Some sobering facts. Black people are six times as likely as white people to be stopped and searched by the police. Those of Asian origin are twice as likely. Last year, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary claimed that more than a quarter of stops may have been illegal. Even the home secretary is worried and is promising to act.
In its report How Fair is Britain, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission revealed that the proportion of people of African-Caribbean and African descent jailed here is almost seven times disproportionate to their share of the population. Some of Britain’s most disadvantaged minority ethnic groups are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts. And the proportion of Britons who admit to being racially prejudiced has risen since the start of the millennium.
With that in mind, is it possible to be upbeat about race in Britain? I think it is. Not because those figures aren’t a worry – they are. But because I also think we should keep in mind the big picture.
Across the span of British history, this period of the UK as a country of mass diversity is a blip. We have all but killed off the notion that overt racism is in any way acceptable. And look at the census. The number of people identifying with a “mixed” ethnic category was found to have increased by almost 50% since 2001. So we do need to tackle the underlying inequalities and confront the manifestations of our current ill-humour over race, ethnicity and migration. There should be zero tolerance of the descent into Islamophobia and poisonous politics. But there should also be a dollop of context.
Last week, I had the privilege of making an address at St Paul’s Cathedral; an event to mark the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King stopping off there to preach a sermon on his way to collect a Nobel peace prize. And I was struck by what many people said afterwards. Those who enjoyed the speech largely did so because – for all the problems outlined – its thrust was broadly positive. I mentioned the 2012 Olympics. Everyone does, as an example of a time when diverse Britain seemed best at ease with itself.
As an illustration of where we are, it was illusory. But it was a revealing, enduring snapshot of where we would probably like to be.
