Closed petition Amend the list of ethnic groups and remove 'Black' as a label

Closed on 3 September 2023

The word ‘Black’ was a racial label created during the colonial era in the 17th and 18th centuries as a justification for forced labour, and enslavement of Africans. We want the list of ethnic groups used by Government to refer to specific ethnic groups, and not use 'Black' as an ethnic group.

The word ‘Black’ was used as part of the social hierarchy formed by colonialism during the 17th and 18th centuries to deny privileges to non-whites and to justify the enslavement of Africans, who were considered black. We believe using 'Black' as an ethnicity, with all the negative connotations associated with it, in the modern, post-colonial era is wrong. We consider it derogatory, outdated and an unrepresentative label. Rather it should be African or Caribbean.