When I read the North East Anti-Racism’s Coalition’s report ‘Exposing Racism in the North East’, my first reaction was a quiet nod. This was not because the findings are easy to sit with, but because they’re familiar. People of all ethnicities across the region have been saying the same thing for years, and the report puts numbers to what many of us already knew. “78% of respondents said racism is an everyday or regular issue,” and “69% felt it was getting worse.” That’s not abstract. That’s daily life. The researchers from Newcastle University, led by Professor Peter HoHopkins captured it perfectly.
People with lived experience of racism have felt the sting of those moments that don’t make the news. The abuse – direct and indirect. The discrimination. The silence from people who could’ve stepped in but didn’t. Reading about the racist attacks in Horden, Sunderland and Middlesbrough – where people were targeted simply for being visible in public – reminds us of how quickly ordinary days can turn into something frightening. The report makes it plain: these incidents “didn’t come out of nowhere. They sit within a wider pattern of hostility.”
My solidarity sits with every person who wakes up wondering if today will be the day someone decides to remind them they don’t belong. With every parent who worries about their child at school. With every worker who braces themselves before walking into a shift. With every student who’s just trying to learn without being targeted. Racism isn’t a one-off incident here and this report shows it clearly.
That’s why I’m asking everyone to do something with this report. Read it. Sit with it. Talk about it. And then act.
But alongside the heaviness, I felt something else reading it – real hope. Because the report doesn’t just expose the problem. It shows that people care enough to speak up. It shows that communities – of all ethnicities – still come together when it matters. After the 2024 riots, people protected mosques, checked on neighbours, and cleaned up streets. That’s the North East I know. The one that refuses to let hate define it.
I want that version of our region to win. I want us to keep hold of the famous North East welcome and make sure it’s felt by everyone, not just some of us. Racism pushes people to the side when they should be feeling that welcome. And it doesn’t have to be this way. As the report says, “Racism is not inevitable. It’s a choice. And so is antiracism.”
That’s why I’m asking everyone to do something with this report. Read it. Sit with it. Talk about it. And then act. Join the nearly 160 organisations who have already committed to NEARC’s Become the Bridge campaign. It’s a practical way to help shift the systems that keep racism in place. We can’t fix everything overnight, but we can start somewhere. We can choose to be part of the region we want to live in.
My hope is simple. I want this report to be more than a moment. I want it to spark action that helps people feel safe walking down the street, sitting in a café, going to school, applying for jobs, or just existing in public. I want the North East to be a place where people don’t have to shrink themselves to get through the day. A place where everyone can live, work, study, and thrive without fear. We can indeed be happier, stronger and better off together.