A Report into Racism Essay

It is important to carry out this investigation because in the long term children who are in our care at the moment will be the next generation of adults who will run the country one day. By teaching children values and respect at a young age, society will be fairer to everyone. It is crucial to learn about anti-discrimination practice as it may affect children’s development, for example a child that experiences racial discrimination may lack confidence throughout their lives. Racism occurs at times when people do not understand cultures and traditions that are different to the ones they follow themselves. These thoughts and ideas are usually passed on from parents and carers to a child from a young age and stay with them as they grow up so that they form stereotypical views. Research by Milner (1983) shows that â€Å"children as young as 3 years attach value to skin colour, with both black and white children perceiving white as superior to black. † This supports the theory that children can absorb messages about racial stereotyping from a very young age. By undertaking this investigation I will become an efficient diploma childcare and education worker in how to avoid discrimination in a setting and reinforce my knowledge on best practice. I will observe the influence of resources in promoting anti-racism within the day nursery. I will learn more about children’s rights, the law that protects them from racism and where I stand in the eye of the law. In the future my knowledge from this study will raise my awareness of racism and prevent it occurring – after all, prevention is better than cure. Discrimination is the ability to identify differences between individuals or groups, then to deny one individual or group favour of another. From a health and care point of view this means denying access to services and preventing equal opportunities. A definition of racism by Meggitt et al. (2000) states: â€Å"Racism is the belief that some ‘races’ are superior to others based on the false idea that different physical characteristics (i. e. skin colour) or ethnic background make some people better than others. † Racial discrimination can occur to anyone, at any time in their lives, at any age from babies to the elderly. Be so affected by stereotyping that events become a self-fulfilling prophecy, for example, if a black child is told that black people are destined to be lower classed and not achieve well then the child behaves accordingly with expectations. Review of Literature Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered aged 18 years on April 22nd 1993. He was waiting with his friend Duwayne Brooks for a bus home at 22. 30. Stephen walked into the centre of the road to see if a bus was coming and his friend called out to him. A group of 5 or 6 white youths across the other side of the road called out ‘what, what nigger? ‘ and they all approached Stephen and stabbed him twice, once in the chest and once in the arm. Both these wounds severed arteries and he would have died instantly if he had not been so physically fit and ran 100 yards before he fell to his death. Stephen Lawrence’s unprovoked attack was solely motivated by racism. Nobody to this day has been convicted of this appalling crime. The police have been criticised for taking prolonging the investigation. No other witnesses have come forward to identify the killers apart from Brooks even after the huge publicity of the murder. Three of the prime suspects were taken to trial in 1996, however the prosecution failed due to lack of sustainable evidence and they can never be tried again in the present law. Two other suspects were released in 1995 and there is no chance of them being prosecuted with existing evidence. This shows that the police force involved needed to work harder at the time to ensure that the murderers were jailed when they were trailed. The police force must work harder in the future to prevent any further racial violence cases reaching the same conclusion as the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. Also, legislation and laws will have to be looked at very carefully to avoid the same issues raised. The government think that from this case new regulations will be made: â€Å"†¦ we do believe that the debate about policing and racism has been transformed by this Inquiry†¦ † Damilola Taylor was killed among the tower blocks of a run down estate in Peckham whilst returning home from an after-school computer class. He was attacked by a group of Afro-Caribbean boys who stabbed him in the leg and then forced a marble down his throat to keep him from shouting for help. The police were criticised again for their handling of the case. More than 120 officers worked on the case at an estimated i 2. 5 million, however at the trial the main witness was found to be a liar and dismissed; and the two of the four defendants were released by the judge.