Does Britain still practice Racism?

This essay examines the social and political conditions of racism in Britain and its impact on the present day. It discusses the historical impact of slavery, the law and legislation related to racism, the rise of Islamophobia, and the intersectionality of race and gender. The essay aims to understand the nature of racism in 21st century Britain.

Does Britain still practice Racism?
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Title
Does Britain still practice Racism?
Introduction
Race and racism are not same, where racism refers to the belief in the superiority of
one race over the other, race refers to the physical characteristics such skin, hair, or bone of
the person. The demographic structure of Britain has resulted from the Asian and Caribbean
migration post-1945 migration. This kind of movement led to the establishment of small
Asian and Caribbean community. Migration enabled the spatial mobility that resulted in the
creation of a matrix of economic, political, and ideological relations. The practice of racism
and the exclusionary practices were the results retaining the particular positions in the
economic hierarchy. However, the effectivity of racism was contextualised in various
context. In most of the cases, women or men who were living in segregation were not due to
their involvement in the menial jobs. There were variations in the economic positions
occupied by the different national and international groups. The practice of racism was
shaping the economic and cultural pattern under the broader framework of structural
determination. The people who were at the margins were then determined by the exclusionary
practices and conditions that brought superiority to specific section of people. The slave trade
was practised that helped in the growth of capitalist industries in Britain. Most of the
population that contained the slaves were mostly people from the Caribbean, and Africa and
other racial minorities. The long legacy of the slave trade was dominant in the prior the two
world war, but the impact it created has a trickledown effect in the present as well. The
business that resulted due to indented slavery raised severe cases of social and political
atrocities. Innocent people due to their ascribed status were victims of cruel , and the
atrocities that were initiated were passed on to generation forthcoming. The present socio-

economic that the Caribbean people face is due to their historical sufferings. However, it is
essential to understand the nature of racism that has developed in the 21st century. The
purpose of this essay is to learn about the social and political conditions of racism in Britain.
The political and the social order went through a drastic change in the aftermath of the
two world war. Racism as a political order was no longer viewed as a rational ground to
create social stratification. This is because racism stands on the ground of pseudo-science.
The individuality of the people is reduced to the core features of his or her physical aspects.
This kind of categorisation is not only demeaning, but it also creates xenophobia and bias
towards specific cultures. This kind of racial profiling leads to the detrimental effects for a
long run and may create various issues that may erupt isolationist tendencies. The issue of
racism in the context of Britain is a very contentious topic.
Historical impact on the slave states
Slavery and slave trade was the part of the historical transformation and countries like
USA, UK, Africa, Asian and middle least played a huge role in the context of racism and its
adjunct slavery. In the USA, different models like, Pan-African model, Tort Models and
atonement models were initiated to end the victimisation of the black people or the ones who
are racial minorities.However, Europe represents a different case, and this is because in
recent years the case of abuse on ethnic ground has increased. The racial abuses are growing
on the grounds changing economic circumstances and increased immigration to this region.
The effects of racism in the multi-cultural area are felt with the Neo-Nazism impact.
Alarming levels of xenophobia and racial hatred is also escalating. Racism is not any
category for social stratification, but it also forms the basis for ethnic violence and racial
nationalism. In the midst of this the racial minorities and people from different cultures
become the scapegoat of economic crisis. The political setup is also changing due to the issue

of Brexit and this change in the political environment is affecting the notion of racism in
Europe especially Britain. In the changing condition, the race and the adjunct idea with it are
also changing. From an institutionalised racism is becoming systematic in the new political
environment.
The issue of reparation has been the cry of the hour for those nation states that have
been victimised under the oppressive rule of slavery. Cecily Jones has presented the issue of
Britain owning the black debt for the Caribbean slavery and native genocide in the article.
According to her report, the economic and the social poverty that Caribbean people are facing
are due to being historically oppressive under the exploitative system of slavery. The
historical oppression has resulted in the present day skewed economic and social power
relations. It is noticed that the whites in the Caribbean island owns most of the wealth and is
still benefiting from the historical oppression of the slave trade. She entails the conditions of
the severity of slave trade can inflict. The loss of life and the backbreaking toil that they
endured was the results of excessive racial profiling. Britain paid no compensation for the
fatal brutality that was exacted against them. In 21stcentury, the policies of the International
Trade Agreements lock the region into disadvantageous zones for economic growth. She has
found that people still detest the reparation and there is a lot of ambivalence and antipathy
regarding the idea of reparations. This kind of attitude assures that even though they are
aware of the brutal history that once they were part of, the present generation do attest to the
view of given reparations.The effects of racism are not just restricted to the past; it has a
profound impact on the present as well. Also, resisting the need to address the cause
aggravates the social problem because in this way Britain triggers the racial injustice.
Law and legislation related to racism in the UK
However, it is essential to understand that legal legislation like the Race Relation Act
1968 can act to eradicate inequality practised on the base of racism. Under this act, any

