Drity Racists - a Minority
Socialist Organiser1981 1981-12-03Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 9 →
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of white people (80%), according to a survey of racial attitudes by the Commission for Racial Equality, do not mind ethnic minorities being in Britain. And 61% recognise that blacks suffer worse from unemployment - which was seen as by far the most important problem in their area by all racial groups.
But the number of both black and white people who think race relations are getting worse has massively increased compared to six years ago: 47% of black people as compared to 13% then, and 33% of whites now, as against 20% then. to show that blacks find themselves increasingly under threat from a minority - but a vicious and organised one - of white racists, and suffer much more pervasive economic discrimination. 80% of Asians and 88% of West Indians believed that blacks had the greatest problems finding work, and that's certainly borne out by the unemployment statistics.
This is also borne out by the bizarre call by a West Indian charity, Caribbean House, for funds for voluntary repatriation.
Ashton Gibson, its leader, claims that West uation in Britain so intolerable that they want to return 'home' He has been accused by other West Indian organisations of supporting Powellite/National Front policies. Darcus Howe, of Race Today, described him as a crank. The CRE says it is watching the scheme closely and expresses concern if those who want to leave feel that they're forced to by 'underlying feelings of prejudice' and that they're against any form of coercion' This seems a trifle disingenuous since their own findings show a nearly four-fold increase in the number of blacks who think that race relations are worsening, and every official statistic points to blacks doing disproportionately badly on jobs, pay, housing, etc.
Clearly, the 'feelings' of being discriminated against reflect the actual reality. And the answer is not repatriation, however spuriously 'voluntary', but eradicating the systematic racism that leads to 'feelings' of being under threat.
NB: One of the spons of Caribbean House is that fine upstanding antiracist, the aptly named William Whitelaw.
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Sociallst Organiser no.64 December 3, 1981 Page 10 ABDUR ABDUA