London Mayor Boris Johnson Instead of supporting grassroots campaigns which have always been more effective in driving social change, Johnson has chosen to hide behind the veil of diversity.

In 21st century Britain, policymakers and politicians make strenuous efforts to avoid the word racism by hiding under the cloak of ‘diversity.’ Boris Johnson is the latest politician to join the diversity bandwagon.

When African Caribbean immigrants arrived in Britain on the Empire Windrush in 1948, full of dreams and ambitions for a better life, they were greeted by an inhospitable and hostile British public. They endured racial abuse in their neighbourhoods, victimisation and taunting in the workplace, as well as the challenge of finding somewhere to live when white landlords hung out signs on their premises which read: “no Irish, no dogs and no blacks.”

Back then, racism was far more overt. I recall on one occasion at the age of eight in what had otherwise been a blissfully happy experience at primary school in South London, being asked by a middle-aged dinner lady: “Why don’t you go back to your own country?” To which I replied: “This is my country – I was born here.” Overt racism is much easier to tackle because you can see it coming and respond to it.

These days, aside from the occasional openly racist diatribe, such as was displayed by the Fulham Tory councillor Lucy Ivimy, who accused Indians on a housing estate of having poor hygiene standards; the most destructive kind of racism is masked within systems, structures, policies and even laws that collectively result in social inequality and disadvantage, which works against people of colour and in favour of those racialized as white.

Sir William Macpherson, who chaired the Stephen Lawrence enquiry, went as far as to expose institutionalised racism within public institutions, a term which has been continually resisted and diluted over the last 10 years. But even the term institutionalised racism does not adequately reflect the deep-rootedness of the problem. Such is the extent of the social, economic and political disadvantage conferred upon black communities from education to employment, that the most appropriate term to describe this process is white supremacy.

White supremacy relies on its partner in crime: whiteness to normalize and make invisible, the values and beliefs of those racialized as white - otherwise known as the mainstream. It is against this mainstream that everyone else is measured and those who are believed not to conform to mainstream culture are relegated to the margins of society as Others – especially those who try to retain as much of their cultural identity and heritage as possible. Hence the preoccupation by the present government with social cohesion; which is merely a strategy for bringing everyone in line with the values of the mainstream.

The role of whiteness in the colourblind era

Tory Councillor Lucy Ivimy If anyone should doubt the collective power of whiteness and its ability to relegate people of colour to a position of inferiority – take a look at the comments in response to the Mail Online’s article about Lucy Ivimy’s racial ranting.

If anyone should doubt the collective power of whiteness and its ability to relegate people of colour to a position of inferiority – take a look at the comments in response to the Mail Online’s article about Lucy Ivimy’s racial ranting. Despite the fact that the article clearly states that very few Indians even live on the estate and there was absolutely no evidence to support her claims, it is clear that the readers - who one assumes to be white, accept Ivimy’s actions as being based on fact and entirely appropriate.

One reader stated: “One only has to watch a documentary on TV to see what residents in some countries do with their rubbish to see that Lucy Ivimy is correct in what she says.” While another wrote: “This woman deserves support. Her advice is not only to the advantage of indigenous residents of the area, but for everyone, including children, the elderly, tourists, visitors.” In this case whiteness operates on a collective basis, regardless of truth or untruth, right or wrong.

As many critical race theorists have argued, how can the most destructive forms of racism that exist within a society be addressed if governments and policymakers refuse to acknowledge its existence? Yet note how swiftly the new mayor of London, Boris Johnson has changed the theme of the annual Rise festival from a strong anti-racist message to one that “celebrates London diversity.” Diversity has become a cop-out for those who have no interest in tackling the most destructive forms of racism that exist in our society.

Rather than acknowledge the problem and to tackle it head on, Boris Johnson has wasted no time in climbing on the diversity bandwagon. Instead of supporting grassroots campaigns, which have always been more effective in driving social change, Johnson has chosen to hide behind the veil of diversity. Diversity is nothing more than a description of difference. But, then we are in the age of the colourblind era.

“Colour blindness…ignores the impact of race on the human experience of black peoples and non-white groups, particularly within an historical context.”1

Racial justice campaigners in London have their work cut out.

1 Gabriel, 2007 (Ch 7, p 102) Layers of Blackness: Colourism in the African Diaspora;


Deborah Gabriel is Editor of the Colourful Network, a lecturer in journalism and author of Layers of Blackness: Colourism in the African Diapsora.