Scottish Parliament launch for book edited by Sociology colleagues
Published: 9 May 2018
'No Problem Here, Understanding Racism in Scotland' was launched at an event organised by the Cross Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia and hosted by Anas Sarwar MSP and Neil Davidson, Sociology Lecturer.
On Wednesday 9 May Anas Sarwar MSP and Neil Davidson, Lecturer in Sociology, hosted the launch of a challenging new book 'No Problem Here, Understanding Racism in Scotland' at the Scottish Parliament. The event was organised in collaboration with the Cross Party Group (CPG) on Tackling Islamophobia, which Neil was asked to join. The book was edited by Neil, along with colleague Professor Satnam Virdee and PhD students Maureen McBride and Minna Liinpaa.
The book dismisses the idea there is ‘no problem here’ regarding racism in Scotland. It claims Brexit has given this ‘myth’ a ‘new lease of life’ with a sense of ‘Scottish exceptionalism’ – that people in Scotland are different from the English. The authors argue ‘a better Scotland will only be built by confronting the evil of racism rather than pretending it does not exist’.
Mr Sarwar, chair of the CPG, said: “Scotland is an open and diverse country, but we should never allow our national pride to blind us to the fact that good and bad people live everywhere. Our task is to make the unconscious bias conscious, so that people can challenge themselves and then as a country we can aim to defeat prejudice in the long-term.'
Neil commented 'Whatever our views on Scottish independence, a better Scotland will only be built by confronting the evil of racism rather than pretending it does not exist.'
The book has generated a lot of press coverage so far with The Herald, The Daily Record and The Scottish Daily Mail all publishing articles. Neil has also appeared on BBC Radio Scotland to discuss the book's findings and his work with the CPG.
First published: 9 May 2018
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