Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism

1. Definitions

🡪 a theory about culture and its value
🡪 the view that cultures, races, and ethnicities, especially those of minority groups, deserve special acknowledgement of their differences within a dominant political culture
🡪 a set of institutional, political and legal arrangements which ensure the recognition and fair treatment of certain cultural identities with democracies

1. Commonwealth immigration (colonies)

🡪 Post WW2 British economy recovery-labour
🡪 British National Act: 1948 =

- created status of "Citizen of the UK and colonies”

- right of residence
🡪 22 June 1948 (Windrush Day): Arrival of Empire Windrush: "Windrush generation”

1. Reactions: Notting Hill Riots 1958; “rivers of blood”

🡪 Teddy Bays; Union Movement; White Defence League: "Keep Britain White"
🡪 Aug/Sept: Riots -› racially motivated: “Down with the niggers”, “Go home you black bastards”
🡪 20 April 1968 Enoch Powell (Conservative MP, Wolverhampton ) : speech “Rivers of Blood"

1. Policies

🡪 1958: inaugurates period of open social discrimination.
🡪 Government legislates, - limit and protect: compensatory legislation
🡪 Commonwealth Immigrants Act:

- 1962 = only those with government would now be allowed to settle

-  1968 = restricted CUKC status for Commonwealth immigrants to those born in UK or with parent or grand-parent born there)

🡪 Race Relations Act:

- 1965: 1st act to address discrimination

- 1965: illegal to refuse to serve a person with unreasonable delay or to overcharge on the grounds of colour, race, ethnicity, or age

- 1968: illegal to refuse housing, employment, services to black people

🡪 1971: Further legislation (Commonwealth Immigrants Act); 1976 (Race Relations Act)

1. Deterioration

🡪 Late 1970s = serious economic difficulties
🡪 violent racism - "Paki-bashing”
🡪 1981: Riots: Brixton, Liverpool, Birmingham

- Unemployment (25% of ethnic; 50 % among black youths)

- Inner-city decline-poverty, poor, housing
🡪 Riots regular occurrence: 1985, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2000…
🡪 1981, Scarman Report: Racial disadvantage / community relation / institutional racism in police force

1. Progress?

🡪 Trevor McDonald: 1st black newsreader:1973
🡪 Diane Abbott: 1st black woman MP : 1987
🡪 Sadiq Kahn: Mayor of London: 2016
🡪 Media

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