VII.

MINORITIES IN UK, IMMIGRATION, RACISM

 basic terminology:
o Racism
 prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race
based on the belief that one’s own race is superior
o Xenophobia
 typically used to denote a phobic attitude towards foreigners or strangers, or even of
the unknown
o Segregation
 separation of humans into racial groups in daily life
o Assimilation
 the process of adapting or adjusting to the culture of a group or nation, or the state of
being so adapted
o Integration
 the bringing of people of different racial or ethnic groups into unrestricted and equal
association, as in society or an organization; desegregation
o Multiculturalism
 the cultural diversity of communities within a given society and the policies that
promote this diversity

 migration (immigration, emigration) was always a part of our planet’s history – for better
opportunities and life, job, money, sometimes also because of political reasons (needed, for instance
during WWII)
 in the UK it was migration was there always because of the Empire – long history of immigration, it
is the legacy of its imperial part
 sometimes was migration needed, for example during wars, when Britain needed soldiers (Czech
units during WWII, labour to rebuilt cities after wars) sometimes it was discouraged

IMMIGRATION
- primary – you have no one in the country, no family members
- secondary – coming to the country because you already have someone from your family there

 HISTORY
o immigration of Jews – one of the biggest community in Europe, William the Conqueror
invited them
o firstly there were Huguenots (Protestants in France) and Protestants in the 16th and 17th
and early 18th century coming to Britain because of their faith that was not accepted in their
country - St Bartholomew´s Day massacre in Paris (political unrest in France)
o there was also a wave of European immigrants who wanted to go from Britain to America,
but they changed their minds and stood – 1850s onwards Irish immigrants, 1930s economic
immigrants, 1940s political refugees, before and during WWI and WWII soldiers who
fought for Britain
 1901 Census – 82,844 Eastern Europeans
 1947 Polish Resettlement Act – citizenship to 200 000 Polish soldiers

 AFTER WWII
o 1948 The British Nationality Act
o before Empire Windrush immigration from the old Commonwealth (ex. Australia, New
Zealand) – the same culture, then immigration from new Commonwealth (ex. India) –
various cultures
o in 1948 the Empire Windrush – ship that arrived on 22nd of June 1948 to Tilbury docks in
London after its 800 miles long journey from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and brought
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 492 immigrants on its board, it was not just a ship that brought immigrants, but also started
the mass immigration to the UK, first wave of immigration to the UK
o people that were brought should help to recover the UK after WWII (labour – post-war
shortages of labour), people abandoned their families and were not sure where they were
going to, some of them were Caribbean war veterans who wanted to return, all of them
English speakers
 1950 – 1971 mass immigration rises racial violence areas as Birmingham, Nottingham and
west London
 1972 the most significant immigration of the decade from Uganda
 In 1980s – strict entry controls
 decline in manufacturing meant harder work permits
 1981 social riots
 Immigration other countries:
 India
 2003: Iraq, Somalia, China, Zimbabwe, Iran
 2004: New EU accession countries (Poland, Lithuania)

 FALL OF IRON CURTAIN

o The Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing
Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of
the Cold War in 1991
o the term symbolized efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from
open contact with the west and non-Soviet-controlled areas
 Eastern Europe
 Immigration for political reasons
 Seeking better life in Western Europe, Asylum
 The foreign born population increased by almost 3 mill. between 2001-2011

 IMMIGRATION POLICIES

o major immigration policies:

 assimilation 1900s – 1950s – so called melting pot – immigrants had to accept the
language and customs of the country (heterogenic → homogeny)
 integration 1960s – 1980s – so called mosaic
 multiculturalism 1990s – 2000s – so called salad bowl

 BEGINNINGS
 1596 – during the rule of Elizabeth I. – first attempt to divide people who came
to the country, modify the emigration, people from the Empire and Commonwealth
could go to the country without any restrictions
 Aliens Act of 1905 – restriction of immigration for the first time, but it did not
relate to people who came from the British colonies, there were, however, nor clear
rules about immigration yet
 since 1945 there was a number of Immigration and Race Relations Acts – for
instance British Nationality act in 1948 – it enabled mass entry of New
Commonwealth immigrants

