In case you missed it, Middlesbrough has been in the news lately. Some of this is for negative reasons, but it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good; it was excellent timing by the North East Anti-Racism Coalition (NEARC) to schedule an event on 23 September while the media spotlight is on the town.
What were we doing here?
The event was created to launch a report by NEARC: Exposing Racism in The North East. This eye-opening report is a highly recommended read. You can read it here. As the name suggests, NEARC serves the entire North East of England. Organisations such as this are usually based in Newcastle. But no, NEARC is based on Gilkes Street in Middlesbrough, about a five minute walk from our venue.
Our venue
Our community gathering was held in the Middlesbrough Town Hall crypt, immediately beneath the actual hall. The crypt gates on Corporation Road were locked, so we had to enter the building via Albert Road.
Setting the scene
So, at the entrance, a display stood to give a sense of place to the new NEARC report. You can never go wrong with the Penshaw Monument.
Then, the next stand described the alliance behind NEARC, and the aims of the organisation.
Who supports NEARC?
This excerpt from September’s report shows the wide range of members of NEARC. Some of these, including Cleveland Police and Cleveland Brigade, attended the event.
An explainer
Ngozi Lyn Cole, the co-founder of NEARC, took to the stage and explained the planned activities of the day. This included two group conversations, a panel session, and several guest speakers. Ngozi confirmed that 130 attendees had signed up. The tables were full, and most of them had shown up.
Group chat
Our group huddled down into the first group conversation, with a theme of “What’s on your mind when you think about racism and anti-racism across our region?”. The event had been scheduled for 9:30am,to allow for a meet and greet before the actual start time of 10:00am, which had given us a chance to get to know each other. NEARC’s report speaks of widespread racism in the North East. We chatted about the traumatic racially-motivated riots of August 2024. Ngozi Lyn Cole said the riots had felt like a “slap in the face” because the North East has a reputation for being warm and welcoming. But something good came of it; The NEARC was created a month later.
Youth Focus North East
Three members of our team work for Youth Focus North East in the deprived Middlesbrough suburb of Brambles Farm. They said that racism wasn’t a big problem with the kids they encountered. Tilly noted that older people often begin a conversation with “I’m not racist, but…”, which confirms that they are, indeed, racist. Laura has to constantly remind people that the immigrants aren’t taking our jobs.
People are being radicalised by the media
Shanaz, an aspiring young journalist of South Asian heritage, said that racism in the media was already bad in the 2010s, but the headlines about immigration are getting worse. She’s got younger siblings and she worries what will happen to them when they are on their own. Her colleague has a 28-year-old son. She’s started waiting up when he goes out, just as she did when he was a teenager, even until 2:00am. She said that, when she first heard about the A66 crash in Middlesbrough, her first reaction was “please don’t let it be anyone of colour”. She suspected that, if it had been, there’d have been another spike in racist violence, as there had been after the Southport riot in 2024.
Say my name. No, better not
The women of South Asian heritage, told us that the first thing they did when coming to the UK was to change their name to an English-sounding one. Not something to be done lightly, but it’s an attempt to assimilate. A so-called “failure” to assimilate by immigrant communities is a popular right wing talking point. But it’s been happening quietly in Britain for at least 2,000 years and will continue to do so. It’s what people do.
First session by Ngozi
Our first group chat finished, and Ngozi took to the stage again. Just a few stats: She noted that nearly four in five survey respondents in the North East experience racism on a day to day basis. 73% of victims of racial abuse didn’t report it to the police. Some 69% of respondents thought that racism is getting worse. Ngozi handed over to Nitin Shukla to talk about “Become the Bridge”
Will you become the Bridge?
Nitin Shukla, like his father before him, is a long-standing Newcastle-based anti-racism activist. Nitin was here to tell us about “Become the Bridge”, an aanti-racism action plan that brings together a network of North East organisations, creating a space to share both challenges and successes related to racism. It’s not a talking shop; it seeks practical solutions.
Peter Hopkins
Professor Peter Hopkins of Newcastle University was up next. Peter was one of the key researchers on the NEARC report that was released today. He’s noticed an uptick in racist and homophobic incidents at train and bus stations. Another item of note was the mainstreaming of conversations related to “Stop the Boats”. Cynical politicians and a mainly right wing media keep steering the national conversation to immigration, when people really want to talk about better transport, education and health services. Things that could actually improve their lives.
