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

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

He wants training in race awareness (p.27) which is contestable and now seen nationally as potentially counterproductive and less preferable than good equality recruitment policies and employment practices - which Hull has (Is he out of date, out of touch on this too?) He wants monitoring of the state of race relations in the city, recommending another report in 2 years. Is this report what is meant by monitoring?

Few statistics or figures, references or sources; every opinion, incident and loose allegation quoted anonymously and without dates - thereby missing the point that things have dramatically improved over the last 2 years partly due to the bad 2002/3 episodes which he cites as if typical of now. It's puzzling: would even a student submit such a piece of work?

To put the best construction on it, I think the flaw in the methodology didn't lie in deciding to be qualitative not quantitative. It lay in the question posed: what do you think about race relations. The focus on race, old-fashioned compared to the current focus on equality and diversity, got replies from just the two sorts of people you'd expect to be bothered about it: older ethnic minority people resident in Hull for decades, and indigenous Hull people he describes as hostile to asylum-seekers and refugees (Those new arrivals themselves might well have responded to more specific questions on eg policing or health rather than race).

Because both sets of respondents expressed perceptions of racism from their opposite standpoints, Prof Craig evidently felt this was the truth out there, the city was/is racist - generalizing massively from his sample. It is the truth but it is not the whole truth. Hull is no better or worse than other comparable English cities in this respect. As it does not have BNP councillors or murders it could even be seen as better - it certainly is not the very worst and rock-bottom as Prof Craig presents it. He sees only one side, racism, instead of taking a balanced view, so feels he must fiercely reject anything optimistic or positive from the civic authorities as 'denial'.

His own denial is of all the good traditions and current developments, civic and community - he should read the marvellous account of these in Leave To Remain by Daphne Glazer published 2005*. The city deserves and needs not discouragement from reports like Prof Craig's, but encouragement. *Glazer, D (2005): Leave to Remain. The front line struggle of Hull's Refugees. Published by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for Hull City Council.

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