London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

'You can't tell victims what racism is'

'You can't tell victims what racism is'

A report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has said the UK "no longer" has a system rigged against people from ethnic minorities.

Instead it pointed to family structure and social class as having a bigger impact on how people's lives turned out.

Here is what some people have made of the commission's conclusions.


'You can't tell victims what racism is'


Tyrek Morris, a 21-year-old student in Manchester who took part in the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, is not surprised by the reports' findings.

"They say we are a model country in terms of how we deal with race in this country which quite frankly it is not that at all," he says.

"We live in a racist country, you can't take that away from us, this is what black people have been saying for years upon years, upon years and we finally get the government to look into race and it says 'no it's not racist'.

"You can't tell people, you can't tell the oppressed, you can't tell the victims of racism what's racist and what's not because it is not you that is facing it," he says.

He says it was "highly condescending to say the least" to suggest that young campaigners were idealists.

"This is how the country should work, asking for this country to start teaching about black history or black literature in schools isn't an idealist thing, it is something which we should do, especially considering black history is very deep rooted into this country's history," he says.

He says "the proof is in the pudding" when it comes to the recommendations from the report but said he personally did not trust it to produce anything "useful" for black people.

"A lot of these things are good ideas, there is a lot more to be done and a lot more which needs to be looked at," he says.


'You have to look at the facts'


Nadine Drummond, a communications strategist for the UN, says she is not sure about the report's conclusions or optimism.

"I'm not quite sure how you can be optimistic when you consider the health outcomes of black people in this country," she says.

"When you have women that are four times more likely to die in child birth than their white mates, when you have black men 19 times more likely to be stopped and searched than their white mates, when you have black men three times more likely to die in police custody than their white mates.

"So when you talk about optimism you have to look at the statistics and the facts."

She says the report "seeks to gaslight black and other minority ethnic people in the UK by telling us institutional racism in the UK is a myth and intersectionality is a dirty word".

But she agrees with its recommendation to stop using the term BAME, which means Black Asian and Minority Ethnic. "The term is actually dehumanising and it 'otherises' us and doesn't give any consideration to our uniqueness as people with views from different parts of the globe".


'Trust is key to progress'


"Yes, we have made some progress," says civil servant Shaun Pascal, "but the progress has come at a very slow pace and what we are seeing is a generation of young people that are tired of being asked to be patient and to wait and we need to have some real conversations and acknowledge what people of colour are saying and move forward."

He says there needs to be more people from ethnic minority communities at the top of corporations and organisations.

"As black people we are not asking you to change for us, you need to do it for yourself because we have a contribution to bring if you allow us the opportunities," he says. "Our contribution goes further than the low position we are given.

"We need to see more black people, more people of colour, in those CEO positions at the top of those organisations."

"Trust is key to progress and when you are constantly denying what people are experiencing and what we see and not acknowledging it you are never going to win people over," he adds.


'These are good plans, let's see them in action'


London-based artist Ajani Carrington, 22, says he found the conclusions of the report "interesting" and agrees that sometimes socio-economic factors could be bigger than ethnicity in people being denied life opportunities.

"But I feel like ethnicity is the reason that some people get dismissed in life from chances and opportunities, I think it all goes together," he says.

"I'll be optimistic when I can feel and see it coming to life in actual lifetime experiences and real life stories," he says.

"The government, the politicians, the system, everyone knows what to say to make it sound nice but what we want to see is it put into action."

"We have had years and years of words and manipulations and deceptions and what we now want is actual actions which represent those words and these plans," he says.

"These are good plans, let's see them in action."


'A report will not make a difference'


Mohammad Karin, the founder of a youth consultancy and a student, says while some ethnic minority pupils did well academically it "doesn't mean the system is perfect it means that they have learnt to thrive in an imperfect system".

"We have got to celebrate the fact that children from ethnic minorities are doing better than their counterparts but that's not to say that the issue doesn't exist," he says.

He says it is contradictory for the report to call the UK a model for other white-majority countries when it also states there is overt racism.

"The report is going to do very little for the individual people that this report was commissioned for. We can start to be optimistic when this report is acted on but today we can't be optimistic because a report in of itself will not make a difference," he says.

"I don't trust the people who carried out this report to make substantial change based on the tone they are giving, that it is 'not as big an issue as you are saying it is', saying that we are some sort of model country for dealing with it," he says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×