Largest ever survey of Black Britons reveals racism concerns across education, health, and sport

The largest ever survey of black British people has revealed fewer than half feel proud of the country they live in - ITV News Reporter Pablo Taylor explains

The largest ever survey undertaken for Black Britons has unveiled serious concerns over racism across education and the workplace.

In data revealed to ITV News, the Black British Voices Research Report 2023 has displayed the necessity for "a serious national conversation" to address the "deep-rooted sources of anti-Black racism in the UK".

The report revealed that 41% of more than 10,000 Black Britons surveyed identified racism as the biggest barrier to young Black people's educational attainment, and 95% believe the national curriculum neglects Black lives and experience.

Fewer than 2% believe educational institutions take racism seriously.

Ten times as many respondents (41%) perceive racial discrimination to "definitely" be the "biggest barrier" to young Black people's academic attainment as those who think this is "definitely not" the case (4%).

"The sense that more Black teachers focusing on Black lives and histories would help is offset by a deep distrust in British educational institutions to serve the needs of Black British children," the report said.

The Black British Voices Project (BBVP), launched in March 2020, found that the report showed "much more needs to be done to overcome unacceptably high levels of racial discrimination in too many sectors of today's society".

The data also spans across the workplace as over 9,800 people or 94% feel - to some extent - that they have to compromise who they are in their workplace.

Here, 88% of BBVP participants reported experiencing racial discrimination in the workplace.

Some 98% of respondents indicated they "always" (46%), "often" (38%), or "sometimes" (14%) had "to compromise who they are and how they express themselves to fit in at work".

"Black Britons often face protracted and non-linear career progression, encountering obstacles to promotion and feeling perceived as benefiting from tokenism when they do advance," the BBVP said.

A further conclusion was made that band aid solutions are "not only bound to fail", but repeated failures make matters worse by reconfirming a desire for real change.

While the means to deliver fairer social institutions are available, the report continued, an acknowledgement of the full extent of the problem is required to enable action.

In specific areas, the study found that the number of Black Britons who understand themselves as British (81%) was significantly higher than the number who consider themselves "proud to be British" (49%).

Englishness is a more difficult identity than Britishness for many Black Britons, and although a significant majority (81%) understand themselves as British, roughly one in six do not.

"The only thing that surprises me is that it's 49%. I would have guessed it would be lower given the experiences we have in this country," said Kehinde Andrews, academic and writer.

"We just had the Windrush scandal. If we look at racism in schools and in the police. Being black in this country is hostile."

The survey covered a myriad of other topics.

Britishness

In specific areas, the study found that the number of Black Britons who understand themselves as British (81%) was significantly higher than the number who consider themselves "proud to be British" (49%).

LGBTQ+

And while a majority of respondents (56%) feel that acceptance of Black LGTBQ+ people has improved over the last 10 years, religious intolerance of LGBTQ+ people remains "a significant obstacle to greater acceptance".

Some 85% of participants perceive that LGBTQ+ people continue to experience discrimination within Black communities.

Young people and the future

The survey found that 90% of young people who participated expect to experience racial prejudice in the UK as adults, and 93% do not feel supported by the government in relation to the challenges that they face.

Some 87% do not feel employers and businesses are doing enough to address the employment gap for young Black people in contrast to only 5% who do.

Criminal justice system

Racial profiling along with stop and search laws continue to play an outsized role in fuelingtensions between the police and Black communities.

Meanwhile, 87% of participants reported that they do not trust Britain's criminal justice system, and 79% of respondents believe that stop and search is used unfairly against Black people.

The workplace

Here, 88% of BBVP participants reported experiencing racial discrimination in the workplace.

Some 98% of respondents indicated they "always" (46%), "often" (38%), or "sometimes" (14%) had "to compromise who they are and how they express themselves to fit in at work".

"Black Britons often face protracted and non-linear career progression, encountering obstacles to promotion and feeling perceived as benefiting from tokenism when they do advance," the BBVP said.

Disability

In this section, 72% of respondents said they feel Black people with disabilities are treated differently from Black non-disabled persons.

Education

94% of BBVP participants believe Black students, compared with their non-Black counterparts, suffer from lower educational attainment expectations from educators.

Ten times as many respondents (41%) perceive racial discrimination to "definitely" be the "biggest barrier" to young Black people's academic attainment as those who think this is "definitely not" the case (4%).

Elsewhere, 95% of participants perceive the British national curriculum to inadequately accommodate Black history-related subjects, and fewer than 2% of survey respondents believe that British educational institutions are taking the issue of racial difference seriously.

"The sense that more Black teachers and more focus on Black lives and histories would help is offset by a deep distrust in British educational institutions to serve the needs of Black British children," the report said.

Sport

In a damning indictment of British sport authorities, 93% of BBVP participants think that governing bodies have failed to do enough to combat racism in this sector.

Some 3% of those who took part also said they are of the belief that racism has grown in sport in recent years.

Healthcare

The report revealed that fewer than one in 60 respondents felt they were fairly treated within the healthcare system.

Indeed, 87% of respondents reported that they expect to receive a substandard level of healthcare because of their race.

Financial Capability

Here, 92% of respondents said they perceive a generational wealth gap in Black communities compared to other racial groups.

Politics

Three out of four BBVP survey respondents describe themselves as interested in UK politics, although 94% believe the UK government is not taking sufficient action on behalf of Black Britons.

Six times as many respondents also do not believe local politicians are responding to the issues facing Black people as those who do.

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