Latest news with #ethnicminority
Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Edinburgh University accused of bias against ‘non-black' students
Edinburgh University has been accused of discriminating against 'non-black students' by whistleblowers, after a race report recommended more scholarships for ethnic minority groups. The group, identifying as academics from the institution, said evidence showed that white working-class boys were least likely to enjoy higher education as they hit back at a race review commissioned by university management. Sir Tom Devine, an historian and emeritus Edinburgh University professor, also said the findings of the review were not 'intellectually credible' and described the university principal's deep apology for the institution's links to slavery and colonialism as 'a rush to judgment'. 'This report has the very real potential to damage the university's historic reputation when it is already experiencing criticisms over its financial management,' he said. 'Therefore, crucially, careful consideration of the review's controversial content should first have been considered by acknowledged representatives of the university community and not confined only to the principal and his coterie before any major public statements were made.' The Race Review was ordered in 2021 by university leaders after the Black Lives Matter movement emerged. • Its findings, made public this week, include 47 recommendations such as renaming buildings and the creation of scholarship programmes to support students from underrepresented ethnic groups at undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral level. In response, the university has promised to take a series of actions including boosting scholarship opportunities. A statement, issued by a group calling itself Edinburgh Academics 4 Free Speech, and which is said to represent 130 staff, said: 'The University already discriminates against non-black students by allowing race-based scholarships.' They cited the Andrea Levy Scholarship, in memory of the novelist, which is directed at those with a black African or Caribbean background. The statement continued: 'The university, in today's response, appears to be committed to increasing the level of scholarships which are based purely on skin colour. 'Many colleagues have raised concerns directly with [university principal] Professor Mathieson, arguing that as an evidence-based organisation which should use empirical data to inform its policies, the university should be funding those students which research shows are most excluded from higher education. 'Countless studies have shown that white working-class boys remain the most academically disadvantaged group in the UK.' The group highlighted UK education department statistics showing university participation grew 21 per cent faster for Asian students and 17 per cent faster for black students compared with white students, adding: 'In choosing to ignore this overwhelming evidence, the University of Edinburgh is going against the very basis of academic rigour: evidence-based decisions.' Mathieson described the publication of the review as a 'landmark moment'. It found that one of Edinburgh's celebrated moral philosophers and mathematicians, Dugald Stewart, taught thousands of students that white Europeans were racially superior. The university's role as the seat of Scottish enlightenment is also reconsidered. It says: 'The University of Edinburgh was a haven for professors and alumni who developed theories of racial inferiority and white supremacism, such as the idea that Africans were inferior to whites and that non-white peoples could be colonised for the profit of European nations.' Devine, who edited a book detailing Scottish connections to the slave trade and the wealth it generated, warned the review 'crudely imposes early 21st-century values on the pre-1900 past'. 'The report gives the impression that Edinburgh was the centre for racist thought,' he added. 'Yet such views were commonplace not only among university thinkers and informed members of the public in the 19th century throughout Europe and North America. 'Only by situating Edinburgh in an international academic comparative context of analysis could rigorous conclusions be drawn. This was not done or even hinted at.' The report describes the university as 'a haven for professors and alumni who developed theories of racial inferiority and white supremacism' ALAMY In taking forward recommendations, including the renaming of buildings, he called for the university senate and court to be fully informed and the wider views of the university community to be considered. The Academics 4 Free Speech statement said its members needed to remain anonymous. It flagged the case of Neil Thin, a senior tutor who was falsely accused of being racist after opposing the renaming of the David Hume Tower owing to slavery connections. Fiona McClement, the university's equality, diversity and inclusion lead and co-leader of the Race Review Response Group, said: 'We want to ensure that are a welcoming and nurturing environment in which all members of our community feel a sense of belonging, and can flourish and succeed without facing unjust racialised barriers.'
Wall Street Journal
24-07-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘The Roma' Review: A People and a Prejudice
The Roma arrived in Europe hundreds of years ago from present-day Rajasthan in northern India—and they still aren't welcome in many quarters. For centuries their lot has been hatred and prejudice, persecution and poverty. They have been enslaved and oppressed, expelled from some countries and marginalized in others. Today there are an estimated 10 million to 12 million Roma scattered throughout Europe, where they are sometimes called the Continent's largest ethnic minority. Until recently, they were known as Gypsies, a now mildly offensive term coined several hundred years ago in the erroneous belief that the dark-skinned foreigners had come from Egypt. The word 'rom' means 'man' or 'husband' in the Romani tongue, a language related to Sanskrit. There are enough stories of Romani suffering, past and present, to fill many volumes, but Madeline Potter, the author of 'The Roma,' adds a new perspective. Without overlooking or playing down the Roma's tragic history, she celebrates Romani arts and folklore, honors individual heroes and heroines, and praises the resilience that has ensured the Roma's survival. Ms. Potter is herself Roma, born in Romania in 1989, and is currently a teaching and research fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Her book adroitly blends personal memoir and academic research to craft a deeply sympathetic picture of Romani life over the centuries.
South China Morning Post
24-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘The Concrete Ceiling'
While there are exceptions, for many in Hong Kong's ethnic minority communities, the path to upward social mobility is blocked. Expert John Tse, head of the Hong Kong Initiative for Diversity, argues that the efforts made so far by the government and society are simply not enough to dismantle the deep-rooted discrimination and obstacles.
South China Morning Post
24-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
No Cantonese, no career? Can Hong Kong do more to help ethnic minority groups?
In the second of a two-part series on Hong Kong's ethnic minority groups, Connor Mycroft looks at deep-rooted problems still dragging down these communities despite improvements in education and income levels. Read part one here Pakistani Humza Ejaz moved to Hong Kong four months ago, optimistic that he would find a good job and start a new life with his wife and newborn daughter. Equipped with a master's degree in information technology and about eight years' experience with multinational companies, the 29-year-old was encouraged when hiring agencies in the city assured him he would find a job quickly. But his inability to speak Cantonese got in the way. He sent more than 50 job applications, only to draw a blank. Driven to support his new family, he resorted to what many from the city's ethnic minority communities do – he began working as a food delivery courier, working nights to earn about HK$18,000 (US$2,300) a month. 'I thought coming to Hong Kong might uplift my career to the next level,' he said. 'But these past four months have been the biggest downfall of my life.' If a better job did not come along, he added, he might consider returning to Pakistan.
South China Morning Post
21-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
How this sports club empowers Hong Kong's ethnic minorities
A social club in Hong Kong wants to help people who come from ethnic minority backgrounds get involved in sports and become coaches. Inherited Sports supports ethnic minority communities by providing programmes that are sensitive to their cultural and religious needs. For example, the group runs a swimming class for Muslim women and children. They use Kowloon Park Swimming Pool when it is closed to the public and only have women coaches and lifeguards on duty. The initiative also trains young people to become coaches and sports leaders. According to the city's 2021 census, more than half of the South Asian community in Hong Kong work in just four areas. Not being fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin is often a barrier. But people from ethnic minority communities also face other challenges, such as racial discrimination, fewer resources and harmful stereotypes. Inherited Sports offers them training and workshops in a range of sports. It also provides a subsidy and career advice. The group has already helped 11 men and two women become certified coaches.
