From the 1960s onwards numerous Black activists helped push through legal changes that made life easier for Black people in Britain. Although Black people are still protesting in 2020, perhaps indicating that we need to move beyond legal reform to get permanent change, it is important to remember the significant strides of the 20th century.

1. The Race Relations Act 1965

Racial Discrimination in Britain had been an issue long before the 1960s. However, racial tensions were on the rise in this era, with the murder of Kelso Cochrane in 1958 by a gang of white thugs, and the election of Peter Griffiths in Smethwick in 1964 under unofficial election taglines like “If You Want a Nigger for a Neighbor, Vote For Labour.” (Hammond Perry, 2016)

Therefore, a number of activists and policy makers sought to create change, with the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD) in particular forcing a national conversation about what effective anti-discrimination legislation could look like. (Hammond Perry, 2016)

In part due this activism, the Race Relations Act was passed in 1965 which prohibited race discrimination in public places and established the Race Relations Board.

2. The Race Relations Board

Set up by the Race Relations Act 1965, the Race Relations Board oversaw local conciliation committees which had the power to: receive complaints of anti-discrimination legislation and mediate between parties in order to find a resolution. (Hammond Perry, 2016)

3. Race Relations Act 1968

The 1965 Race Relations Act was a massive step forward for race relations in Britain, but did have its controversies, including the fact that one of the first people to be prosecuted under the act was a black man. (Shukra, 1998) Therefore, the 1968 Act extended protections against racial discrimination, making discrimination in housing, employment and public services unlawful.

4. Race Relations Act 1976

Despite the progress that had been made with the 1968 Race Relations Act, for many the progress had not been enough. The Race Relations Act of 1976 extended legal protection against discrimination and made both direct and indirect race-based discrimination unlawful. It also replaced the Race Relations Board and the Community Relations Commission with the Commission for Racial Equality.

5. The Commission for Racial Equality

Set up by the Race Relations Act 1976, this Commission was a non-departmental public body which worked: “towards the elimination of racial discrimination, to promote equal opportunities and good relations between racial groups and to propose amendments to the Act as they become necessary.”

6. PACE 1984

In the 1980s there were several protests and unrest due to many black people feeling that the police were discriminating against them through the use of stop and search. After the Brixton Riots of 1981 a public inquiry was held leading to the creation of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) in 1984, which standardised police powers nationwide and required there to be an objective basis for a person to be stopped and searched .

7. Race Relations Amendment Act 2000

Following the 1999 murder of Stephen Lawrence, and the protests that followed, the Race Relations Amendment Act was adopted. This built on the progress of the Race Relations Act of 1976 and placed a positive duty on public authorities, including the police, to promote positive race relations and also made it unlawful for public authorities to discriminate based on race during the exercise of their functions.

8. Equality Act 2006

Race Relations legislation helped inspire numerous pieces of anti-discrimination legislation in 20th century Britain, including those which made gender and disability discrimination unlawful. The Equality Act 2006 put many of these protections together in the same piece of legislation and also created the Equality and Human Rights Commission, an independent and non-departmental body.

9. The Equality and Human Rights Commission

Set up by the Equality Act 2006, the Commission took over from organisations like The Commission for Racial Equality and works to promote and enforce equality and non-discrimination laws in Britain.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has done a lot of important work recently including assessing the impact of the government’s hostile environment policies.

10. Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 built on the progress of the Equality Act of 2006, by protecting all those who are discriminated against due to their: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, race, religion/belief, sex and sexual orientation. This is the primary source of non-discrimination legislation that we can all use today.