedy of Stephen Lawrence not only bought about legal changes, it also became the corner stone for a series of lengthy initiatives held in Stephen’s name to empower and inspire the most disadvantaged areas of local communities, Stephen had dreamed of becoming an architect so he could influence the design of his own city ‘from within’ yet feared that the idea of being a black architect would be dismissed as unlikely due to his disadvantaged background. (www.stephenlawrence.org.uk)
Aided by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, the Stephen Lawrence Techno Centre was awarded National Lottery funding, grants from the Millennium Commission and The London Development Agency, to begin its work. However this attracted criticism from other arts charities who complained of favouritism when allocating funding to an untried wild card concern over already established charities. Also issues were raised over the fact that funding may have been allocated based on ‘a conceptual division of people defined into groups by colour.’ (www.mcserver.gold.ac.uk)
The headquarters are based in Deptford, UK and its primary objectives are to improve the educational achievements of black and ethnic minority students, and to help youngsters find pathways out of poverty into careers of architecture, construction, design and urban regeneration. It focuses on empowerment, diversity and equality by encouraging young people via schools, colleges and training centres to educate themselves by gaining the type of qualifications once only attainably by the wealthy or privileged. These initiatives specifically target ethnic minority groups in poverty ridden areas with notable social problems. (www.stephenlawrence.org.uk)
The Stephen Lawrence Centre is based in an area with large social deprivation figures and aims to combat this in a variety of ways. Trustees claim that these initiatives can help communities by attracting new investment to poorer areas, promoting social harmony and engagement between multi-cultural groups, also expanding employment opportunities for the socially disadvantaged. The trusts website does not give statistics of community successes in these fields which could perhaps question its cost effectiveness if they were low in positive results. However the site does relay that around 50 undergraduate and postgraduate bursaries have been awarded to exceptional students in the UK, Caribbean, and South Africa to date. (www.stephenlawrence.org.uk)
The Trust is designed to be a fully functioning hub of support, also offering information on training, guidance and mentoring for disadvantaged young people who then gain access to state of the art facilities such as computer suites, multimedia labotories and digital and design studios. Other sources of funding come from hosting exhibitions, seminars and artist viewings. (www.mcserver.gold.ac.uk)
It is clear that the trustees, patrons and family of Stephen Lawrence aim to make the centre an exciting groundbreaking project which embraces both community and the disadvantaged young person. However, their range of initiatives are in line with Stephens own personal goals and may not reach far enough to convert to noticeable improvements in the lives of Deptford’s youngsters. The careers of architecture and design are specialised and highly skilled jobs that may not appeal to the majority in a socially deprived stronghold, whose desire it maybe to obtain quick efficient training that could lead to any quick steady employment.
Despite these criticisms it is still clear that the name of Stephen Lawrence will continue to live on in the minds of the British people as a murder that finally changed UK legislation and that because of his death came opportunities and life changing chances for those just like him.
