Tuesday 8th December 2015 marked the 50th year since the introduction of the 1965 Race Relations Act in Britain.
The Race Relations Act 1965 was the first to address the ban of racial discrimination. The Act which prohibited racial discrimination in public places. It also made the promotion of hatred on the grounds of ethnicity or colour an offence. The Act read, “An Act to prohibit discrimination on racial grounds in places of public resort; to prevent the enforcement or imposition on racial grounds of restrictions on the transfer of tenancies; to penalise incitement to racial hatred...”
The Bristol Bus Boycott was considered to have been one of the influential causes for the passing of the Race Relations Act. The Bristol Bus Boycott in 1963 occurred when the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to employ black or Asians. The boycott grabbed national headlines and the agitation was supported by national politicians.
There were claims by anti-racist groups and Labour backbenchers that the new law failed to cover housing and employment issues. It is said that the Conservative opponents of the law forced the change from proposed criminal offence to a civil offence. They allegedly feared that making a racial discrimination would only aggravate race relations in areas where is was already a problem.
As part of the Parliament's commemorations for the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Race Relations Act, the original Act will be on display in the House of Lords until 31st January 2016. It will be available to view as part of the tour route for visitors of the Houses of Parliament.
In regards to the 50th anniversary of the Race Relation Act, Labour's candidate for Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “Labour’s Race Relations Act was a major step in ensuring people of all races were treated equally, paving the way for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and helping London to become the diverse city it is today. We’ve made a lot of progress over the past fifty years but much more still needs to be done. Anti-Semitic crime has nearly doubled in the last year, while Islamaphobic crime has increased by 70% in just one year. We must never relent in showing zero tolerance for hate crime.”
