The major challenge for our leaders is to convince people to feel British. After an election campaign which preyed on people’s fears and prejudices this is going to be a very difficult task.

Huge swathes of minorities feel even more detached from this ideal of ‘Britishness’ and here’s why.

To be British you have to be white
Sadly, this idea that you must be white to be British is something that made a major resurgence in recent years and it pains many of us as it harks back to the time of our parents and grandparents. You can’t be a proper Brit because you are the wrong colour or religion. Minorities have faced this challenge for decades and here we are in 2019 with the same issue. We can’t be British until we renounce our culture and religion or look to curtail it.

I am not the ‘right type’ of minority
I was never the ‘right type’ of minority. Many of us have been pigeon-holed into a specific type of minority and we hate it. You know the one who is quiet and agrees with everything he or she is told.  Then we have the ‘right type’ of minority who deem themselves more British and then like to lecture the rest of us on how ‘un-British we are. You have a whole host of social media commentators telling us we aren’t British enough because we dare to speak out against issues affecting our communities. They are the 'right type of minority.' I am not.

Racism and prejudice sells and gets more clicks
It is a dangerous place to be. The very reason we have more right-wing websites and content on social media is due to the fact that sharing racist content gets attention. Fake racist posts can make celebrities out of those who post them. You would think Twitter and Facebook would want to curtail this. But why would they? More clicks leads to more ad revenue.

Our print media is institutionally racist
No, this is not a conspiracy theory but many of us feel our print media (Mail, Sun, Express, Telegraph and Times) in this country is biased against minorities. I would sense nothing has changed in these newsrooms since the eighties and there is no real intention for it to change. Changing this status quo would mean news editors and owners being challenged on their narratives about Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and blacks – but they don’t want that. It is still very much a white middle-class preserve and stories are based around the notion that minorities are a problem. 

Hatred towards Muslims is not really that important
There should be equal attention given to all hatred be that against those of other religions. But it isn’t like that all and gives off false hope. Muslim hatred is treated as a chore because 'we deserve it.' Dealing with Muslim hatred is something that ‘we have to do’ in case we are challenged or embarrassed. The Conservative Party has a problem with both Islamophobia and anti Semitism and in a year's time we won’t be talking about either. 

Integration polices fail to take into account that some white folk simply don’t want us
We can have a wide range of integration policies and reports but none of them are worth the paper they are printed on if we don’t listen to minorities. Some white people simply don’t want us in this country and do not see us as British because we are different. Our culture is different and we are deemed a threat to their way of life. Government policies or academics won’t admit this because it means putting the onus on white people when the blame should lie on us. 

I can be British but it will never be good enough
I used to do the friendly neighbourhood thing and try to get involved in charitable endeavours. But I don’t anymore because it does not matter how many presents you deliver to the hospital and try to change the narrative. People don’t care. You are just another guy trying to appease white folk.

I am an extremist first then British
It is hard shaking off the baggage of the actions of others in our community. We are extremists, criminals and free-loaders first before anything. I am being told I must be one of these things before we can move on to talk about anything else of any importance. Why even bother getting into a conversation if I already know the script.

There is a growing gulf between minorities and the privileged few
Whilst successive governments (both Conservative and Labour) have spoken of trying to bring communities together , this is nothing more than paying lip-service to the real issues and is done for the odd PR soundbite. After the Windrush Scandal, The Grenfell Fire and an election campaign where minorities were pitted against each other, we are completely detached from the ruling elite. The only minorities who can make it to the top are the ones who completely forget about the rest of us when they get there. 

I am already ‘integrated’ but will never be ‘integrated enough’
Integration is a depressing and divisive word at best as it makes us feel that we have somehow not done enough. Our efforts were all for nothing despite our best intentions. For many minorities the very idea that we are being asked to ‘integrate’ is offensive as it deems our efforts a complete waste of time.