Racism is still prevalent as it was 50 years ago in Britain: so why do we produce the same rhetoric over and over which tarnishes over the issue of race?
Conversation within British society today tends to suggest that we have transcended the age of discrimination because of the colour of someone's skin. However, the notion of racism has also transcended itself: becoming a much more complex and diverse ideology.
On first glance, racism may be understood as simply the discrimination based on the more obvious outward, and also skin deep signs of a person. Yet in present day, racism has become an umbrella term with a more loaded definition: under it we find islamophobia, anti-semitism, as well as the debate which happens ever more frequently about the notion of 'mixed race' or 'biracial' identities. With Britain at the top of the chart for most mixed race relations in the world, one must pose the very important question: does it really matter if you're black or white?
A new survey has been released by The Runnymede Trust which highlights just how rife racism still is today in the UK. The Runnymede Trust are a left wing think tank who were founded in 1968. Their aim is to bring the issue of race to the forefront and open up the discussion to the wider community: whether it be in regards to race in the work place, race in education and to promote dialogue and networking between all different types of people who live within British society.
Of course, the issue of racism is not only an issue that is notable in Britain; as we see day in day out the discrimination that takes place worldwide because of something that we'd think (and hope) is a thing of the past. From the rejection of Ethiopian workers in Israel, the 'beur' North Africans living in France and the Chinese in New Zealand, racism may be old, but it's definitely not going away.
The Runnymede Trust survey found that that three out of every five people (60% of respondents) from ethnic minority backgrounds worry that they will be discriminated against because of the colour of their skin, their ethnic origin or religion. That is over half of a group of people who all are lumped into a group called 'ethnic minorities'. A term that not only dehumanises those a part of the group, forgets that each member has a different background and language or religion, but also makes them a second priority. In the past, a minority didn't have a voice or was deemed irrelevant. Now, the minority is no longer one homogenous group: it is a mixture of African, Arab, Latin and more who are an integral part of society.
By Naila Missous
Editor in Chief
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Racism is still prevalent as it was 50 years ago in Britain: so why do we produce the same rhetoric over and over which tarnishes over the issue of race?
Conversation within British society today tends to suggest that we have transcended the age of discrimination because of the colour of someone's skin. However, the notion of racism has also transcended itself: becoming a much more complex and diverse ideology.
On first glance, racism may be understood as simply the discrimination based on the more obvious outward, and also skin deep signs of a person. Yet in present day, racism has become an umbrella term with a more loaded definition: under it we find islamophobia, anti-semitism, as well as the debate which happens ever more frequently about the notion of 'mixed race' or 'biracial' identities. With Britain at the top of the chart for most mixed race relations in the world, one must pose the very important question: does it really matter if you're black or white?
A new survey has been released by The Runnymede Trust which highlights just how rife racism still is today in the UK. The Runnymede Trust are a left wing think tank who were founded in 1968. Their aim is to bring the issue of race to the forefront and open up the discussion to the wider community: whether it be in regards to race in the work place, race in education and to promote dialogue and networking between all different types of people who live within British society.
Of course, the issue of racism is not only an issue that is notable in Britain; as we see day in day out the discrimination that takes place worldwide because of something that we'd think (and hope) is a thing of the past. From the rejection of Ethiopian workers in Israel, the 'beur' North Africans living in France and the Chinese in New Zealand, racism may be old, but it's definitely not going away.
The Runnymede Trust survey found that that three out of every five people (60% of respondents) from ethnic minority backgrounds worry that they will be discriminated against because of the colour of their skin, their ethnic origin or religion. That is over half of a group of people who all are lumped into a group called 'ethnic minorities'. A term that not only dehumanises those a part of the group, forgets that each member has a different background and language or religion, but also makes them a second priority. In the past, a minority didn't have a voice or was deemed irrelevant. Now, the minority is no longer one homogenous group: it is a mixture of African, Arab, Latin and more who are an integral part of society.
Naila Missous
Editor in Chief