 1960s AND 1970s

 1960s – focus on non-white Commonwealth immigration, hostile public attitudes –
people started to feel like strangers in their own countries thanks to this massive
immigration
 Race Relations Act 1968 – it was illegal to refuse housing, employment or public
service to a person because of his or hers colour, race or ethnic origins -
commission for racial equality
 1970s era of great restriction started

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 Immigration Act 1971 – restricted primary immigration to the UK, number of
categories of citizenship created, you as a member of Commonwealth can come to
the country only if you have family in Britain
 this massive immigration led to transformation of British society (demographic,
ideological) – immigration started to be more controlled and restricted
 1980s AND 1990s
 controls on entry, protection of the rights of minorities
 until 1980s net loss of people, then the trend reversed in the 1990s and there was a
big net gain – there was a huge number of asylum applications
 categories – immigration, political asylum, migrant workers – all led to
multiculturalism
 2000s ONWARDS
 massive immigration
 reassert of British identity connected with new immigration and citizenship,
because of multiculturalism new anti-discrimination laws
 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 – emphasis on the centrality of
Britishness and British life – every citizen needs to have sufficient knowledge of
language and the way of life in Britain – so called “carrot and stick” approach –
you either pass the citizenship test or you go home – integration opposite of
multiculturalism
 but since 2001 immigration encouraged to promote economic growth
 NOW
 David’s Cameron New Immigration Bill issued soon (early 2014) – even tougher
condition for EU workers, limitation of numbers of immigrants from outside the EU
 net migration needs to come down radically, breaking the link between work and
settlement
 net migration
 net migration is the difference between people moving into the UK
(immigration) and people moving out of the UK (emigration), if net
migration is positive then it means that more people have moved to live in
the UK than have left to live elsewhere

RACISM
 racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a person’s social and
moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics
 racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain
segregated and apart from one another
 the belief that another person is less than human because of skin colour, language, customs, place of
birth etc.

- Britain is one of the fastest rising mixed society in the world – racism, fear of immigration,
xenophobia (foreign, strange)
- many British people do not use English as their first language, third generation may accept or
deny their British identity, immigrants often uncertain about their status which leads to conflicts
- racism in the workplace is a major problem, very often associations between ethnicity and
employment (fast food – Chinese, Indians), tokenism – (symbolic effort) and positive
discrimination, you are not given the position because you belong, it is the policy and practice of
making a perfunctory gesture towards the inclusion of members of minority groups
- widespread acceptance of mixed-race relationship

 HISTORY

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 o 16th and 17th century - European enslaving people in Africa and New World, trade with

slaves (trade item), hideous attitude, 11 mill. transported across Atlantic, 2 mill. died packed
in boats
o Spanish massacred Indians - 1498 Columbus 3rd voyage (Trinidad, etc.), biological
theories created racism, 1552 Bartolome de las Casas - people objects of investigation
o 17th century - Barbados Colony (prejudices, thought to be animals), Shakespeare The
Tempest, 1st representation of rebellious slave Caliban
o 1804-1805 HAITY REVOLUTION - only successful slave revolution, one of the poorest
country later, Tasmania aboriginal genocide
o many racist ideas among literary elite 19th century

 Social Darwinism
o the theory that persons, groups, and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as
Charles Darwin had perceived in plants and animals in nature
 survival of the fittest (Herbert Spencer)
 natural selection
 genetics
 self-improvement

 Eugenics
o practice of improving genetic quality
o started in late 1800s in California
 controversy
 nazi powers
 nazi propaganda
 survival of the fittest
o America: widely accepted in academics, promoted research in infant mortality and birth
control, discouraging reproduction
o Germany: more race based but not all inclusive, run by social Darwinism and "racial
hygiene"

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