Eric Kaufmann, Nicola Kelly, Keon West and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown chaired by Stephen Law

Politics lecturer professor Eric Kaufmann, journalists Nicola Kelly and Yasmin Alibhai Brown and social psychologist Professor Keon West discuss the changing face of racism.

How, and why, has the way in which we think about race changed? Is there any truth to the suggestion that concerns about race have now metamorphised into something stifling and toxic? What is the hard evidence concerning levels of racism? Is there, as Martin Forde suggested in his report on racism in the Labour Party, a ‘hierarchy of racism’, with some forms of bigotry taken much more seriously than others? How does race feed into the debate about immigration and asylum seeking? And what effect are movements such as Black Lives Matter having on society? Join our panel of experts to explore these and other questions about race.

Kaufmann is professor of politics at the University of Buckingham. He has authored several books including Taboo: How Making Race Sacred Produced a Cultural Revolution, which targets well-meaning leftist taboos concerning race.

Kelly is a freelance journalist focused on social affairs and human rights. Her new book, Anywhere But Here, How Britain’s Broken Asylum System Fails Us All, is an expose of the British immigration system and its failings, drawing on eyewitness accounts to reveal the injustices and tragedies of the small boat crisis.

West is author of The Science of Racism: Everything you need to know but probably don’t yet. He is professor of social psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and head of research at Equality Group – a consulting firm focused on diversity.

Alibhai-Brown is a journalist and author who has written extensively on issues of diversity and social justice. Her books include In Defence of Political Correctness, Refusing the Veil and Exotic England: The Making of a Curious Nation.

Discussion is chaired by Dr Stephen Law, philosopher and academic, and author of bestselling introductions to philosophy for adults and children, including The Philosophy Gym. Law is also the editor of the Royal Institute of Philosophy Journal, Think, and the festival’s major projects director.