The author is the CEO of Runnymede Trust

As a kid who grew up in Tower Hamlets in the late 1980s, I was afraid of the flag of St. George. When England fans rioted on this continent, the National Front embezzled the symbol of this country. Sometimes, it feels as if this flag is flying in our East London community, a challenge to multiculturalism and our community.

Today, as a disabled woman of color, I often say that there is no better country to live in than the United Kingdom, especially in terms of security, opportunity and civil rights embodied in this country. But this cannot ignore the fact that race is still one of the most divisive issues of our time.

This week, the country jointly condemned Racist abuse Meet the football players Marcus Rashford, Jaden Sancho and Bucayo Saka. Although these young black men helped the England team reach the European Championship finals, they were abused by strangers on social media and Rashford’s mural was defaced in Manchester. These despicable acts have once again revealed how far Britain needs to go in overcoming racism.

This week Runnymede Trust released Shadow UN report Regarding the state of racial equality in England. The study found that blacks and minorities living in England continue to experience serious disproportionate disadvantages in their socio-economic indicators. These range from higher maternal mortality to greater use of taser guns for minority children and young people, to restrictions on career opportunities.

The report provides further evidence that a skin-free approach to equality—simply talking about “equal opportunities for all,” or just defining dialogue in terms of white working class or any other single-racial group—is unlikely is the most important. The effective or fastest way to achieve true social mobility for everyone.

Although some people are unwilling to admit that the existence of institutional racism is disturbing, in recent months and days, civil society and the business sector have found ways to deal with inequality, such as monitoring and starting to correct racial pay gaps.As far as business is concerned, the real intention to push for change seems to be not only motivated by profit, but also since killing George Freud.

The responsibility for achieving equality lies with all of us. However, if the results for a particular group are significantly worse, the state is expected to act as a balancer. If the root cause of the disadvantage is not clearly understood, the country should undertake to take action.

So far, no British government has made strong or serious commitments to resolve disproportionate differences due to race. We continue to hear disturbing narratives of blaming black and minority communities for the lack of education and achievement—family and cultural factors clearly exacerbate the expected poverty. This is without any recognition, let alone an understanding of the role of institutional racism and its harmful effects on society.

More work needs to be done, especially to create opportunities for young people. This narrative of expectation of poverty is not unique to minority communities. It is also imposed on the white working class. This week is over, and the British public wants their leaders to take urgent measures to eliminate poverty, inequality and racism in our communities.

The policy must be based on evidence collected from all over the UK. The government’s “upgrade” agenda is a wise move, but data and evidence must be used to determine where the country needs it most. Without this, we cannot reverse the disproportionate racial differences and results, whether related to race or not.

About 20% The poorest quarter of local authorities In England, there is currently no priority of 8.77 billion pounds of upgrade funds. These include Tower Hamlets, I grew up in a large community in Bangladesh. Although the country has the highest child poverty rate, its funding priority is the lowest.

Three years later, my fear of the Union Jack has long since disappeared. Watching the young England team behave so hard in the European Cup and listening to them and their manager Gareth Southgate’s moral authority on issues such as race and LGBTQ rights highlights this A degree of inclusive England.

We should remember that this week is one of the potential seismic changes in how England responds to the continuing challenge of racism. If we are not so concerned about man-made culture wars, we will see the empathy values ??of this country. Southgate and his players blurred the concept of Britons as citizenship rather than racial identity-a feat as important as any victory in the final. We — and our leaders — should try to follow suit.