Runnymede debate: Huge victory for multiculturalism

As part of special OBV series  'multiculturalism fights back', David Dalgleish reports on the controversially titled debate,  'Is race no longer a significant disadvantage?’ where Guardian journalists Joseph Harker and Afua Hirsch win by a margin of over 5 to 1.

The Runnymede Trust’s debate was billed as a response to recent government discourse about integration and multiculturalism, and a feature in the October 2010 of Prospect Magazine that argued that we need to move on from talking about racism.
 
The invitation only debate had drawn some criticism for not being open to a wider audience, and according to veteran anti-racism campaigner Lee Jasper it was in danger of allowing a “right wing white journal to set the agenda on race”.

Having attended the event, I can say I am definitely glad I went. Much of the audience were more than a match for the panel. However many questions went unanswered, and dare I say, some were conveniently avoided.

First to speak for the proposition was Dr Tony Sewell, Director of the Generating Genius programme. He described how his programme removed the issue of race as he felt it took away personal responsibility and created a culture of victimhood.

Against the proposition, Joseph Harker (Assistant Comment Editor, the Guardian) centred on the persistent post-9/11 demonisation of Muslims and Islam. He also found time to sportingly congratulate five of Dr Sewell’s Generating Genius alumni who have gained places at Oxford.

The next speaker, David Goodhart (Founder and Former Editor, Prospect Magazine) almost immediately admitted that there was a clear “ethnic penalty” in relation to employment and criminal justice. Despite the evident self-belief in his argument this own-goal from the then editor of the ‘Rethinking Race’ edition of Prospect pretty much defeated the proposition itself.

It was then left to Afua Hirsch (Legal Affairs Correspondent, the Guardian) to reply. Following Goodhart’s request for facts, not anecdotes, Hirsch produced a volley of examples from the public and private sector positions of power that revealed a picture scarcely more diverse than the Midsomer Murders cast.

The Moderator, Razia Iqbal (Special Correspondent/Presenter, BBC News), then made a valiant attempt to manage the floor's comments and encourage responses from the panelists. Goodhart continued to suggest that the opposition were too reliant on anecdotes, yet his team often failed to respond to questions when facts were presented.

One avoided question in particular was aimed at Dr Sewell’s claim that the significant factors of disadvantage were not race but “class and caste”. When given chance to reply to a query about studies that have shown comparative disadvantage and inequality for BME middle-class people compared to their white counterparts, Sewell jovially claimed he had “forgotten the question”.

As Razia Iqbal asked for a show of hands it was clear that victory belonged to Harker and Hirsch. With a score of 10 for the proposition, 51 against, with 3 abstentions the result was never in doubt. Unlike the England and Ghana stalemate the previous evening, this match provided a strong away victory.

Following the debate, Runnymede Trust director Rob Berkeley said: “Debates are a really good way of hearing opposing views. It is clear that those who seek to promote race equality have to get used to being challenged on their views, particularly in our current political climate.

“The view that race is no longer a significant disadvantage was overwhelmingly defeated by the audience, but more importantly we were able to have this debate in an open manner and put on record our rejection of a post-racial analysis of our society. A film of the debate will be available on our website to encourage others to engage in discussion about how we can end racism in our society.”
 
There is a saying from the world of football, ‘there should be no conceit in victory and no despair in defeat’, so I am looking forward to the likes of Goodhart, Sewell, and the other Prospect writer’s responses, and their offer to host a return leg with a different team, in a public event. I can’t believe they would back down, seeing as it was they who were saying it was “time for a constructive and open debate” just a few months ago.
 
David Dalgleish is the Author of Where Does Racism Come From? An Educational Guide which charts the history of racist theories over 2000 years. He also works with schools and colleges to help pupils explore issues of race and racism and their relationship to the study range and content of the UK National Curriculum.

Picture: Panel - David Goodhart, Tony Sewell, Razia Iqbal , Afua Hirsch, Joseph Harker