incitements based on racial hatred were punishable (Verma 2018). Nevertheless, the
penetration impacts of race in another issue like housing or employment status was not
covered in this act. Thus, the campaigner’s felts the legislation was a let-down. Due to the
mass disapproval, this act was extended to housing and generation employment (Van Dijk
2015). In spite of that, the racial tensions are still practised in Britain but nor in the
institutional format for instance Islamophobia.
After the terror attack of 9/11 and the continuous act of terrorism conducted by a
particular cultural group has stigmatised the Muslims in the United Kingdom. It is noticed
that there is an increasing hostility driven towards that community and it has given rise to
Islamophobia. Islamophobia manifests itself through the discrimination in the workforce and
negative coverage in the Muslim community. For examples, the Arson attacks in Mosque or
the Finsbury Park attack of vehicle ramming has statistically risen against Muslims in
predominately in England (Eddo-Lodge 2018). Again, some argue that Islamophobia has
resulted from stigmatisation of a community, which is much different form of racism.
However, in modern days the racism and meaning that is attached to are also transforming.
Particularlyislamphobia is rooted in racism because it targets the expression of Muslimness or
perceived muslimness. There has been increased victimisation of Muslims and political and
legal legislation regarding the practices of Muslim has the limelight.
Programmes are launched regarding the banishment of headscarf or giving women an
equal chance of attaining the opportunity (Sabbagh 2018). This stigma that is attached to the
Islamophobia is has its deep roots in anti-Semitism. Thus, islamophobia amount to the same
type of discrimination as it was instilled by scientific racism, it is the civil rights that need to
address. Arun Kundani’s book “The Muslims are coming!: Islamophobia. Extremism and the
domestic war on terror” show islamophobia results in the domestic reign of terror, this terror
is not the result of radical politics, and it works as a symptom of political impotence

(Kundnani 2014). The western ideology like liberalism and equality has led to the
criminalisation of particular doctrines. The liberal approach which was influenced by the icon
of the west and thus it creates the binary between two ideologies that becomes the part of
identity politics. More precisely the liberalism became the form of identity politics. In the
book, the author also argues about the violation of the real roots alienation and ramification
has not been appropriately engaged. Both the views of culturalism ad reformism neglects the
underlying political agenda, that is what is the ideal way in which multiculturalism can be
addressed.
Race and gender
The issue of gender and the discrimination that is faced by a specific section of the
population is also situated in the matrix of race and class. According to the intersectional
approach, a woman is not only victimised just because she is women; she also receives the
oppression due to the various combined intersectional status. Kimberlie Crenshaw developed
this approach was she clearly stated how women face inequality not just based on their
sexual status but due to the culmination of other categories like race, class and so on.
Currently, Britain is going through a huge of gendered pay gap (Khan, 2018). Studies show
that women who belong from the racial minority are experiencing a lower pay gap. Len
Shackleton in the Institute of economic affair described it as “Pandora’s box” (Tsang, 2019).
According to the independent resolution foundation think-tank the Bangladeshi and Pakistani,
earn about a less than third less on average than the median of the white families. Even the
black African families deserve a fifth less than white families (Ravera et al. 2016). The
problem has resulted in the minority ethnic population because most of them are working in
the menial jobs (Breach et al. 2017). In the matrix of race, religion and class there is equally
gendered oppression. Omar khan even in the article has expressed an opinion about the
gender pay gap to be existing in reality. It has been found that the gender pay gap is over 18

per cent. Having stated all the facts above, it is important to notice that the gender pay gap
has risen to one of the challenges that have also emancipated due to the culture of racism.
This kind of facts makes it clear how systematic racism works in the UK.

References
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