Humanities Coursework Oldham

Arslaan Asif

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Humanities coursework

Has Oldham done enough since the Oldham riots?

In this piece of coursework I am going to investigate and explain: Has Oldham done enough to challenge racism since the Oldham riots.

I am going to cover the following: What are the causes of racism, Why is Oldham a multicultural town, What happened during the Oldham riots, What were the causes of the Oldham riots, What is being done in Oldham to challenge racism, What can be done to further promote community cohesion, Conclusion – Has Oldham done enough to challenge racism since the Oldham riots.

Prejudice is one of the reasons that cause racism. Prejudice means an unfavourable opinion about someone you haven’t even met, or without examining the facts fairly. A prejudice is a belief opinion or judgement towards a group of people, which is usually characterised by their race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or religion. Another example is religion, some people don’t like Jewish people, this is prejudiced because there are no facts these are just opinions.

Discrimination is another cause of racism. Discrimination means noticing differences between things, Preferring one thing to another. Discrimination refers to treatment taken toward or against someone of a certain group. Discriminatory behaviour takes many forms, but all involve some form of exclusion or rejection. There are many types of discrimination including: Race, age and gender. Women have been victimised by discrimination in employment, education and social services.

Two other forms of racism are personal and institutional racism. This is an openly racist act or what is said by someone. This type of racism is usually done through jokes, graffiti, verbal abuse, racial attacks and harassment. For example people make jokes about someone’s religion, ethnicity or colour of their skin. Other examples are people verbally abusing each other using racist comments. Racial attacks or harassment are the worst form of personal racism, this is when gangs do racial attacks on other individuals or gangs because they are different than them.

Institutional or covert racism is part of the way that an organisation or group of people deal with minorities. It is argued that this is done by organisations such as the health service and police. This does not mean that everyone in an organisation is racist. Many people believe that because the health service is mainly white people, they are racist. There may be hidden racism which is racism that is not recognised by everyone. This may be in the form that Asian or black people don’t get the same value or quality of service by the health service compared to white people. Another major organisation accused of institutional racism is the police force. I researched and found that Asian people are 11 times more likely to be stopped by the police than white people when they are just normally travelling on the road.

Socialisation, stereotypes and scapegoat is what makes people racist. Socialisation between white and Asian people was a big contributor towards the Oldham riots, this was because they didn’t socialise and get to know each others cultures. When people don’t socialise they don’t know about other people’s cultures, and when they see their culture and what they do, they might think its weird which can lead unfair opinions that leads to racism.

Stereotypes and generalisations about a person or group of people; People develop stereotypes when they are unable to or unwilling to gather all of the information needed to make a fair judgement. When people don’t know the whole picture, stereotypes allow them to fill in the blanks. Our society often creates and perpetuates stereotypes, but these stereotypes often lead to unfair discriminations and persecution when the stereotype is unfavourable.

For example, if we are walking through a park late at night and encounter three senior citizens wearing fur coats and walking with walking sticks, we may not feel as threatened as if we were met by three high school-aged boys wearing leather hoodies. This is because we have made a generalisation in each case. These generalisations are created by experiences we have had ourselves, read about in books and magazines, and seen in movies or television. In many cases, these stereotypical generalisations are reasonably accurate. By stereotyping, we assume that a person or group has similar characteristics. I researched and found that the media often reinforces racial attitudes. Black people or ethnic minority groups are often presented in a negative way and often defined as a problem.

A Scapegoat is when a society is faced with difficult problems; there is a tendency to blame powerless minorities who can easily be identified as outsiders. It is not uncommon to blame others for our own mistakes, and especially if those who are blamed are unable or unwilling to defend themselves against the acquisitions. Minorities are isolated within the society and then are easy targets. Those in the majority are more easily convinced about the negative characteristics of a minority with which they have had no direct contact.

Oldham is multicultural as people had migrated from many ...

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Oldham is multicultural as people had migrated from many countries around the world. People from Ireland travelled to Britain to escape poverty and famine, this was their only alternative as they had no where else to go. Many wanted to work in the UK to earn money to then later go to the United States, but due to the harsh conditions, they never made it which is why there are Irish people in Oldham. Oldham, like other towns in England were going through an industrial revolution and workers were needed in the mines, the mills and the building industry. The Irish immigrants helped Oldham to improve. Life in the UK was hard for the Irish because the jobs they had, earned them little wages and to enhance the difficulties they were facing there was a lot of racism against them as they were different to the British and were not from here.

I did some research and found that the east Europeans began to arrive in the period of the Second World War. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the National Health Service (NHS) employed people from Jamaica and Barbados. Local mills in Oldham needed people to work for them as people didn’t want to work there and there was a shortage of employees so they recruited people direct from Pakistan. Local mills in Oldham could not recruit at home, particularly the night shifts, which locals did not want as they paid low wages and were difficult. The people from Bangladesh and Pakistan took these jobs. The Pakistani men came from the area that had been flooded by the construction of the Mangla Dam. Once the men had settled in their jobs and earned enough money to settle down, they sent for their wives and children so they could carry living as a family. Most immigrants were families including wives and children coming to join their husbands who were already living here. The Oldham Indian population mainly came from countries in East Africa including: Uganda, Tam zamia and Kenya. They were forced to leave Uganda by the president Idi Amin.

