Introduction
In our roles as public servants, educators, employers, and community leaders, we often ask: why do racial inequalities persist despite decades of legislation and good intentions? The answer may lie not in the old face of racism, but in a subtler, more insidious version, what scholars call new racism.
New racism doesn’t wear a white hood or chant hate, it quietly undermines cohesion through cultural gatekeeping, unconscious bias, and policies that sideline meaningful inclusion. Understanding this is vital, especially as we face growing polarisation, rising far-right narratives, and community tensions.
This blog explores how new racism continues to shape our institutions and communities, and what we, as system leaders, must do about it.
1. New Racism: Cultural, Subtle, and Systemic
Unlike the blatant racism of the past, new racism justifies exclusion through “cultural differences” rather than biological superiority. It avoids direct slurs but reinforces segregation, often unconsciously.
Key features include:
- Cultural bias disguised as ‘common sense’ values.
- Subtle forms of exclusion in employment, policing, education, and housing.
- Well-meaning individuals unaware of their own bias.
- Framing equality initiatives as ‘reverse discrimination’.
For council officers, HR leads, police chiefs, housing staff, and teachers, recognising these behaviours, especially in recruitment, referrals, curriculum, community engagement, and language, is crucial.
2. The Policy Backdrop: Why ‘Community Cohesion’ Still Matters
Following the 2001 northern riots, the UK’s community cohesion policy was born from urgent questions: why were young people, particularly Asian youth, erupting in frustration? Why were communities drifting into “parallel lives”?
The Cantle Report proposed:
- A shared sense of belonging and citizenship.
- A commitment to mutual respect and equal life chances.
- Policies that promote cross-cultural interaction, in schools, neighbourhoods, and workplaces.
This remains powerful and relevant. For example:
- Educators can embed dual identities in the curriculum (being British and Bangladeshi, for example).
- Police forces can reframe “community safety” as something co-created with ethnically diverse communities, not imposed on them.
- Employers can move from box-ticking EDI to building equitable cultures where identity isn’t a barrier to belonging or progression.
3. Britishness as a Shared Identity: Without Imposition
Surveys show that ethnically diverse communities often embrace Britishness, but not always Englishness, which still carries connotations of whiteness.
We must be careful not to wield Britishness as a litmus test. Instead, it can be a shared container for inclusive values, fairness, respect, opportunity, democracy, while still respecting other identities (religious, cultural, or personal).
For local authorities, charities, and employers, this means:
- Being inclusive in how we talk about belonging and nationhood.
- Creating space for dual identities rather than forcing single allegiance.
- Recognising that symbolic inclusion (e.g. the Union Jack) only works when people feel seen and safe in daily interactions.
4. Institutional Racism: Lessons From Policing and Public Services
The Macpherson Report (1999) on the Stephen Lawrence murder was a wake-up call: institutional racism exists when services fail people due to their race, culture, or ethnicity — often without ill intent, but through structural neglect or ignorance.
Examples include:
- Housing: how “reasonable” anti-social behaviour expectations exclude those from larger households or different norms.
- Schools: how “British values” policies disproportionately target Muslim students.
- Policing: overuse of stop-and-search powers and racialised gang labels.
- Workplaces: resistance to positive action due to misunderstandings about fairness.
We cannot afford to be passive. Institutional racism requires institutional courage.
5. What Next? From Multiculturalism to Solidarity
Old multiculturalism assumed that tolerance was enough. It wasn’t. Community cohesion suggests a better model: “diversity within unity” a society where difference is respected, but shared values and mutual engagement are nurtured too.
This means:
- Council leaders must fund meaningful cross-community engagement beyond symbolic gestures.
- Educators must teach dual identity and solidarity, not just festivals and food.
- Police and housing bodies must build trust from the ground up, not parachute into crisis.
- Employers must reimagine belonging, not just inclusion policies.
- Charities must challenge internal hierarchies and centre lived experience, not just speak on behalf of others.
Conclusion: The Time for Passive Policy is Over
The future of Britain’s social fabric depends on leaders across sectors committing to more than words. We must:
- Acknowledge that new racism exists.
- Reframe Britishness as inclusive and flexible.
- Promote everyday solidarity in schools, services, workplaces and streets.
- Lead courageously, especially when it’s uncomfortable.
If we want real community cohesion, it must begin with those of us in positions of power and responsibility asking: Are we reflecting the values we say we stand for?
And if not what must we change?