Rural racism 30 years on - what has changed since the first ever report?
Almost 30 years after the first-ever research of its kind into West Country rural racism, it's claimed some progress has been made - but not enough.
Last updated 14th Dec 2021
There's calls for a renewed focus on rural racism almost 30 years after the first-ever study into racism levels across Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and Dorset.
In 1992 the late Eric Jay, a former director of the Greater London Action for Race Equality who later moved to Bristol - released a ground-breaking study called 'Keep Them In Birmingham: Challenging Racism in South -West England'.
The report exposed the common perception at the time of 'there's no non-whites here and so we don't need to take any action' by highlighting repeated incidents of overt and covert racism - and a lack of support networks for those affected.
We've brought together a panel of experts in the field to discuss both the legacy of the report, and what societal changes are still needed
Michael Day, the then chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, said they undertook the research to discover 'whether racism was a problem for ethnic minority communities in the West County and, if so, its extent, and whether anything was being done about it by the various authorities'.
He said, at the time, the report unearthed a 'disturbing picture of racial prejudice and discrimination directed against ethnic minority residents'.
The 1992 study found: "Often the victims have not reported the abuse or assault to the police. But some racial incidents have been reported and investigated" including 28 to Avon & Somerset Police, 33 to Devon & Cornwall and 11 in Dorset.
Using the freedom of information act, we can reveal there has been a rise in recorded hate crimes with a racial element in each of the past 10 years (up to 2021) across the Devon & Cornwall and Avon & Somerset Police force areas.
The Eric Jay research, carried out over six months at the end of 1991 and early 1992, unearthed real-life experiences including : "Another black woman who was sacked from her job in a hotel because of the racial prejudice of a guest, now works in a school where prejudiced parents are said to be reluctant to allow her to have anything to do with their children."
Also: "A hairdressing salon which takes hairdressing students on placement from a college of further education refused to have black students, ‘because our clients don’t like it’;
And: "in a seaside resort where there are many overseas students, there have been several reports of bus drivers deliberately driving past a bus stop where black students were the only people waiting even though there were empty seats on the bus.
"In the early summer of 1982, a young black student working for a degree in institutional management arrived at a hotel in Cornwall to begin an industrial placement arranged by his polytechnic. The hotel management was surprised to find that the trainee was black, and the following day he was asked to leave, since his colour ‘might affect the trade’."
The report found: "In the south west, as elsewhere in the country, racism is sometimes expressed in verbal or physical violence.
"From Dorset and Somerset, there are reports of Asian families having been forced to leave their homes and businesses because of hostility from other villagers; in three cases, their premises had been repeatedly vandalised.
"In both Devon and Cornwall, restaurant owners and workers have experienced racial abuse and threats, or have had graffiti scrawled on the walls of their premises."
The report found: "Overt racism is not confined to young people. It surfaces in the staff rooms of some schools and colleges, town-hall canteens and other places where middle-class professional people meet.
"Racist jokes are assumed to be acceptable, and racial stereotypes are frequently used to describe people of various ethnic backgrounds."
"In a school in Dorset, for example, where a lone black child was being harassed, no action was taken by the class teacher on the grounds that ‘children will be children’.
"For one man, the experience of being a black person in an almost totally white environment was that he encountered great ignorance and was regarded as a piece of ‘exotica’"
"The south west has its share of white liberals who collude with racism by denying that it is a serious problem in their region. They do not want to believe it, and are hurt or embarrassed when their black friends and colleagues draw attention to it.
"As one black woman put it: ‘You are constantly made to feel responsible if you raise the question; it is you who are making it an issue’. Or, in the words of another black woman: ‘I was told when I arrived: ‘”.. there was no problem with racism until you came” ‘."
"A group of overseas students in Plymouth said that it was common on buses to find white passengers avoiding having to sit next to them. Several black people in different parts of the region have independently described their experiences of being ignored when standing at a bar or shop counter"
The Commission for Racial Equality were behind the study and its modern equivalent the Equality And Human Rights Commission has repeatedly declined our invites to join a debate on its legacy.
"A social worker was once abused and physically attacked when she wore her traditional Muslim dress; the reaction of some of her colleagues was to ask: ‘What can you expect if you dress like that?’"
Gloria Lawrence, who took part in our debate, opened a pub in Somerset 21 years ago, saying: "Initially people would come in not to buy drinks, but I'd say 'why are you here' and they'd say we've heard there's a black person - we've come to have a look at you."
After a family member started being racially abused at school, she founded Story Tree in Taunton to 'deliver a high quality educational service raising cultural awareness and encouraging community cohesion in a fun, exciting, innovative way across the country'.
She's revealed she recently had a poor response from early years providers who would often question the need for her sessions - because of the perceived lack of diversity at the establishment,
Torbay Councillor Jermaine Atiya-Alla, who is chairing the council's first racism review also joined our panel along with Jusna Mustafa who works as a Somerset community engagement officer but spoke to us from her individual capacity and Emma Symonds who advises the NHS in Somerset on diversity issues - but also spoke with us from a personal point of view.
Personal view of Journalist Andrew Kay
I started this piece in April and was struck by how few people I contacted seemingly wanted to discuss the issue of rural racism and societal changes over the past 30 years - hence not finishing it until December. I had hoped the organisation which replaced the former Commission for Racial Equality, would take part in the feature - but they declined to even offer a reason, despite repeated attempts. The Commission for Racial Equality was set up by the Race Relations Act 1976 to 'work towards the elimination of discrimination' and it's clear from the experiences discussed in our panel that perceptions still exist in the 2021 West Country that 'there's no minorities here' - like they did in the early 90s. It was great the panel, overall, seemed much more positive about societal changes and attitudes but I thought the responses to the final question of 'what what you expect to see 60 years after the Eric Jay report' were extremely telling.