Page 57 - Urban Kapital DECEMBER DIGITAL ISSUE

BLACK BRITAIN &
THE BREXIT DEBATE What does Brexit mean for Black and Asian // THE BREXIT

Britain?
DEBATES RAISED

Where does race and ethnicity play out in
QUESTIONS ABOUT
the Brexit debate?
IMMIGRATION, RACE,
Britain’s four million Black and Asian voters
emerged as a crucial electoral battleground
during the Brexit referendum in 2016.
COMMONWEALTH,
The Brexit debates raised questions about IDENTITY AND THE
immigration, race, identity and the Com- SPARKING VIGOROUS
monwealth, sparking vigorous debates.
DEBATES.

The voting process revealed significant dif-
ferences between minority groups, and the
aftermath of the vote sparked huge contro-
versies over immigration rules, hate crime
and the legacies of empire.

Black newspapers have published wor-
rying statistics and predictions about the
potential impact on Black Communities.
They quote research that suggest a signifi-
cant impact on economic, employment and
housing issues for some parts of the Black
British community, who have already been
severely affected by austerity since 2008.

I spoke to Black British men and women
who said they did not trust their long term
rights as citizens in a post Brexit Britain.
They expressed concerns over loop holes
that could one day see them ‘thrown out ‘
of Britain because despite being born in the
UK, their parents were not.

The shameful Tory mess up, referred to as
the Windrush Scandal, did little to alleviate
these new concerns for Black Britons, real
or imagined.

The Brexit debate has poked the ugly beast
we call racism. Slowly re-emerging during
the referendum debate, gathering momen-
tum with scaremongering focused on immi-
gration and building up to outright blatant
abuse, threats and at its most extreme, ter-
rorism. I have to say, the only time in my
life that I remember such hate, economic
MAGAZINE // 56 division and inequality – was under the last MAGAZINE // 57
deprivation and disadvantage, cultural
conservative government.