Your say / Race relations
‘By addressing the causes of inequality, we can mend our social fabric’
My parents moved to the United Kingdom from Jamaica in 1959 and 1961 as part of the Windrush Generation. They arrived in the UK for the promise of jobs, opportunities and a better future.
My parents came to this country with a great sense of pride, dedicated to contributing to the UK’s wilting economy.
Public sector jobs were advertised in the Caribbean; there was clearly a need for people willing to take on jobs that could not be filled domestically.
Unfortunately, my parents were not embraced by the UK. On multiple occasions, my father and uncles have been chased through the streets and told to ‘go back to where you came from’.
Even when I was in primary school, I was followed home, pushed, kicked and spat at – all because of the colour of my skin.
I’m sure that other people from minority communities who grew up in Bristol will have similar stories.
Fortunately, we have made some progress with implementation of the Race Relations Act, equal rights, protected characteristics, and important allyship personally and professionally.
I am proud of my heritage as an Afro-Caribbean and I am proud to be British, to be a councillor, a magistrate, a teacher, a social worker, a school governor and formerly deputy lord mayor of Bristol – my home city.
Carole Johnson’s parents moved to the UK from Jamaica in as part of the Windrush Generation – photo courtesy of Carole Johnson
We have seen some welcome changes since my own childhood. However, it is undeniable that we are now seeing disturbing signs of regression.
Last year, a child was shot with an air rifle in a racist attack in Brentry. A bus stop in Bedminster has been vandalised with Islamophobic graffiti. And a racially aggravated assault harmed two men in Lawrence Hill.
Flags have been flown on lampposts across the city, prompted by the ‘raise the colours’ movement which was started by someone with connections to Britain First, a far-right, nationalist movement.
I don’t believe that all people, who are supportive of the flags being attached to lampposts have malicious intent or are racist.
Bristolians have proudly flown our national flags at their own homes and have done so for many years.
The celebratory or commemorative displays of flags, which show support for one of our national (or local) sports teams, national events such as a royal wedding or for Remembrance Sunday, can serve to bring us together.
But the context here is important. For people who grew up with the memories of the late 1970s when the National Front were on the rise, the flag can be associated with those times. The times when my parents were told to go back to where they came from, or I, even as a primary school child, was assaulted because of my race.
Our councillors have heard from migrant families who felt deliberately targeted by having flags flown directly outside their homes, and others who have been made to feel unwelcome.
In these cases, lines have been crossed and the council should act.
The Bristol Labour group has collectively called on the Green-led administration to take down the flags that have been unlawfully attached to lampposts.
It has now committed that they will come down ‘gradually’ but the timeframe is still in question.
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Read more: ‘Flags erected unlawfully must be taken down’
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It is deeply regrettable that the flag of our nation has become associated with anti-immigrant protests.
I understand why people are angry. Fourteen years of austerity cut services to the bone worsened living standards, and limited opportunity for a lot of working-class communities – but they are blaming the wrong people for their problems.
Society is now so polarised that we feel unable to have conversations. We need to get back to a place of understanding not demonisation, and have discussions with one another and reclaim the flag, so it is once again a symbol, of which everyone, can be equally proud.
We have all witnessed Black British Olympians winning gold medals and England’s Black Lionesses, proudly draped in our country’s flag.
That needs to continue. It’s easier said than done but we all have a duty to do all that we can to help maintain our social fabric and ensure we don’t regress further.
There’s more we can do. Whilst anti-asylum seeker rhetoric is on the rise, I am proud the Bristol Labour group reaffirmed its commitment to Bristol as a City of Sanctuary.
We put forward a motion calling on the council to continue to receive and support refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who want to live in our city and make a meaningful contribution.
As a city, we should welcome those fleeing violence and persecution.
Asylum seekers and migrants have made a valuable contribution to our city. Bristol is home to over 450,000 people, coming from over 187 different countries.
Ninety-one languages are spoken and 45 religions practiced. That’s something to be celebrated. It’s what makes Bristol, Bristol.
As a city, we need to continue to promote fairness and protect the rights of all, whatever their background.
Equality and opportunity are what our country is crying out for.
The lack of life chances is driving people to support far-right organisations. They feel left behind.
By addressing the causes of inequality, for people of all backgrounds, we can mend our social fabric and stop the increased polarisation.
If everyone plays their part, your children and mine can inherit a world of increased opportunity and equal life chances.
This is an opinion piece by Carole Johnson, a Labour councillor for Horfield. Carole is a magistrate, former deputy lord mayor, and a trained primary school teacher and social worker.
Main photo: Labour Party
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