African Caribbean People in Leicestershire: Summary of the Final Report

In partnership with central government, the local authorities and the University of Leicester, representatives of Leicestershire’s African Caribbean community commissioned an independent study of the experiences of black people in the country. The project adopted a ‘bottom-up’ approach to give members of the community the opportunity to speak for themselves. Research methods included interviews and group discussions, documentary analysis, postal questionnaires and a sample survey of 547 people, representing 8.5% of the total African Caribbean population in Leicestershire, aged 16 years and over. This Summary contains the key findings, conclusions and recommendations set out in the Final Report of the project, including those on socio-economic profile and needs analysis of African Caribbean people in Leicestershire and those on the views, opinions, experiences and needs of black people in the country. The Summary also includes the concluding chapter of the Final Report. This finds that the depth and scale of the inequalities revealed by the study are an indictment of the failure of the political, social and economic system. However, with political commitment, empowerment of black people and an effective partnership approach there is much that can be done to overcome the disadvantage and discrimination to bring about real equal opportunities for African Caribbean people in Leicestershire.