Cranston
Memorial
Prize Essay

RACE RELATIONS
Immigration into this country poses no potential problems, but there are stresses and strains imposed on the human relationships of people in Britain. Why are there these tensions ? Why are dark skinned men discriminated against in such matters as housing, education and employment? The answer is that it stems mainly from prejudice. British people seem to have an obsession that millions of immigrants are pouring into the country. Of course this is not true. Immigration has been severely restricted and their numbers compared with the rest of Britain's population figures are negligible.
Immigrants coming to Britain are often forced to accept slum houses or cheap "digs". The main reason for this is discrimination. Until the Parliamentary Acts of 1965 and 1968 discrimination was used freely against coloured people. Now it is illegal to discriminate on grounds of race or colour. There is a popular myth that the immigrants collect together in "ghettos" and unsuitable houses where maybe eight or nine share three rooms. These beliefs are not altogether unfounded as far as the unsuitable housing is concerned, but there are no "ghettos" as such in Britain. That state of affairs could materialise if present trends continue. Most of the recognised "black areas" of London and the the rest of the country only have small percentages of immigrant populations ranging from 2% to 7%. The situation would be and will be worse unless discrimination is stopped.
Education is a more promising sphere of race relations. Many immigrants cannot speak English when they arrive here. One council has overcome this very real problem by providing centres of intensive English language training and basic subjects training where children from ages six to fourteen can go before going to a normal school. Children of school age or who reach school age while in Britain normally go to the conventional schools where they pick up the language easily. Once this initial barrier is removed the children can progress alongside each other perfectly happy. This seemingly favourable atmosphere of integrated schools can be destroyed by white or black racialist parents who may instruct their children to remain aloof or even withdraw them altogether.

If this difficulty could be overcome then it is possible that white and coloured girls and boys could progress academically equal and become suitable for employment. Again the prejudices come into their own : "They come over here and take our own jobs from us". This is a common view of immigrant labour. The fact is that an immigrant cannot enter the country without a work permit that is without a job waiting for him here, unless he is in the dependant class of immigrants. Many are obliged to take on jobs which English workers are not willing to do because of conditions or because it may be degrading. Indeed some industries welcome the unskilled labour which bolsters up ailing industries. The cotton and wool industries of the Midlands are now largely dependant on immigrant workers. Our health service would cease to function were it not for the immigrant doctors and nurses—a comparatively large proportion of the incoming immigrants. For more skilled workers arriving in this country many are faced with discrimination despite the laws preventing it. Even if they obtain employment it may be made miserable for them. The situation has improved slightly with the recent legislation.
The Government Acts of 1965 and 1968 aimed at social integration. What is "social integration" ? Roy Jenkins defined it as "Equal opportunity accompanied by cultural diversity in an atmosphere of tolerance". "Equal opportunity" is certainly not achieved at the moment, but progress is being made. I dislike the use of "an atmosphere of tolerance". It suggests to me an air of condescension. The immigrants must be wholly accepted by the population and an effort of assimilating them must be made. If asked many people would immediately agree that a situation such as America's is most undesirable. A similar situation could conceivably appear in the not too distant future. Holland provides an example of a successful race relations situation. Britain could also have reasonable race relations. Education is an obvious sphere of possible progress not only for the children, but also for the parents. Some night classes are arranged for immigrants, but English people need educating as well. Perhaps if they knew the facts, realised the gravity of the situation they would accept the idea of having coloured immigrants in our society. In other words we must alleviate the ignorance and prejudice which is apparent amongst many British people, and stir the apathetic ones into action. We are already a cosmopolitan nation, the immigrants like all the previous immigrants through history must be assimilated into our society and way of life. There is still time, but it is running out.
P. .F. Docherty, VI.