This week marked the final day of the UK's 36th Black History month, an annual celebration of Black heritage and culture.

But it came amidst a fierce debate over what it means to be both Black and British today. This is, after all, the year in which one of the UK's foremost acting talents, Idris ElbaAn English actor, rapper and singer, born in London in 1972. , stated that he does not want to be thought of as a Black actor, saying: "We've got to grow... it's just skin."

Some experts say it is no wonder some people are starting to define themselves less in terms of their identity, because what it means to be a minority is becoming ever more complex.

The language we still commonly use to talk about racial identity dates back to the 1990s, when people started grouping all ethnic minorities under the single label "BAME", or Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.

Yet the fastest-growing ethnicity in the UK is mixed-race, which rose by 61% between 2011 and 2021. People who are mixed-race now make up 2.9% of the population.¹ By 2100, it is thought likely to be around 67%.²

Their identity is complicated, and so is their relationship with other ethnic minority communities.

What is more, Britain's different ethnic groups have quite different experiences. Almost half of British Chinese households are in the top 40% richest households nationally. Meanwhile, 59% of Black households are in the bottom 40%.³

Even within groups that are sometimes lumped together, big differences emerge. Britain's Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities are often collectively referred to as "South Asian". But in fact, British Indians have an average income that is roughly the same as that of White British people, whereas British Bangladeshis and Pakistanis earn £200 a week less.⁴ 

This can make labels like "BAME" difficult to sustain. After all, some point out, if people have different experiences, they are unlikely to share the same interests. What is good for some ethnic minorities might not be good for others.

It certainly does not seem as if Britain's ethnic minority communities believe they have the same political interests.

Although 40% of British Indian voters still prefer LabourBritain's main left-of-centre political party., 30% now favour the Conservatives. British Chinese voters are moving in the same direction.⁵ However, British Pakistanis are going the other way: in 2010 13% of them voted for the Conservative PartyA British political party. Members are known as Tories., whereas in 2017 it was just 5%.⁶

But others are not convinced it is time to jettisonAbandon or throw away. labels. They say while all ethnic minorities experience racism differently, what unites them is that they do experience it.

And much of what they experience is identical. One-third of people from ethnic and religious minorities have experienced a racist assault, ranging from insults to physical attacks.⁷

So, they claim, it is not really a question of whether or not you feel you belong to your racial identity. Society will still treat you as Black or Asian.

The only way in which racism can be overcome, they say, is if ethnic groups build solidarity with each other. But that will not be possible if they do not have the language to describe their identities.

Yes: Identity just is not that important in most people's lives. It does not decide who their friends are, who they fall in love with or who they vote for. It is time to stop thinking about it so much.

No: Racism is still a lived reality, and there is no way of fighting it without talking about identity. Those who want to give up the language of identity are throwing others under the bus.

Or... People's lives are still greatly affected by their race; it is just that their experiences are now more variable. We need a more sophisticated language of identity to understand how it still holds some people back.