UK panel fights again ‘misrepresentation’ of its race disparities report

The UK government-appointed unbiased Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has hit again on the “willful misrepresentation” of the findings of its report on understanding and addressing the causes of inequality within the nation.
In an announcement issued on Friday, the fee countered allegations by critics that it had downplayed racism within the UK or the historical past of slavery.
It stated that the details and evaluation offered in its evaluate problem quite a lot of strongly held beliefs in regards to the nature and extent of racism in Britain right now however in some instances truthful and strong disagreement with the Commission’s work has tipped into misrepresentation.
“This misrepresentation risks undermining the purpose of the report, understanding and addressing the causes of inequality in the UK, and any of the positive work that results from it. For that reason, it is necessary to set the record straight,” the assertion famous.
It added, “We have never said that racism does not exist in society or in institutions. We say the contrary: racism is real and we must do more to tackle it. That is why our very first recommendation to the government is to challenge racist and discriminatory action and increase funding to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to pursue investigations.”

Historians, campaigners and the Opposition Labour Party have been amongst these vital of the report’s findings, which is meant to tell the federal government’s equality and anti-racism measures.
The exit of Samuel Kasumu, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior-most black adviser as Special Adviser for Civil Society and Communities, was additionally linked to the report, although Downing Street has strongly denied the hyperlink.
The Commission stated: “There has also been a wilful misrepresentation by some people of the Commission’s view on the history of slavery. The idea that the Commission would downplay the atrocities of slavery is as absurd as it is offensive to every one of us.”
It added, “The report merely says that in the face of the inhumanity of slavery, African people preserved their humanity and culture. The Commission’s recommendation for the Government to create inclusive curriculum resources is about teaching these histories which often do not get the attention they deserve.”
The commissioners who labored on the report, which embrace Indian-origin mediaperson Dr Samir Shah, have been focused with social media trolling and private assaults within the wake of its launch earlier this week.
The Commission condemned the assaults as “irresponsible and dangerous”, including, “Robust debate we welcome. But to depict us as racism deniers, slavery apologists or worse is unacceptable.”
It expressed the hope that its wide-ranging report will result in additional analysis and a greater understanding of the advanced causes of inequalities within the UK.
Prime Minister Johnson, who had commissioned the evaluate final yr within the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of African-American George Floyd within the US, has dubbed it an “important piece of work” which can now outline actions inside authorities.
Among its many findings, the report had concluded that Indian pupils are likely to carry out effectively in training in Britain and likewise go on to have excessive common incomes consequently, a mannequin that wants additional analysis to be replicated throughout different ethnicities by the Department for Education.