Race in Britain

Sparking the discussion

To mark the tenth anniversary of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is initiating a major debate about the race and equality landscape in Britain.

We have commissioned reports on some of the most salient issues in this debate: on how the police have dealt with race issues since the inquiry; on what the increasing diversity of the British population means for us all; how mixed-race Britons are the fastest-growing minority in the country; and on what the general public thinks about race in Britain today.

Macpherson Breakfast debate

The publication of Macpherson report was a very important landmark in the history of Britain and race and how the public sector deals with issues of equality.

Given the significance of this anniversary, the Commission held a major event on Monday 19 January 2009 at 11.00am where our Chair Trevor Phillips delivered a keynote lecture. He considered how the Macpherson report changed the British landscape and what we believe that landscape will look like over the next 10 years.

The event was broadcast online and speeches and video can be found on the event page.

Modern Multiculturalism

With Britain in the midst of widespread debate about the future of multiculturalism, our chair Trevor Phillips delivered a key speech in Birmingham on the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell's speech.

Read more about the speech, see press reactions and read about our project to map minority groups in Britain.