The Black Farmer: If You Think Rural Britain Is Racist, You’re Wrong
3rd September 2025
Another year, another report on “racist” rural Britain. Every few months, a new piece of research seems to emerge based on anecdotal evidence that our countryside is a hostile place for people like me. I am under no illusion that racism is alive and well in Britain today, but having spent the first 40 years of my life in inner city Birmingham and the last 27 in deepest Devon, my experience is rather different from the one often peddled by these reports.
The latest, from the University of Leicester, says racist abuse is “tolerated or even normalised” in rural areas. Most participants say racism in rural England “is getting worse”, pointing to low levels of visible diversity. I’d agree that visible diversity is still a problem (and have thoughts on how to improve access to landowning – namely, have institutions like the Church of England and the National Trust give up some of their vast swathes of land), but I think branding our countryside as racist is a mistake.
My life as a farmer is peaceful and productive. I am embedded in a community that looks out for me. I have raised a family and built a successful business here. My story completely contradicts the popular opinion that someone who looks like me wouldn’t be welcome in the English countryside, let alone making a life here.