The interacting dynamics of institutional racism in higher education

This article has its origins in the Macpherson report’s contention that public organisations in British society are characterised by institutional racism. Drawing upon the Parekh report’s identification of ten components of institutional racism, the article examines which, if any, of these components are manifest in a university in Central England that was the subject of ethnographic investigation in the decade following the publication of the Macpherson report. It is argued that the Parekh report’s identification of various components of institutional racism is helpful in disclosing the extent of disadvantage faced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff and students and the institution’s reluctance to do anything about it. It is also illuminating in sensitising us to the overwhelming Whiteness of the university and the position of White privilege within it