How racial justice is going backwards, five years on from the killing of George Floyd

Good morning. I’m Aamna Mohdin, the Guardian’s community affairs correspondent, and I’ll be bringing you First Edition alongside Archie over the next couple of months.

It’s been five years since George Floyd’s agonising cry – “I can’t breathe” – sent shockwaves around the world. His killing by a white police officer sparked what may have been the largest social movement in US history, and protests in the UK were the most widespread since the abolition of slavery. Millions took to the streets, led by young people, to assert the power of three simple words: Black Lives Matter.

More than 260 towns and cities across the UK held protests in June and July 2020, from Monmouth in south Wales to Shetland in Scotland. An unprecedented reckoning that featured statements of solidarity from institutions, including the Bank of England and Cambridge university, and pledges to pay reparations by the Church of England, was followed by an intense backlash. Anti-migrant rioters attacked mosques and set fire to asylum hotels. Donald Trump returned to the US presidency last year and Reform UK surged in this month’s local elections, vowing to dismantle equality initiatives.

How did we get here? To try to answer that, I worked with the Guardian’s community affairs correspondent in Manchester, Chris Osuh, to analyse nearly 600 recommendations across 12 government-commissioned race reports dating back to 1981. What we found was a pattern of symbolic progress and systemic inaction.

For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Chris about how this moment fits into the UK’s long and hostile history of responding to racial reckoning. That’s after the headlines.

Five big stories

In depth: ‘The fallout from this backlash will be​ far-reaching’

At the height of the 2020 UK protests, then prime minister Boris Johnson announced a new inquiry into racial disparities. The response was met with widespread frustration, including from David Lammy, now the foreign secretary, who pointed out that the UK had already produced numerous inquiries on the subject (including his own) and whose recommendations remained unimplemented.

This cycle is depressingly familiar. When there’s a riot, an uprising, or a national tragedy, the government commissions an inquiry. These often produce profound conclusions, only to be quietly shelved. After the 1981 Brixton riots, there was the Scarman inquiry. After the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, the Macpherson report, which famously concluded the Met Police was “institutionally racist”. After the 2001 northern riots, the Cantle report, and after the Windrush scandal, there was the 2018 Windrush review.

Guardian analysis found fewer than a third of those reports’ recommendations have been fully actioned, and that progress on a number of recommendations has been reversed or significantly eroded during years of government austerity policies.

The data shows that around a third of recommendations were not implemented at all. The remainder were either partially enacted or deemed not measurable. Even where implementation was claimed, changes were often fragmented, underfunded, or lacked clear oversight and accountability.

The findings led some of the commissioners involved to urge ministers to finally break this “doom loop” of inaction.

A waste of time?

The analysis is stark and left me wondering about the intent of holding these types of inquiries.

Aamna: Were you surprised by the findings?

Chris: Not really. It fits the pattern: the process of holding an inquiry becomes more important than its conclusions. These reports often contain powerful findings, but they don’t lead to action.

Aamna: I can’t help but wonder whether these inquiries are a waste of time?

Chris: I wouldn’t say that. They serve an important purpose in putting these issues on the public record. They make it impossible to deny that these disparities exist. But I agree that we need to move beyond documenting the problem and start delivering change.

Aamna: What I found particularly interesting is that some of the recommendations focused on unconscious bias training, celebrating the UK’s diverse communities, as well as attempts to increase representation of the workforce. These became cornerstones of corporate and public sector equality and inclusion strategies.

The pendulum swings

Five years ago, Keir Starmer, newly appointed leader of the Labour party, took the knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. But earlier this month, Starmer the prime minister was accused of echoing Enoch Powell after warning, during the launch of the government’s immigration white paper, that Britain risked becoming an “island of strangers”. His claim that “uncontrolled” migration had caused “incalculable” damage to British society marked a watershed moment in Labour’s relationship with Black and Asian voters.

The contrast between the two Starmers captures just how sharply the political pendulum has swung to the right, in both the UK and the US, on issues of racial justice. Institutions that once rushed to issue statements of solidarity with ethnic minority communities are now retreating.

Industry experts describe a chilling effect on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The Bank of England’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority, and the Financial Conduct Authority recently announced they would not impose new diversity rules on financial firms, opting instead to back voluntary industry-led initiatives. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, BT and Lloyds Banking Group have all announced cutbacks to diversity targets and inclusion programmes.

Wider ramifications

​The picture appears to show the consequences of this rollback will likely affect many different groups.

Aamna: What happens next, and how far back might the backlash go?

Chris: I’m not sure people realise just how far-reaching the fallout from this backlash against DEI will be. There’s a perception that, since George Floyd’s murder, efforts to tackle inequality have somehow meant Black people are being favoured over white people. But what’s often missed is that DEI has benefited a wide range of groups across society.

Rolling back DEI doesn’t just impact racial equality. It has serious consequences for all kinds of workers, from women’s rights to disability inclusion. The conversation may have started with race, but the broader goal was always to make workplaces more inclusive across the board.

