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1/THREAD This yr I researched the impact of racism on YP in Eng. Some findings. Not easy reading. Thx to YP with lived exp involved with @NExclusions, @takebacktpower, @StopwatchUK & others for helping me understand #racism #criminaljustice #education #edutwitter #school #housing
2/ EDUCATION - the over-exclusion of Black students is present at all ages. There's a persistent problem of stereotyping & unconscious bias, a âcumulative process of mounting disciplinary sanctions for relatively low-level disruption that might go unpunished for othersâ
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/25/black-pupils-excluded-hair-discrimination-equality-act 3/ Schools sometimes label naturally growing afro hair as a uniform violation or exclude children for having dreadlocks. These policies are highly discriminatory, undermine a childâs sense of school belongingness and make them feel devalued and unwelcome.
4/ Ability groups: Racial stereotypes are âbleeding into set placements.â Eg. once differences in socioeconomic background were controlled for, black pupils were 2.54 times more likely to be misallocated to a lower set in maths, compared with white pupils. https://www.tes.com/news/exclusive-black-pupils-disadvantaged-setting
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/racial-discrimination-in-housing/ 5/ HOUSING. LSE assert - âinstitutional racismâ perpetuates "racial disparities in housingâ. âBAME peopleâ are: âoffered poorer quality homes..." steered away âfrom white neighbourhoods, based on judgments about social class as well as racial groundsâ.
6/ YOUTH JUSTICE - Everybody knows about the 1999 Macpherson report that described the London Metropolitan Police Service as âinstitutionally racistâ. What about now? Have things improved? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47300343
7/ Today, black people are subject to Stop and Search 9x more than white people, mostly for drug offences & far more likely to be arrested and convicted. This is despite research consistently showing that whites are more likely to use drugs.
8/ S & S âDisproportionality ratios varied from 1.7 in Durham to 20.4 in Dorsetâ and is highest in relatively wealthy and affluent boroughs. However, white people are subject to very low (and decreasing) rates of S & S. Black people are subject to high (stable) rates everywhere
https://www.release.org.uk/publications/ColourOfInjustice#:~:text=The%20unequal%20enforcement%20of%20drug,system%20in%20England%20and%20Wales. 9/ Stop and Search âhas less to do with the immediacies of crime control and more to do with containing and disciplining categories of people who are considered a threat to a particular vision of social orderâ. No evidence that Stop & Search reduces crime
10/ The number of âblack males on the (London Gang) Matrix is disproportionate to their likelihood of criminalityâ. Thereâs a âperception that a gang is often comprised of young black malesâ which âeither directly or unconsciously influences the enforcement focus of the policeâ
https://www.london.gov.uk/mopac-publications-0/review-mps-gangs-matrix 11/ I've direct exp of this disparity, w/g as a psych in a London Youth Offending Serv in a majority white area. Some YP committed offences & named themselves, eg âThe X Estate Crewâ. Never labelled as a âgangâ, nor added to Matrix.
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/news/angiolini-review-long-way-go-serious-incidents-and-deaths-custody 12/ The 2017 Angolini Review into deaths in police custody found that "police reliance on racial stereotyping of Black men as having âexceptional strengthâ" can be problematic.
13/ In sum, as summarised by Theresa May in a surprisingly candid statement of accuracy - âIf youâre Black, youâre treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if youâre white.â https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/statement-from-the-new-prime-minister-theresa-may
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241336520_Education_Policy_as_an_Act_of_White_Supremacy_Whiteness_Critical_Race_Theory_and_Education_Reform 14/Evid of syst racism crosses contexts- ââwhite supremacyâ is not the obvious & extreme fascistic posturing of small neo-nazi groups, but rather taken-for-granted routine privileging of white interests that goes unremarked in the political m/stream"
15/ We have an openly racist, pro-Empire PM has proclaimed, with mind-boggling arrogance and stunning ignorance: âThe problem (with Africa) is not that we were once in charge, but that we are not in charge any moreâ. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-colonialism-africa-british-empire-slavery-a9564541.html
16/ This thread only scratches the surface. IMHO, itâs important to self-educate about racism in Eng, particularly given the powerful vested interests seeking to deny all. In the words of James Baldwin, âignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can haveâ