Legitimate concerns?
Media coverage of “Stop the Boats” reached a higher fever pitch than ever in September 2026, which exactly coincides with a steep reduction in people actually crossing the English Channel. I’m beginning to think that those who make the most fuss over “legitimate concerns” about immigration may not be sincere after all.
Panel discussion
Peter introduced a five person panel onto the stage to enable a “Q&A” session. The panellists were: Sirak Hagos, a former asylum seeker; Matt Storey, Cleveland Police & Crime Commissioner; Ngozi Lyn Cole, co-chair of NEARC; Dr Jessie Kelly-Baxter, North East Chamber of Commerce, and Professor Donna Chambers, a professor-at-large.
Questions and Answers
Sirak was asked about his experience as an asylum seeker. He said that his most frightening moments were when people threw bricks through his windows at all hours of the day. But he said that, in 2026, there was real evidence of community empowerment in new and emerging communities, particularly involving African refugees. One of the group members asked the panellists which policies could the government enact to tackle racism. The answer? How long have you got?
Expulsions
A former deputy head teacher noted that expulsions from PRIMARY schools for racist behaviour increased by 220% in just three years between 2022 and 2025. There’s been an increase in home-schooling, as predominantly white parents don’t want their children “indoctrinated” with teaching about non-Christian religions. This is a red flag for Islamophobia, of course.
A moral vacuum
Matt Storey told a questioner that when Nigel Farage announced plans to deport 600,000 people immediately taking power, the Labour Government’s first instinct was to complain about how unworkable and costly it would be. But they didn’t talk about how morally reprehensible such an idea was. But Matt was optimistic that there is a group of people who can be persuaded to stop blaming a small section of the population for often-imaginary societal ills. We’ll need a collective political voice to persuade them.
I have a dream
Ngozi wrapped the event up by reflecting that Dr Martin Luther King Jr was awarded a degree from Newcastle University in 1967. What progress have we made since then? Not enough. She stated the mission of NEARC: Making the North East a region that ACTIVELY opposes racism. A fairer region made better by the talents of people, where diversity is celebrated. There were then whoops and a round of applause as Ngozi announced that NEARC is now a registered charity. Prior to this NEARC had to be hosted by Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency as its legal entity.
Sirak’s story
As soon as the panel left the stage, I caught up with Sirak Hagos. I was intrigued about that story of broken windows. Sirak fled the war in Eritrea in 1998, but not in a small boat. He paid the gangsters to fly him here. Sirak claimed asylum on arrival. The Home Office randomly assigned him to a flat in the deprived neighbourhood of Hendon, in Sunderland. There were a few dozen immigrants in the neighbourhood to keep Sirak company, but he was the only Eritrean.
It couldn’t happen here?
Sirak was disturbed from time to time by people throwing bricks through his window. He began reporting the incidents to the police, who helpfully suggested that he may wish to install a CCTV camera. But they warned Sirak that the camera itself could soon become a target. Eventually, he took the law into his own hands. Enough said. After five years, he was granted asylum, which made him eligible to get a job. Sirak did so. He moved to Newcastle a couple of years later, where he still lives.
Professor Donna Chambers
I caught up with Professor Donna Chambers for a quick interview. The catering staff were unusually eager to get us out of the room. They removed the tablecloth to reveal a surface matted in tea and coffee stains, from which we both recoiled. Interviews aren’t like this on TV.
Jason Arday RIP
We briefly touched on the life of Professor Jason Arday of Cambridge University. Donna knew him well. She took a book out of her bag and showed it to me. It was “Great and Unfortunate Things” by Jason Arday, which Donna had just started reading. I asked her about the lack of black professors in UK academia. In 2003, when she gained her first tenure, there were 20 out of 16,000. They were easy to count because they all knew one another. Things improved in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, and the emergence of Black Lives Matter.
Misanthropic billionaires
Donna rued the malevolent impact of billionaires such as Peter Thiel, Elon Musk and the crypto-billionaires on the debate about racism. Effectively, they’ve got a limitless amount of money. But I left the event with a sense of optimism that the people here today, and millions like us, will do enough to counter the malevolence.
Further reading
Exposing Racism in the North East, report published by NEARC, 23 September 2026.
Thanks to James Waterson for providing additional research for this article
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