Race disgrace?

At the door of their BelfastThe capital of Northern Ireland. house, Cal Ellis turns on his mother. "You have no idea what I go through day after day after day," the mixed-race teenager tells Grace, a White police officer. He runs through some of the things often said to him: "'Where are you from? No, I mean where are you really from? It's so weird that you have a bit of Belfast accent... Can I search your bag?'"

This is a scene from the new BBC drama Blue Lights. For many people living in Britain it is all too close to their own experience.

Academics from three universities¹ have just published the results of a survey about racism and ethnic inequality. Many of the findings are deeply shocking.

Nearly one in six people from minority groups had suffered racially motivated physical assaults. More than a quarter had received racial insults, while 17% had had property damaged in racist attacks.

Nearly a fifth claimed to have suffered racism when looking for housing. A quarter of Pakistani and Arab people live in overcrowded homes, and 60% of RomaA travelling community who are thought to have originated in India. families.

Over 20% complained of discrimination by the police - but in the case of travellers this rose to more than a third. And in the case of Black Caribbean people it rose to 43%.

Nearly one third said they had experienced racism it in education.

This contradicts a report published two years ago by the government. It found that many children from ethnic minorities do better at school than White children. A higher percentage also go to university.

The report said that that Britain was generally less racist than other European countries.

A survey carried out by the EU in 2019 agreed. It found that 15% of people of African descent in the UK had suffered racism - but this was lower than in any of the other 11 countries studied.

Yes: Most people are good-hearted, but many are easily influenced. What the country needs is leaders who set a strong example in promoting fairness and emphasise the importance of mixed communities.

No: No country in history has ever been completely just. Even in the fairest societies some people get a raw deal: if Britain manages to stamp out racism there will still be victims of other malaises.  

Or... The greatest injustice in the UK is the disparity in wealth between richest and poorest, which affects all ethnicities. The first step should be to increase the earnings of those in badly paid jobs.