I also researched the Oldham riots; I found that the riots started when Asian youths fought with white youths outside a fast food outlet. In response racist white youths gathered and attacked a number of shops, also throwing a brick through the window of a house where a pregnant Asian woman lived, this was in the Glodwick area. The woman was showered with glass and left in shock. Asian women and children were also attacked. They threw petrol bombs threw the window of the Live and Let live pub after hitting customers as they drank in the bar. The rioting included petrol bombs thrown and several buildings attacked and an Asian supermarket was set on fire, the offices of a local newspaper and the Oldham evening chronicle were firebombed.

This is also research on unemployment at the time; unemployment was as high as 25% amongst Bangladeshi’s and 16% amongst Pakistani’s. For young Asians it was even worse, with unemployment rates at 40 percent. Under these circumstances, a build up of social tensions resulted along with rising crime, drug abuse and other social ills.

On April 22, three Asian teenagers attacked a 75 year-old D-day veteran Walter Chamberlain while he walked home from a rugby match. The circumstances of the attack are still unclear.

Earlier that week, a group of Asian youth were said to have phoned the local radio station, warning that they were setting up “no-go areas for whites”. Detective chief Inspector Andy Brennon linked the attack with this threat. The next day, the media led with banners headlines and two-page spreads reporting as fact that Asians had set up no-go areas for whites and were now imposing them. This did not sway the majority of the media, or the police from their course. Manchester police Chief superintendent Eric Hewitt had already issued a provocative statement claiming that “8 to 10” Asian youths were responsible for 60 percent of the 572 racist attacks recorded during the past year in Oldham. Hewitt is widely regarded as a racist by the Asian community.

The Ritchie report shows that the reports into the riots have urged government action to bring together Britain shockingly divided communities. The main Cantle report says people in Britain were leading “parallel” and “polarised” lives where people from different backgrounds did not mix.

The findings of the Ritchie report shows that race ‘segregation’ caused the riots. The Oldham riots were blamed on deep –rooted segregation which authorities had failed to address for generations. It also warns that segregation is an unacceptable basis for a harmonious community and it will lead to more serious problems if it is not tackled. I think this was a problem because people thought that if they lived in a community with everyone generally the same ethnicity and religion it would create a better surrounding as they can all relate and have family close by, people didn’t think about the negative aspects such as people from different backgrounds and religion not mixing. This mind set over the generations caused the communities to become so segregated which created areas where everyone was of the same ethnicity and religion. People of different ethnicity didn’t know about other ethnic groups cultures which lead to assumptions which were the basis for racism. The riots happened as there was too much tension between ethnic groups.

It also shows that people don’t see themselves from Oldham but from certain areas. For example, Coppice, Fitton hill, Glodwick and Werneth. The report concluded that the council should try to mix ethnic groups when letting properties to create mixed communities and mixed-race specialist schools should act as beacon schools. The other key finding of the report included: Faith schools should admit pupils of different faiths, big public sector employers should have more representative workforces, local health service needed improving also the police structure should be more community-focused and religion leaders should speak to the town as a whole, not just their own faiths.

The issues with segregation across the borough include separated communities and areas where there is only one main race. For example Fitton hill is mainly a white area which shows that it is segregated. Segregation is the main cause of racism because when communities are split up by ethnicity it leads to one area not liking another. Opinions spread as people don’t usually have their own, so people tend to believe each other without knowing whether it’s even true.

To promote community cohesion the Oldham council is running a campaign, “No Place for Racism in Oldham competition”. In the campaign everyone celebrates the diversity in our town.

The Oldham council is also running another project called “festival of diversity”. The festival of diversity celebrates and promotes the diversity of Oldham’s communities. It presents opportunities for individuals and groups to discover fresh ideas, participate in generate new work; furthering their understanding when they meet in creative environments with people from similar or different backgrounds. This project allows people to mix and do activities together. Although they don’t mix together for that long it changes people opinions about different groups who they have spent time with. They also have their own opinion; if the opinion is good then they can tell their friends so they know that weird stories are untrue.

The project “Building Good Relations” is the community engagement commissioning group. This activity is designed to build on the achievement and experience of previous work. This is good as people from different communities can come together and think of new ideas and activities they can do in the future.

The Oldham Carnival is another occasion which is also run by the council. Dance troupes, cyclists, decorated wagons, classic mini’s, costumed groups and a large contingent of invading Vikings appeared like a multi-coloured snake winding its way to its destination at Alexandra Park. People can experience other cultures in a fun environment and better understand other religions. They can also ask questions to see if those tales are true or not.

Other things being done to challenge racism included; Dragon Boat Races, YPXL, Oldham Youth Council and Oldham Youth Mayor.

These activities are good for community cohesion as they bring together loads of people of different ethnic backgrounds. This allows them to mix and do similar activities which they can relate to. This is also good for people who are afraid of people who are of different ethnic background to them as there is always security and someone to turn to for help. The ‘Oldham youth council’ is good for community cohesion as people can go on trips and do activities with people from all religions and ethnic backgrounds.

