Hoge, W. (2001, February 8). British city defines diversity and tolerance. The New York Times, pp. A1, 10.

OVERVIEW

Leicester, in central England, is one of Europe’s most multicultural cities. Its population is projected, by government figures, to become within a decade, the first British city with a nonwhite majority. You might think the racial tensions and incidents that spread across Northern Europe and America would be especially present here. Leicester could be a hot bed of racism; it is not.

Pictures accompanying this article show boys and girls in various types of clothing interacting happily. A classroom of Leicester black and Asian students (girls in head scarves and boys with embroidered caps) was asked if they had experienced racial harassment. Here are their responses:

Rubina Begum (15): No, never. They’re used to us and our Asian clothes.

Lisa Black (15 and white): We have no problems living together.

Ruhme Mia (14): People here seem to understand. When I lived in York, they stared back at you, but not in Leicester.

Richard Bonney is a priest, professor, and director of Leicester University’s Center fo the History of Religious and Political Pluralism. He is optimistic with what he sees.

Leicester defines itself as the tolerant, multicultural city of Europe, and I think I go a long ways towards agreeing with that…There is greater diversity in two or three square blocks here than anywhere I can think of in Europe.

Leicester is described as a hard-working city of about 300,000 in England’s East Midlands. With opportunities for employment, the city has attracted immigrants for a hundred years. There have at times, and especially in the 1970s, been protests from skinheads or members of the National Front. But for the most part, the city has adjusted well to newcomers.

Asked why this is true of Leicester, Dr. David H. Clark (associate priest at the Church of St. James the Greater, and whose family includes two mixed-race children) gave the question some thought and responded:

‘They (residents here) have had to by necessity. When you are faced with the persistent presence of what might be regarded as "the other" in your midst, you can be negative about it or you can turn it into a virtue. I think what Leicester has done is to say, "Actually, there is a huge advantage in this diversity." ’

The Asians in Leicester seem to have fared better and to be happier than blacks. Blacks are 11 times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than whites—one of the worst rates in England. Errol Powell, 37, is a youth worker who has been pulled over by police and asked if the car he was driving was really his own so many times, he carries a laminated proof of ownership. Herdle White, 56, a black magistrate, has been stopped twice in his Mercedes. Now only 5.5% minority, the police force is striving to increase that figure to 11% in 10 years.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

IMPLICATIONS

• How important do you consider this article to be? Whose experience or quotation impressed you most in this story?
• Is multi-ethnicity (the meeting of various cultures where formerly there was one primary culture) a coming reality to most of the world’s great cities? Do you think that schools, the media, marriages, and places of worship should reflect this growing reality?
• What problems does multi-ethnicity bring? What do you see as its benefits?
• If multi-ethnicity is the reality and multiculturalism is the belief that this is good, what are you feelings and opinions about multiculturalism? Do you see any dangers in the multiculturalism movement? What cautions would you suggest?
• Is this article a good example of multiculturalism? Why or why not? What lessons can we learn from the city of Leicester?

1. Globalization is a reality in today’s world. Along with globalization, and for many reasons, comes the movement of peoples and immigration to places of employment in the more developed world. The world’s great cities are becoming increasingly multi-ethnic.
2. Multiculturalism involves thinking about this reality and learning how many cultures can live together side by side. It believes that there is benefit in diversity.
3. Children and young people will learn to coexist in harmony or in opposition. They will learn this from adults in society—especially their parents. Attitudes of bigotry or tolerance will be reinforced by their peers.
4. People can live together in peace where there is justice. Prejudice, racism, and discrimination of all kinds will foster rage and desire for revenge. Children taunted can erupt in violence. It is important for all of us to learn from this city of tolerance.