Aamna: Even left wing critics of DEI, who argue it’s often a shallow, corporate box-ticking exercise, are sounding the alarm. They see the backlash not just as opposition to diversity, but part of a deeper ideological project: an attempt to resegregate our economy and society.

Chris: Exactly. The signs are there that dismantling DEI is part of a wider, more aggressively rightwing political agenda.

Aamna: So lots to be cheerful about, then.

Chris: It’s easy to feel frightened by all this. But there are reasons for hope. In the UK, you might hear a particular narrative from government or politicians, but they can’t control everything. There are businesses and institutions still determined to stay the course, despite the reactionary noise. And industry leaders I spoke to said that despite the backlash, DEI will likely survive in a “rebranded” form in the UK.

Aamna: I want to end on something I’ve been thinking about a lot: what does it mean to be a Black journalist covering this moment? So many people fought hard for our jobs, and for our specialisms to be taken seriously. I’m reminded of what Gary Younge once said that we’ve seen so many dogs biting people we’ve become numb to it, yet we’re still trained to chase the more spectacular ‘man bites dog’ stories. The real scandal is being overlooked: dogs keep biting men, again and again.

Chris: In so much of the media, Black experiences are talked about rather than expressed by Black people themselves. There’s a constant, low hum of discrimination, it is so normalised it often goes unremarked. Its important to be able to challenge that and to call out injustice. But there’s also great deal of positivity about minority communities in Britain, particularly at this time, that is not covered, so to be able to also celebrate the tangible, joyful things our communities achieve is a real privilege.

Read more:

Only a third of recommendations to tackle endemic racism in UK implemented

Five years on from Black Lives Matter, has the UK made progress on ethnic equalities?

George Floyd’s family fights for sacred ground where he took his last breath: ‘That’s my blood’

What else we’ve been reading

One should know to never miss Nesrine Malik’s column. But this morning’s piece on the world’s changing tone on Israel, and whether this “moment” will really mean anything for the people of Gaza after months of violence, is a must-read. Charlie Lindlar, acting deputy editor, newsletters

For Saturday magazine, I wrote about my son Max, who changed how I think about the world. It took absolutely ages, frankly, so I hope you’ll read it. Hardcore Max enthusiasts may wish to listen to the episode of Today in Focus below. Archie

Remember Elon Musk? At one point you couldn’t go a day without reading about the richest man alive’s latest plan to scythe away at the US government – so why has he recently gone so quiet? David Smith examines how Musk slipped out of Trump’s inner circle. Charlie

Heather Stewart has a perceptive column on Labour’s winter fuel U-turn, and a looming decision about whether to scrap the two-child benefit cap. As much as the vacillation, she argues, the problem is: has Keir Starmer given voters any sense of what he is for? Archie

Heterosexual artists who toy with sexuality, along with straight actors who play gay characters, are often accused of “queerbaiting” – or using the supposed cache of queer identity. But does such a thing really matter, as long as LGBTQ+ stories get told? Ryan Gilbey explores in this fascinating extract from his new book. Charlie

Sport

Football | On a frantic final day of the Premier League: after drawing with Crystal Palace, Liverpool finally lifted the Premier League trophy, weeks after mathematically securing the title; Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest to a secure top-five spot and end Forest’s Champions League dream. Aston Villa’s hopes for the Champions league spot ended in fury after a controversial loss to Manchester United; and relegation-bound Leicester saw their sorry season limp to a close with a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth. All the match reports are here.

​Formula One | Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix for McLaren, closing the gap on teammate Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ championship race. His fellow driver claimed third spot on the podium.

Football | After 26 years as the host of Match of the Day, an emotional Gary Lineker bade farewell to his career at the BBC on Sunday night. “Rather like my football career, everyone else did the hard work and I got the plaudits,” he said. “It’s been utterly joyous.”

The front pages

“Decades of failure to act on racism inquiries leaves UK in ‘doom loop’” is the splash on the Guardian today.

“Scandal of fat cats on first ever NHS rich list,” says the Daily Mail, while the Mirror highlights fresh strikes in the Ukrainian capital, with: “Trump’s silence did this.”

“Ministers weigh delay to soften welfare cuts,” is the main focus at the Times, as the Express delves into “Labour’s fuel U-turn in total chaos.” Meanwhile the i has: “HS2 plunged into fresh chaos as major tax fraud claims emerge.”

“Oil chiefs warn of end to shale boom as prices fall and Opec boosts output,” is the lead story over at the Financial Times, while the Telegraph looks across the pond with “Trump pressures PM over Connolly.”

Today in Focus

Cartoon of the day | Edith Pritchett

The Upside

A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad

Casey Johnston found empowerment in weightlifting after years of restrictive dieting and exhausting cardio. Strength training reshaped her relationship with food, eliminated cravings, and helped her challenge toxic fitness culture.

Her new book, A Physical Education, encourages people to reconnect with their bodies beyond societal pressures. ​J​ohnston ​p​uts the emphasis on trusting your own experience and listening to your body. Even during pregnancy, Johnston defied outdated fitness advice, advocating for a sustainable, intuitive approach to health.​ Like many women she has found a new confidence by getting strong in the gym.

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