On 'At a turning point? The state of race relations in Kingston upon Hull' a report by Prof G Craig, 26 July 05 (2/4)

(1/4), (2/4), (3/4), (4/4).

Does Prof Craig include this to illustrate prejudice, or because he thinks the 85% figure has validity? Naïve either way, but similarly he adds to the myths eg repeating allegations that asylum seekers live off prostitution (p.14). The organizational responses he received are listed on pages 20-21 and discussed mainly on pages 24-29. In contrast to the individual responses, these are all positive and constructive, in terms of providing for, welcoming, celebrating asylum seekers and refugees and the increasingly culturally diverse communities now coming to Hull, and integrating them in various ways into the housing estates and schools.

Yet with every example, Prof Craig finds fault. Humberside Police have taken a number of positive initiatives to improve the state of race relations, but the view of the Chief Constable is that it is significantly worse than in other Northern cities (p.1, no name or date). The City Council Leisure Department has vastly reduced crime and improved provision in Pearson Park, but the congregating of asylum seekers there has made some local residents frightened...the Park becoming a no-go area for them (p.26).

The Housing Department is doing and planning commendable things, but Prof Craig criticizes both the policy of concentrating refugees together and the policy of dispersing them (p.28): the department can't win. Eastern Hull Primary Care Trust has a big policy of equality and diversity training: Prof Craig criticizes it because few attended the first training session (p.17). With police tracking of racist events, if the numbers go up, Prof Craig attacks both police and city for worse racism; if they go down, he criticizes the police for incompetent monitoring: they too cannot win (p.16). He is determined to find the hair in the soup.

With schools monitoring of racist events, he attacks this as in-house (pp.15,17) saying that effective monitoring would mean telling the LEA; he is unaware of the delegation of management, funding and responsibility to schools nowadays, and the reform (ending) of LEAs.

He criticizes Hull schools via the Development Education Centre for twinning with others round the world, unaware that this is government policy, government funded, and done all over England; he says why aren't they instead involved with local cultural communities (p.24). Here his lack of systematic gathering of evidence tells: he is unaware that this goes on. His remarks reveal ignorance of citizenship education policy and practice, nationally and locally. The Hull Daily Mail ran good news stories on asylum-seekers in 2003 and has been positive since then, but he finds a flaw: reporting bad incidents is thoroughly unhelpful (p.9).

He even criticizes Hull City Council as a whole, despite its creation in 2004 of an Equalities Department and the Race Equality Group itself - calling Council management a disaster on the first page, and attacking it repeatedly from p.8 to the end.

Continued ....Next page (3/4),

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