History
The Commission was established by the Race Relations Act 1976, under James Callaghan's Labour government. Its first Chairman was former Conservative MP, David Lane.
The Race Relations Act, which has now been superseded by the Equality Act 2010, applied in England, Wales and Scotland. It did not apply in Northern Ireland, where the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997 applies. The CRE's work covered all the areas where people were protected against discrimination under the Race Relations Act.
The mission statement of the Commission was: "We work for a just and integrated society, where diversity is valued. We use persuasion and our powers under the law to give everyone an equal chance to live free from fear of discrimination, prejudice and racism."
The main goals of the CRE were:
- To encourage greater integration and better relations between people from different ethnic groups.
- To use its legal powers to help eradicate racial discrimination and harassment.
- To work with government and public authorities to promote racial equality in all public services.
- To support local and regional organisations, and employers in all sectors, in their efforts to ensure equality of opportunity and good race relations.
- To raise public awareness of racial discrimination and injustice, and to win support for efforts to create a fairer and more equal society.
The CRE organised the annual RIMA (Race in the Media) awards. In 2005 the Media Personality of the Year award was won by footballer Thierry Henry.
Read more about this topic: Commission For Racial Equality
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