Racism is rife in modern Britain. Nothing can change until we admit it

As another Black History Month draws to a close, Britain still feels gripped by historical amnesia and a culture of liberal denial

Black History Month is traditionally an occasion for celebrating the positive contributions of the Afro-Caribbean community. While this commemoration is significant in preserving a vibrant history shared by millions, we must be honest about the deplorable state of British race relations.

From education and employment to the criminal justice system, structural racism is very much at the heart of Britain’s treatment of ethnic minorities. The prejudice endured by BME communities belies the messages of social cohesion affirmed by policymakers and our indifference to this reality is shameful when reflecting on the glaring discrimination facing people of colour.

Though we claim education has inoculated us against colour bias, our centres of learning are ironically purveyors of marginality and alienation. Besides the tokenistic engagement with black history enabled by a monocultural curriculum sanitising Britain’s bloody past, recent calls to tackle inequalities within education come amid an increasing focus on the experiences of BME students across the higher education spectrum. The shocking revelation regarding the racial profiling of black university applicants prompted accusations of endemic racism from Labour MP David Lammy, who was also critical of Oxford University’s narrow admissions policy, with recent figures showing many of its colleges failing to admit a single black British student between 2015-2017.

Statistics on BME representation and the marginalisation of non-white academics from universities is another damning indictment of the racial bias permeating higher education. For the third year in a row, the Higher Education Statistics Agency published figures revealing that there were no black academics in the elite staff category of “managers, directors and senior officials.” Furthermore, BME academics at top universities earn on average 26 per cent less than their white colleagues. This puts paid to the myth of universities as post-racial institutions which value diversity and inclusivity.

The pervasive extent of Britain’s colour problem is also reflected in BME experiences in the workplace. Although last year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of Race Relations Amendment Act 1968, a recent survey commissioned by the Trade Union Congress exposed stark inequalities for ethnic minorities in employment, income and training and revealed a white working class disdain for political correctness and positive discrimination. Despite our commitment to equal opportunities, racial harassment rears its ugly head for a significant portion of BME groups who are disadvantaged through professional barriers and positioned as outsiders in a labour market which continues to reward white privilege.

These racialised patterns of inequality are further aggravated by the criminal justice system. Recently, the Home Secretary brought his office into disrepute following the unlawful deportation of Windrush migrants whom he callously labelled ‘criminals’ and excluded from an official review. He was likened to an "Enoch Powell in incarnation" for lending mileage to a bigoted narrative which stigmatised black migrants. When we reflect on the racial bias in sentencing practices and the disproportionate number of BME deaths in custody and stops and searches, it appears those tasked with the dispensation of justice are complicit in exacerbating race divisions.

Twenty years since the inquiry report on the death of Stephen Lawrence, it’s painfully obvious we have failed to heed the words of Sir William Macpherson who implicated institutional racism for the incompetence of law enforcement agencies.

As much as we try to whitewash these realities, the micro-aggressions suffered particularly by black minorities did not emerge in a vacuum. The current state of UK race relations bares a significant European imperial legacy which established a power structure that pathologised black communities for centuries and continues to cast a shadow over the continent. It is the cumulative effect of a colonial past and broader hegemonic apparatus where macro-structural processes legitimised a binary typology of advanced and regressive races. Edward Long’s The History of Jamaica – which defended slavery on racial grounds – the pseudo-scientific racism of the 19^th century underpinning the Social Darwinism of empire builders like Cecil Rhodes and Pears’ soap adverts all contributed to nurturing a triumphalist narrative of white privilege. We cannot simply dismiss the role which this ugly history played in anchoring our national identity and shaping the western meta-narrative on race consciousness.

We must be far more critical of the cultural attitudes encrypted in our social fabric that have persisted for generations to perpetuate a racial hierarchy evidenced by the stark disparities in our socio-economic stratum. The differential allocation of resources and opportunities vis-à-vis people of colour today is symptomatic of a historically enduring system of domination and control which we have inherited.

Amidst the resurgent white nationalism in the age of Brexit, it is important to contextualise the experiences of people of colour and acknowledge the longstanding politics of empire which has contributed to the current state of UK race relations. A major obstacle in the stride towards decolonisation is an establishment that will close ranks to devalue the traumatic experiences afflicting black minorities. Unless they can reckon with their imperial past, many Britons will continue to labour under a historical amnesia and culture of liberal denial.