Racism in the UK: Blacks twice more vulnerable to attacks than whites

Racism in Britain may attract less global attention than in the United States, but it is no less present -- and Black Britons say it is past time for the country to face up to its colonial history and act to stamp out racial inequalities.

The police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in Minneapolis sparked global protests over police brutality and racial inequality despite an ongoing pandemic which has had a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities in the UK and US.

In Britain, where public trust in institutions has been eroded by examples of systemic racism over decades, thousands have turned out to join Black Lives Matter protests despite pleas from the government for people to stay home.

And an exclusive poll by CNN reveals a divided nation,where Black people are twice as likely as White people to say they have not been treated with respect by police. Black people are also about twice as likely as White people to say UK police are institutionally racist -- among White people, just over a quarter believe it.

Exposing further division, nearly two in three Black people say the UK has not done enough to address historical racial injustice, twice the proportion of White people who say that.

The CNN poll has been released as the UK marks Windrush Day, introduced in 2018 to celebrate the arrival on June 22, 1948 of the Empire Windrush. The ship carried the first large group of Commonwealth citizens from the Caribbean to Britain -- at the invitation of the government -- to rebuild the country after World War II.

But the Windrush generation and their children say they continue to suffer as a result of policies pursued by Conservative governments. Some lost their jobs, while others were evicted from their homes or faced deportation after decades living in Britain legally.

Glenda Caesar, who traveled with her parents from Dominica to Britain as a baby in 1961, says she suddenly lost her job as an administrator with the National Health Service in 2009 as she was unable to provide the necessary documentation. She fell into debt, unable to pay her bills without a wage, and nearly lost her home, she said.

A decade on, now aged 58, she has been unable to find another job despite being given British citizenship shortly after her plight was highlighted in the media. Her son, who was born in Britain in 1988, was also given citizenship.

"I was fighting for myself and for my son at the time -- that was the thing that hurt me the most," she said. "Why should I have to fight for his right to be in this country when he was born here?"

Caesar, who spoke at protests this month in the east London neighborhood of Hackney where she lives and the Essex town of Southend, has, however, been heartened by the number, diversity and youth of the demonstrators she's seen.

"I think it's good for the world because now people are understanding what us, as a community, what we've been saying for a very long time. Where we haven't had the justice that we've always been searching for but now everybody has come together," she said

She thinks others are now ready to stand up for what they believe in. "If we see a young Black man being surrounded by police and they are arresting him, people are now stepping forward and asking what's going on," she said. "If we turn our backs it could be another George Floyd and I think we've had enough. I feel safe -- semi-safe -- with my grandchildren growing up because at least I feel people will be looking after them."

But she is less positive about the outcome for her and others caught up in the Windrush scandal, saying "we are still waiting" to be properly compensated despite the government apologizing for its actions.

She was offered a payout of a little over £22,000 ($27,200) in December under the government's Windrush Compensation Scheme but -- despite her continued difficult financial circumstances -- turned it down as she felt it was insultingly low.

"So far 12,000 people have been given documentation to confirm their status, more compensation payments are being made every week and in the case of Ms. Caesar we are working with her representatives to review and resolve her claim," a Home Office spokesperson said in a statement .

Source: CNN