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Issue Description
A recent survey found that 63% of people mix with others from a different ethnic or religious background socially. However, many people belonging to ethnic and religious minority groups still experience discrimination in the UK. What are the causes of racism and how can it be tackled? This book looks at racial discrimination and multiculturalism in Britain.
The information comes from a variety of sources, including government reports and statistics, newspapers and magazine articles, surveys and polls, academic research and literature from charities and lobby groups; articles have been tailored to an 11 to 14 age group. Additionally, at the end of each chapter are two pages of activities relating to the articles and issues raised in that chapter.
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Key Facts
- Racism can take many forms, ranging from verbal abuse to outright physical attacks on a person or property. Racism can also be non-verbal, for example denying a person from a minority ethnic background a job or entry to a restaurant or shop, purely on the grounds of their colour, nationality or religion. (page 1)
- The Race Relations Act 1976 made it unlawful to discriminate against anyone on grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origin. (page 5)
- There are relatively high levels of social interaction between races in Great Britain, with over three in five (63%) people saying they mix with people from a different ethnic or religious background socially outside of work or school. (page 6)
- In a survey by Ipsos MORI, 24% of those questioned believed that there was a ‘great deal’ of tension between people of different races and nationalities and 52% said they believed there was a ‘fair amount’ of tension. Only four per cent thought there was no tension at all. (page 17)
- A recent report found that nearly half of minority ethnic residents, including Muslims, said they had experienced race discrimination and 30 per cent of recent Muslim migrants had experienced religious discrimination. This was cited as a key barrier to a sense of belonging in Britain. (page 23)
- Three-quarters (72%) of young people surveyed by YouthNet had friends from different countries or ethnic backgrounds and two-thirds (63%) of respondents said that having a multicultural society makes the UK a better place. (page 25)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One: Race Issues
Frequently asked questions, Race discrimination, Attitudes to race and religion, Institutions must catch up, Race equality in the UK, Achieving race equality, Higher-tier test entry, What's it like to be a Traveller?, Black History Month, Activities.
Chapter Two: Multicultural Britain
The history of multicultural Britain, Minority ethnic people in Britain, Society damaged by policies on multiculturalism, Second generation, The rise of mixed-race Britain, Discrimination undermines sense of belonging, Images of Islam in the UK, Education the solution to racism, Activities.
