Faizah Gillani
Societies have dealt with racism long before George Floyd breathed his last breath. But his death at the hands of a white police officer has enraged all sane minded people worldwide, demanding for an end to racial inequality. People from all walks of life have come together, protesting and challenging an unfair system. The message has been plain and simple – enough is enough. It is now time for change. Racism must be eradicated at all levels.
As we have seen with the United States, there is a complex history involved, with overt racism, and police brutality that has shockingly become the norm. In comparison, racism within the United Kingdom is more institutionalised, with racial inequality embedded within the fabric of its society. It may not be as blatant as the United States, but it exists and rears its ugly head from time to time for all to see.
Following George Floyd’s death, protests that started off in the United States, swept across the globe, with the UK also witnessing huge protests. People belonging to different races, ethnicities and backgrounds have shown their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, but there are also those that look at it with disdain, and are willing to openly show it. The level of abuse directed at Labour MP Dawn Butler has proven just that. Dawn Butler had to close her Willesden constituency office in North-West London due to security fears after threats against her and staff dramatically escalated.
According to the Labour MP, bricks were thrown through the window, and her staff were verbally abused while coming into and leaving work. She approached the police due to the level of racist abuse she faced after defending the Black Lives Matter protests. Ms Butler has received some vile emails, one of which stated, “come the revolution, you will be one of the first.”
The hate and abuse directed at Dawn Butler and her staff involved aggression most likely triggered by Ms Butler’s vocal opinions and open support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Racial inequality directed towards BAME (Black Asian and Minority Ethnic) MPs, however, has been ongoing, long before the protests took place. But it has taken a vicious turn due to the social media culture that we live in.
Although Dawn Butler got in touch with the police, Black and even Asian people have found it difficult to approach the police as there is a certain level of mistrust towards them. There is a widely shared feeling that the police are not on their side, sentiments that date back to the Stephen Lawrence case in 1993. This troubled relationship has never really repaired, and a recent stop and search incident evoked those sentiments once again.
An incident involving two athletes raised concerns over police powers, as well as the stop and search methods targeted towards Black and Asian people. British athlete Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo Dos Santos were stopped by the police and handcuffed, while their baby was in the backseat of the car. The police alleged that the car was driving suspiciously, and that it did not stop even after the police indicated the driver to do so.
The Metropolitan police have since apologised to Bianca Williams, but damage has been done, and the incident has renewed the debate over racial profiling within the country. Black, Asian and ethnic minorities are more likely to be targeted in stop and searches. Shockingly, Black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched in comparison to White people. After the incident involving Bianca Williams went viral, Linford Christie, the country’s most successful sprinter, accused the police of being institutionally racist.
There are people who are quick to dismiss this, and vehemently defend the actions of the police. There is, however, little evidence to suggest that the police force has made any real progress in improving race relations. Lessons from the mishandling of the Stephen Lawrence case have clearly not been learnt. Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager, was murdered in a racially motivated attack in South-East London, by white youths, in 1993.
A public inquiry led by Sir William Macpherson into the teenager’s killing labelled the police response as “institutionally racist.” He also highlighted the stop and search method as “discriminatory.” This was back in 1999, a clear indication of how not much has changed today. In his report, Macpherson defined institutional racism as “the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.”
Twenty years on since the publication of the report and understandably a great deal of mistrust towards the police remains. The police have not only failed in easing tensions, it has not taken enough steps to reach out and improve relations with The Black community.
Commissioner of the Metropolitan police Cressida Dick has also come under fire for her handling of the Bianca Williams incident. Many saw it as a wasted opportunity on her part to not only reach out to the Black community, but also a failure to acknowledge that an issue with race still remains within the force. Instead, the Metropolitan police came across as very defensive, far from a reflective ,ood on how its actions hurt the sentiments of a community already feeling anger and resentment.
But one positive step taken by the Metropolitan police is the voluntary referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which will look into the Bianca Williams case to investigate whether racial profiling or discrimination played a part in the stop and search. Also, the IOPC will be launching a review into other cases where BAME communities felt they were being treated unfairly by the police.
Michael Lockwood, director general of the IOPC, said the review’s focus on racial inequality or discrimination is intended to “establish the trends and patterns which might help drive real change in policing practice.” These types of steps, although necessary, will not be enough to pacify communities that have lived with a history of mistrust. Reviews and inquiries can identify mistakes, but proper action must be taken if the police force genuinely wants to build bridges between itself and the BAME communities.
This is not to say that the efforts and hard work of police officers should not be acknowledged. Officers put their lives at risk in order to protect the community and have also been tested during this extremely difficult time as society adjusts to life with the threat of COVID-19. And there are many officers that are serving with honesty and integrity. But as an institution, the police force remains unsuccessful in dealing with racism. It is therefore not surprising that the UK police force still struggles with recruiting officers from BAME communities.
If society genuinely wants to bring an end to racial inequality, then first it must accept that racism exists. Some people are still uncomfortable with the idea of racism, or in denial, but do not realise that it is damaging race relations and further alienating communities that have more than often experienced racism due to the colour of their skin. Conversations have started, but now action must also be taken. Faith needs to be restored in the police force, but that can only happen if there is real change from within.
The writer has studied History and Politics at Queen Mary, University of London. And Near and Middle East Studies at SOAS, University of London.
