Birmingham is
one of the most diverse cities in Britain; some people predict that it may
become the first city that does not have one ethnicity as its majority. It has
been a very diverse city for some time now; there are families from the
Caribbean, Asia and other cultures that have now lived in the city for
generations. The city centre is arguably the most diverse region of the city
and it appears to be very integrated. However, it is the poorer urban regions
surrounding the city centre that appear to have a higher amount of segregation.
This cannot be a good thing for the city as it will most likely always cause
conflict.
It could be
argued that poorer working class people are more likely to hold a grudge
against immigrants arriving in the city, as they feel these immigrants are
taking all their job opportunities. But they fail to realise the positives of
the inclusion of these people in Birmingham, and one could say that their
anti-immigrant approach causes the segregation in these smaller communities.
Enoch Powell
was a very famous politician who had plenty to say about immigration. He grew
up in Stechford, which is one of the poor urban areas surrounding Birmingham
city centre, and he was famous for his ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech, http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/rivers_blood2.html. In this highly controversial speech, he claims that immigration
is bad for Britain, because it will eventually lead to the violent clashing of
people from different cultures, and that the British identity will be lost.
Some would claim that certain events have proven Powell to be correct, such as
the summer riots of 2011; Birmingham was one of the worst affected cities by
this event. But many people, including myself, would argue that Powell’s ideas
were misguided, and that the mixing of different ethnicities needs to happen in
all cities to eradicate unnecessary inequality.
This is really interesting, despite living in Birmingham for two years I didn't actually realise that it may become the first city to have one major ethnicity!
ReplyDeleteI found the 'Rivers of Blood' speech particularly interesting. I agree with you that Powell's ideas are misguided? Are there many cases to back his point up?
Yeah, Birmingham is a very diverse place, and it will only continue to become more diverse. The only thing that I think would back up Enoch Powell's ideas is the summer riots of 2011. He did say that a variety of cultures in one society would result in bloody violence on Britain's streets. The lack of integration in many communities within Britain would also suggest that people of differing cultures do not get along. But the main people who seem to agree with Powell, are the likes of the BNP, and racist working-class white people, this does not bode well for Powell's opinions. I think that Britain will eventually be a multicultural haven, once we have eradicated people that do not believe in a peaceful humanity.
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