‘Structural racism still exists’
THE mayor described as “dishonest” the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) report, saying that institutional racism exists in Britain today.
“When my parents first came here, the racism they suffered – no dogs, no Irish, no blacks. By blacks, they meant anybody of colour. Within a generation, I’m the mayor of London. That’s the progress we’ve made. We’re going to celebrate that progress, whether it’s in journalism, in media, in the legal field, in politics, in business, in the arts, in sports and so forth. But let’s not pretend things are perfect.
“There are structural problems in our city and our country, including institutional racism. How do you explain the fact that during this pandemic, a disproportionate number, in the first wave, of black Londoners, lost their lives versus white Londoners? How do you explain in the second wave, a disproportionate number of Pakistani origin, Bengali origin, lost their lives versus white Londoners?
“How do you explain the life expectancy of some people of colour? How do you explain how some people of colour get brilliant degrees, but are under-employed? How do you explain infant mortality in some ethnic groups?
“How do you explain the disproportionate number of black people and Asians in our prison population, but the dearth in our judiciary?
“It’s not because certain groups are more talented because of their DNA. It’s because of discrimination, because of lack of life chances, inequality, and so forth. And I think, failing to acknowledge that is being dishonest.
“It’s a sense of complacency, sweeping under the carpet some of the dust. Speak to the families of the Windrush generation, who were the recipient of hostile environment, and you tell me that there aren’t structural problems in our country when it comes to race.”
Khan said some people were afraid to “put their heads above the parapet” when it came to racism. He urged them to fight and use their voice “to advocate” for those who could not.
But what about the Metropolitan Police? Is it still institutionally racist?
“The commissioner said, the Met isn’t free from racism, discrimination or bias. And it was brave to say that, because you can imagine the pressure that was on her from the right-wing media, and this government, with this prime minister, this home secretary, and I commend her for being brave.
“What’s clear is there is a lack of confidence among some communities, including the black community in London. And that’s why we listened to the community. We’ve come up with an action plan to address that. More transparency, more community involvement in checks and balances.
“Looking at the stops from our police vehicles, looking at the ethnic profile, using the community to help the police train officers around being more culturally aware. Making sure we redouble our efforts to make sure there are more BAME police officers, make sure they get promoted up the service.
“The action plan is quite detailed, and the good news is the police service agree that it’s important for all of us that the black community has better trust and confidence in the police.”