I researched the religion teachings on Prejudice and discrimination. Christianity teaches that all human being’s are equal in the eyes of God. So there should be no reason to treat people differently. Christian teachings on other people are based on love which is also stated by Jesus; “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another”.

Islam teaches that everyone was created by Allah and that everyone is equal, “Of his signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and colours”. Islam also suggests that there is no reason to treat people of different races differently, “All mankind is descended from Adam and Eve”.

There are many things that can be put into practise to promote community cohesion in Oldham; Carnivals for all races and conferences to teach people about these teachings and the differences in religions and cultures. Community centres should be in every community so people can mix together with people they normally wouldn’t mix with.

In conclusion I think that Oldham has done enough to challenge racism but there is still work to be done. Oldham council have done many things to help, I have highlighted what they have done in the earlier paragraphs.

One of the things they have done is run a campaign. ‘No place for racism in Oldham’. This campaign celebrates the diversity in our town. Another campaign is ‘Kick racism out of Oldham’, this was launched for youngsters to come and imagine they are kicking racism out of Oldham. I think this campaign is very effective and encouraging for young kids to come together and play football and kick racism out at the same time.

I found that 50% of the people I surveyed thought Oldham has done enough to challenge racism since the Oldham riots whereas 30% of the people thought not enough has been done and 20% didn’t really know and said maybe.

On the other hand I think Oldham hasn’t done enough to challenge racism because from the people who I asked if they think Oldham council do enough to ensure people from different ethnic backgrounds mix together 25% of the people thought enough has been done but they may be biased as they might have taken part in some of the activities. 55% of people thought that not enough has been done; again they may be biased as they might not have heard about the activities set in place by Oldham Council. 20% of the people thought that Oldham council could do more to challenge racism. Based on this I think the majority of Oldham believe that Oldham council hasn’t done enough to challenge racism since the Oldham riots.

Appendix

This graph is made of the data I collected using my questionnaire which is showing the opinions of people and if they believe Oldham has done enough to challenge racism since the Oldham riots. 50% of people feel that enough has been done to challenge racism since the Oldham riots; yet 30% of the people believe that not enough has been done whereas 20% of people are unsure and think they may have done enough to challenge racism. However I am also unsure if Oldham has done enough to challenge racism since the Oldham riots.

This graph shows what 50 people that I surveyed thought how high racism is in Oldham on a scale of 1-10. 25 % of the people I asked thought the level was 5 which is neither too high nor too low. The following 5% of the people I asked thought racism was very high at 9 out of 10 which could be because they have had bad experiences of racism or may have seen some racism to another person; similarly another 5% thought racism was at 10 which could be because of the same reason as before. 10% of them thought racism was at a level of 2 which seems to be quite low compared to the previous opinions which could be because they may never have been victims of racism, also another 10% of them felt that racism was at 4 which is a bit below half way which could mean these people may have only been victims of racism once and not consistently. Another 10% of the people I surveyed felt racism was at a level of 6 which is a bit higher than halfway which could be because these people may have been victims of racism a few times but not regularly or may just have been victimised once but may have been abused. At 15% almost a sixth of the people I surveyed felt it was at 3 which again is quite low and the percentage of people that thought racism was at 1 was 15% this could be because they have been called a racist comment or may have seen someone being called due to racism. nevertheless no one thought racism was at 8.

This pie is showing if people feel racism is present in the emergency services, the data used to form this pie chart is from the questionnaire I completed. It shows that 60% of the people thought racism was not present in the emergency services which could be because they have always had the same level of service and attention as people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Still 40% of them felt that racism was present in the emergency services which could be because they feel that the people working in the emergency services are mainly white and not that many people from different races and ethnic backgrounds work there. They may also have had a lower quality service than other people because they may be from a different ethnic background to them. I believe there is a bit of racism here and there in the emergency services but not too serious but I do believe the employees in the emergency services are mainly white, for example in the fire department and police force.

To construct this graph I have used the information I collected from completing my questionnaire. It shows if people thought Oldham council do enough to ensure that people of different ethnic backgrounds mix together. 25% of the people that I asked thought enough has been done to challenge racism, but they may be biased as they could have been a part of some activities that mix people from different ethnic backgrounds with people from different races and backgrounds. On the other hand 55% of the people thought that not enough has been done to mix people, however these people could possibly be biased about their opinion or maybe exaggerating as these people might not have been to any activities that Oldham council have put in place or they simply may not have heard about them. To overcome this problem and make sure that people know about all the activities et in place they could advertise this through newspapers, leaflets, advertisement on TV or the radio, also they could go to schools in the Oldham borough including high schools and primary schools so all the kids know about any upcoming activities that they could go to and have fun while mixing together with a diverse range of races and ethnic backgrounds. Still 20% of the people thought that Oldham council could do more to challenge racism in Oldham. Oldham council should set up activities and projects in all communities and not just a few areas so it can spread and make a bigger difference and impact people to stop and reduce racism.