What can local authorities practically do about the issue of ‘Parallel Lives'? In many towns in West Yorkshire and the North West, Asian and White communities live alongside each other without getting to know each other in any meaningful way. In big cities like Manchester, the cosmopolitan feel of London is developing, but in the old mill towns it's a different story. In Burnley and Oldham radical plans for new secondary schools are underway in the hope that excellent new facilities will overcome parental preference for overwhelmingly white or Asian schools. Blackburn with Darwen Council has embarked on two initiatives which Trevor Phillips, chairman of Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, described as the best he has seen. During the winter, the ‘100 Voices' project has brought together young and old from all communities for a series of meetings, which I had the privilege to chair. These weren't occasions for speeches about social cohesion, but an opportunity for frank speaking. At an early meeting one white resident asserted that Muslims expected the town to change to accommodate them rather than accept Blackburn as it is. But as the meetings went on the level of understanding and warmth grew which struck Trevor Phillips and the town's MP Jack Straw when they came to listen. Now plans are being made for school twinning, sports and social occasions. The other initiative, Meet Your Neighbours, saw the council bring together, for a weekend of activities, girls from predominantly white schools in the Wirral and Preston with those from an Asian private school in Blackburn. The speed at which they got to know each other and found that they shared similar ambitions and interests was remarkable. n
