CHAPTER 19 - The need for positive action

Abstract

A riot broke out in Brixton in 1981 that was not a rebellion in the sense of an organized attempt to overthrow the lawful government, for it was an unpremeditated outburst of anger and resentment against the police in a context of social and economic deprivation. In April 1982, one year after the Brixton riots, a conference was held at the University of Leicester to consider Lord Scarman's diagnoses and prescriptions. This chapter discusses the Scarman Report and Scarman's opinion on positive action and the government's record on positive action. In his Report, Lord Scarman made a well-founded case for positive action. He argued strongly for positive action within the context of a realistic strategy “directed to specific areas of racial disadvantage.” He provided a strong justification for taking positive measures and he stressed that the sole criterion for taking such measures should be need—“and no other.” He argued that although minority communities will benefit from a concerted strategy to regenerate the inner cities, such a strategy will not solve all their problems—hence, there should be a recognition of minority need within the more general problems of deprivation and a clear coordinated response to it from government. He said that there should be greater willingness to tackle related but not identical problems of inner city decline and minority disadvantage. In other words, he was saying that although the outcome of attempts to deal positively with race must ultimately be bound up with the outcome of the uphill struggle to revive the economy, it does not follow that positive initiatives are not required to tackle special problems facing minorities.