The anti-racism "industry", a case study of the perspectives of those working in the "race" sector in Scotland

Since the London bombings in July 2007 there has been political and press criticism of multiculturalism as both a concept and a 'lived reality' in the UK. Politicians and government reports have argued that multiculturalism has led ethnic minorities to live 'parallel lives' and encouraged a failure of integration into British life (Cantle, 2001). The policy and conceptual shift from multiculturalism towards integration and community cohesion has had direct impacts for anti-racism campaigns and groups, especially the small, grassroots organisations, who rely heavily on funding from the 'top'. Multi-strand equality work has been promoted since the creation of the Single Equality Bill 2010 and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This has created uncertainty among those working for smaller voluntary sector organisations, as they fear that the merging of equalities signals a 'dilution' of 'race' equality work. This thesis explores the consequences of the generic/mainstreaming equality approach for small grassroots BME campaigns in Scotland, and argues that financial dependence on funding disempowers these organisations. Furthermore, the dependence on funding means that those in decision-making positions construct and define the needs of the BME sector, and direct anti-racism work without proper consultation with those working at the grassroots level who have 'real life' frontline experience. This is particularly relevant in Scotland as equality legislation is a reserved matter. This thesis draws on interview data gathered from a range of equality workers, mostly from small grassroots organisations, and analyses whether the values of those working directly with the BME community correlate with the values set out in government discourse. This is particularly relevant as these organisations rely on funding from the government to survive.Since the London bombings in July 2007 there has been political and press criticism of multiculturalism as both a concept and a 'lived reality' in the UK. Politicians and government reports have argued that multiculturalism has led ethnic minorities to live 'parallel lives' and encouraged a failure of integration into British life (Cantle, 2001). The policy and conceptual shift from multiculturalism towards integration and community cohesion has had direct impacts for anti-racism campaigns and groups, especially the small, grassroots organisations, who rely heavily on funding from the 'top'. Multi-strand equality work has been promoted since the creation of the Single Equality Bill 2010 and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). This has created uncertainty among those working for smaller voluntary sector organisations, as they fear that the merging of equalities signals a 'dilution' of 'race' equality work. This thesis explores the consequences of the generic/mainstreaming equality approach for small grassroots BME campaigns in Scotland, and argues that financial dependence on funding disempowers these organisations. Furthermore, the dependence on funding means that those in decision-making positions construct and define the needs of the BME sector, and direct anti-racism work without proper consultation with those working at the grassroots level who have 'real life' frontline experience. This is particularly relevant in Scotland as equality legislation is a reserved matter. This thesis draws on interview data gathered from a range of equality workers, mostly from small grassroots organisations, and analyses whether the values of those working directly with the BME community correlate with the values set out in government discourse. This is particularly relevant as these organisations rely on funding from the government to survive