A new anti-racist toolkit for youth workers


A new anti-racist toolkit for youth workers

Review

Written by: Jenny Bourne


I Ain’t Racist But… aims to give youth workers the knowledge and tools ‘to respond constructively to racist incidents and deal appropriately with victims and perpetrators’.

Written by Mandeep Rupra of the Racial Harassment Action Group Monitoring Project at Leicester Racial Equality Council, the stated intent of the toolkit is to encourage youth workers to respond to racist incidents and to deter such incidents in a youth setting. In fact, the 75-page toolkit concentrates on the former rather than the latter task – but that is no mean feat.

Section One explains exactly what might constitute a racial incident, the legislation that covers the area and the ways in which young people might respond to incidents. Section Two sets out the procedures youth workers should adopt following an incident: protect and support the victim; assist the perpetrator to recognise that the behaviour is unacceptable and help change it; ensure the incident is investigated; deter others from engaging in racist incidents.

The toolkit, which contains useful case studies and excellent lists of references, eschews the usual overemphasis on abstract discussion about racism generally in society or moralising about racism’s evil. Instead it provides systematic and practical techniques appropriate to combating racism in a youth-work setting.

Related links

Leicester Racial Equality Council


I Ain't Racist But ... is available for £20 plus VAT and postage and packing from Leicester Racial Equality Council, Epic House - 3rd Floor, Lower Hill Street, Leicester LE1 3SH. Tel: 0116 299 9809. Email: mandeep.rupra@lrec.org.uk.


The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.

2 thoughts on “A new anti-racist toolkit for youth workers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.