NCJ Number
208839
Editor(s)
Neil Chakraborti,
Jon Garland
Date Published
2004
Length
224 pages
Annotation
This book addresses the gap in critical academic inquiry into racism in rural areas of the United Kingdom, as it focuses on key issues, concerns, and prevention strategies.
Abstract
The two chapters of the first section of the book conceptualize the features of the rural culture and the expectations associated with rural living. These chapters develop the thesis that rural living has been envisioned as a homogeneous, idyllic expression of a pristine way of life prior to the development of pluralistic, multicultural urbanization. The presence of racially and culturally diverse households in rural areas tend to inject elements of urbanization that White residents deem threatening to their idyllic life, thus occasioning racist attitudes and behaviors. The four chapters of the book's second section explore patterns of racial discrimination in rural areas in more detail. One study notes the diverse levels and types of experiences of discrimination in one rural area according to particular racial/ethnic groups. Subjective interpretations and toleration of racism in various groups and individuals in those groups are noted. Another chapter argues that generalizations about racism in rural areas sometimes fail to give appropriate attention to the diversity of attitudes toward race according to the characteristics of the residents in a given area and the history of the region. The three chapters of the concluding section emphasize the importance of developing responses to rural racism as a central component of an academic and political agenda. One chapter describes a program in a largely rural county in England that provides mediation, counseling, and legal services to victims of racism. Another chapter focuses on the prevention of racism in school settings; and a third chapter emphasizes the importance of a local analysis of racism in rural areas, such that the response is tailored to the prevalence, nature, sources, victims, and perpetrators of racism. Chapter references and a subject index