British universities aren’t institutionally racist

There is a spectre haunting British universities: the spectre of institutional racism. ‘There is a lot of evidence that points towards universities perpetuating systemic racism, being institutionally racist,’ the University of East Anglia’s vice-chancellor, David Richardson, told an upcoming BBC Three documentary ‘Is Uni Racist?’. Viewers are likely to be left in no doubt that the answer to that question is ‘Yes’. Two people I know appeared in it, and it was moving to hear them share their experiences. Yet the reality is that for most black students there has never been a better time to study at a university in Britain.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still problems. The programme follows four black students and looks into how leading universities deal with complaints of racism. Numerous failures are highlighted and there is much to back Richardson up in his damning assessment. 

One student, Zac Adan, found himself pinned against the wall by security guards at the University of Manchester last year.