Instead of talking about race relations, the media are obsessing over Diane Abbott’s tweet

Yesterday, Doreen Lawrence said, ‘the fact is that racism and racist attacks are still happening in the country’; Reverend Jesse Jackson said the black community in the UK were treated ‘as second class citizens – free but not equal, not adequately protected by the law’.

So it saddens me that in a momentous week, where whilst 18 years too late we saw Gary Dobson and David Norris convicted and sentenced for the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, we are not talking about race relations. Instead the media are obsessing over Diane Abbott’s tweet. She’s clarified and apologised what she meant and we need to get back to addressing the real issues which are affecting Britain’s Black and Minority Ethnic Communities (BME), which are all too easily forgotten.

In education we are constantly stereotyping our young black boys which has led to them being held back, we should note here that Diane Abbott has tried to challenge by holding the annual Black Students Award. It is shameful that in September 2010 less than 1 in 100 students beginning courses at Oxbridge were Black.

Looking at crime and policing, racially motivated crime is still all too common with 40,000 race hate crimes reported in 2010. Unfortunately confidence and trust in the police is low within our communities. In 1993, black men were five times more likes to be stopped that figure has now gone up to 10. In addition, 20% of all deaths in custody the last twelve months have been black men. Within the police force itself, which the McPherson report said was institutionally racist there has been a decrease in Black representation, at the end of the Lawrence enquiry there were four BME individuals at the level of Chief constable or chief officer, today there aren’t any.

As a nation we have still have a chronic lack of BME representation at all levels of society. Just 28 of our 650 MPs are from a BME background. We have also seen the rise of the EDL in recent times who seek to create divisions along racial and religious lines.

These are just some of the areas we should be talking about and addressing head on. As the Labour Party, we should stop shying away from having a nuanced and balanced debate about these issues and many more. Race equality and tackling racism need to be put back on the mainstream political agenda and we as a party should be at the forefront of this.