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Mixed race Britain: charting the social history, The Guardian (Society), 5 October 2011
While mixed race is one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the UK, there is nothing new in people from different cultures getting together. Laura Smith reports on new research into mixing in Britain in the early 20th century. Gallery: mixed families featured in BBC’s Mixed Britannia share their photos.
Laura Smith’s previous articles on mixedness and mixing include Absent Voices (The Guardian, 6 September 2006 – reader responses here) and Mixed Matches (The Guardian, 26 September 2007)
‘I spend my days preparing for life, not for death’, The Guardian (G2), 25 October 2007
The former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has spent 25 years on death row in the United States – despite strong evidence that he is innocent. In his first British interview, he talks to Laura Smith about life in solitary, how he has remained politically active, and why the Panthers are still relevant today
Mixed matches, The Guardian (Society), 26 September 2007
What is it like growing up in a multi-race family? The first findings of a two-year project reveal some surprises that should put an end to the stereotypes. Laura Smith reports
‘Nobody can hurt him now’, The Guardian (G2), 7 July 2007
Fifteen years old and less than five feet tall, Gareth Myatt died in custody while being restrained by three adults. Three years on, his mother has finally found out what happened in his last moments. She talks to Laura Smith
Facing the consequences, The Guardian (Society), 7 February 2007
New research shows that bringing criminals in contact with victims deters re-offending more than prison, but will government support match its rhetoric? Laura Smith reports
‘Everything in my life has crumbled’, The Guardian (G2 Women), 6 December 2006
A new study says that women asylum seekers who claim to have been raped in their own countries are rarely believed in British courts. Laura Smith reports
‘My manager said I looked like a terrorist’, The Guardian (G2), 7 September 2006
Why are so many of Britain’s Muslim women unemployed or miserable at work? You can forget the cliches about unsupportive parents who want their daughters to stay at home and raise children, says Laura Smith
Absent voices, The Guardian (Society), 6 September 2006
Mixed race is the UK’s fastest growing ethnic minority group, idealised by the media as the exotic, ‘acceptable face’ of diversity. But the reality, says Laura Smith, is rather different
‘Don’t you want to know why I’m bleeding? The Guardian (Society), 2 August 2006
An assault by a white neighbour on a Muslim woman in London has shown just how difficult it can be for victims of alleged racist attacks to prise open the doors of justice. Laura Smith reports
Meet Britain’s other black farmer, The Guardian (G2), 26 June 2006
When David Cameron announced his ‘A-list’ of Tory candidates, it supposedly included the country’s only black farmer. But there is at least one more. On the outskirts of London, Zimbabwean-born David Mwanaka is raising a fine crop of maize. He talks to Laura Smith
The invisible man, The Guardian (Society), 12 April 2006
Gerald Noble lay dead in his flat for five months before he was found. With no traceable relatives, his funeral was left to the local authority. Laura Smith went in search of his story
Too few black and Asian faces at the top, The Guardian (Financial), 17 November 2005
…Britain’s largest companies are falling lagging behind when it comes to black and brown faces in the upper echelons
Big brands lock onto the brown pound, The Guardian (Business), 19 August 2005
Haircare product makers have finally realised that black women represent a relatively unexploited niche market
The preacher comes to town, The Guardian (News), 10 March 2005
In America Jesse Jackson’s charisma is renowned. Now he is inspiring young black Britons in search of a leader
A family destroyed, The Guardian (G2), 9 February 2005
Two brothers die suddenly, in separate incidents, in the care of the state. What does such an appalling double tragedy do to those left behind? Laura Smith meets a bereaved sister looking for answers
COMMENT
You couldn’t make it up, Comment Is Free, 15 November 2007
New research shows that newspaper stories about Muslims suffer disproportionately from factual inaccuracies and distortions
The sticky prints of justice, Comment Is Free, 5 September 2007
Spreading the DNA database to cover the whole population may indeed be fairer – but it’s the wrong solution.
A database of prejudice, The Guardian (Comment), 15 May 2007
In the new-fangled world of ID cards and DNA, police attitudes on race remain stuck in the past
Justice is a nightmare for race hate victims, Guardian Society (Opinion), 4 April 2007
That this is happening to a family who have already been through the ordeal of an attack and the subsequent court case is deeply shocking
A tale of two trials, Comment Is Free, 10 November 2006
Contrasting verdicts in a pair of cases involving racial hatred charges suggests a sinister double standard is being applied to British Muslims.