Sorry Mr. Denham, race hasn’t gone away
Posted on | January 17, 2010 | 2 Comments
I’ve hesitated on commenting on John Denham’s comments as I was keen to see the type of reaction he would provoke.
Most responses have focused on his assertion of the need to focus on class, and other social factors. Race, it seems, isn’t that important anymore.
The Daily Telegraph reported: “It is no longer enough to make simple judgments or assumptions which equate race with disadvantage,” he said.
“That would overlook, for example, the striking achievements of Indian and Chinese students – but it would also overlook the fact that white working class boys are struggling to keep up.”
The argument that white working class boys have become the new generation of y0ung West Indian boys, underachieving in school, is already well documented.
My concern is that whilst we should never make simple judgments linking race and disadvantage, it would be just as dangerous to assume that success equals no disadvantage or racism.
It would be easy to point to the successful Asian businessman, or African chief exec, or West Indian departmental head, and assume that their success has placed them in a position where they no longer experience disadvantage because of their race. Many people from BME communities can point to personal experiences where they thought they had transcended the racial barrier, only to be brought crashing down when it came to career progression or even social acceptance.
Race and racism hasn’t gone away. It remains a problem for BME communities and continues to demand, nay need, legislative and government policy attention.
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2 Responses to “Sorry Mr. Denham, race hasn’t gone away”
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January 17th, 2010 @ 12:54 PM
Just wanted to say HI. I found your blog a few days ago on Technorati and have been reading it over the past few days.
January 17th, 2010 @ 1:20 PM
Thanks for getting in touch!