Show Racism the Red Card charity says children absorb incendiary rehetoric used in public discourse, which in turn taints their world view

An anti-racism charity claims the racially motivated stabbing of a black teacher is linked to the anti-immigrant language used by politicians.

A teenage boy who stabbed a teacher, Vincent Uzomah, and boasted about the attack in racist terms on Facebook was given an 11-year sentence on Monday at Bradford crown court.

Laura Pidcock, education manager at the anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card, said the incident, on 11 June, should be seen in the context of derogatory remarks about migrants made recently by politicians and the media.

“Any politician that uses dehumanising language about humans is contributing to racism,” she told the Guardian.

“Of course there isn’t a linear pattern where a young person hears a politician and then goes out and commits a racist hate crime. But what we notice in classrooms is that students are hearing dehumanising language. Anyone in a position of influence who uses dehumanising language is part of the process of dehumanisation, especially if they are someone who has a massive platform like the prime minister.

“Using ‘swarming’ as language to describe humans who are fleeing persecution is definitely going to compound the notion that immigrants are here to exploit the place and make it less attractive.”

Pidcock’s remarks come after the foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, was criticised on Sunday for describing migrants “marauding between Europe and Africa”, just over a week after David Cameron faced similar criticism for likening migrants crossing the Mediterranean as a “swarm”.



“Young people are absorbing all these messages,” Pidcock warned, suggesting that such language would fuel racism in the classroom. She said the language used by Cameron and Hammond failed to counteract myths around immigration.

“Yes I’m saying there is a connection between that kind of language and racism … You also had politicians leading up to the general election really using immigration as a political pawn about who could be toughest.”

Speaking earlier on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme she said: “There is a broad base of ideas which are based on stereotypes and prejudice and we very rarely talk about these ideas in the media unless there is a catastrophic event like what happened to Vincent [Uzomah] – where he was stabbed in what should have been a safe environment.”

A Show Racism the Red Card survey found that on average young people estimated that 47% of British population was made up of people who were born outside the UK, while the actual figure is only 13%.

Pidcock asked: “Why are young people’s attitudes so far from removed from the reality of the situation? For that we need to be looking at the structural problems, the media, politics. It is not just about that classroom environment. Schools are only a microcosm of what is constructed in society.

“We need to start looking at what are the driving factors behind the constructs of these racist ideas and attitudes. In order to shift attitudes you can’t just say ‘that’s racism’, you have to say why do you think that, where have you got those ideas and attitudes from.”

Sagheer Afzal, a supply teacher, told Today that he had often been the target of racial abuse but was told to turn a blind eye to the problem. “About seven years ago when I was working as a teacher within a secondary school I was racially abused and punched in the ribs by a student.

“I was unofficially told by a senior member of staff that it would be better not to make this official, because if the school were to exclude the child it would end up costing the school £4,000.

“I was quite dismayed and shocked by that reaction, [but] speaking to my others friends in the teaching profession that is the unofficial line – sometimes it is better to endure and just get on with it. I don’t agree with that.”



He pointed out that challenging racist behaviour in the classroom can make the problem worse. “If you respond or retaliate to a kid’s insulting offensive or racial remarks, sometimes that can have the unfortunate effect of escalating behaviour. So sometimes it is better to turn the other cheek and proceed on with the lesson, but it does leave quite nasty side-effects.”

One teenage girl told him not to stand near her because she said “ ‘You stink of curry,’ ” Afzal recalled. He said: “No action, no sanctions were taken against her. She was brazenly racist. Whenever she was in my classroom I would leave my work feeling utterly demoralised and demotivated.”