Martin Wright, Prof Andrew Pilkington and Mary Robertson respond to a long read by Gary Younge
Gary Younge’s typically thoughtful and informative article (What Covid taugh us about racism – and what we need to do now, 16 December) makes the excellent proposal that local meetings could address the issue of systemic racism. I do hope this can be taken forward. If such a scheme took off, it could go a long way in changing attitudes and might lead to consistent pressure on any government to do much more to tackle racism.
He also makes the point that one of the reasons for racial disadvantage is inequality, because many ethnic minority people are in the worst jobs and living in the poorest conditions. While it is clear that reducing inequality would not automatically eliminate racism, it would undoubtedly be a great help. As made clear in the research by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, inequality increases so many problems in society, not least the distrust between different communities.
