Notes on: Rex, J and Moore, R. (1967) . Race Community and Conflict. A study of Sparkbrook. Published for the Institute of Race Relations, London: Oxford University Press. Dave Harris [Brief notes only. The famous study of an area in Birmingham which also developed some theoretical tools based on Weber, and the idea of advantages or disadvantages in the market, including the market for domestic property. The main focus for race conflict in those days in Birmingham was housing, hence the concept of 'housing classes'. It can be grasped in contemporary terms as an understanding of how racialism is formed at the meso level of interaction, in terms of actual struggles over access to housing in the context of the market in housing and the various policies to regulate it. They want to criticise functionalist accounts which talk about adjustment to host values, and Marxist accounts which refer back to social class] They claim to study 'the goals of typical actors representing the various host and immigrant groups, the various politico–economic classes and more specifically what we have called "housing classes"' (6). These groups act in the form of conflicts and truces, mobilising whatever power they can, to pursue their interests, but also to adjust them realistically. There is also the acceptance of a general status hierarchy, historically inherited to some extent, which blunts some of the conflicts. The three main groups at work in the settlement of the city were '(a) the upper-middle-class characterised by their position of property and capable of living without communal and neighbourly support; (b) working class, which find security in communal, collective and neighbourly institutions, fashioned in the course of the struggle against economic adversity; and (c) and lower middle-class group aspiring to the way of life of the upper middle classes, but enjoying only relatively inferior social facilities including housing' (8). This is complicated by the emergence of suburbia, where relatively well off groups can access credit and moved to the suburbs. Their homes then pass to a less stable population — 'social rejects and… newcomers' (9). The best these groups can do by way of communal support is to develop 'some sort of colony structure'. There is also a working class version of collective action to achieve 'a new public suburbia', making a further distinction with 'a lodging house area'. This area is transitional, and provides only temporary security, and is conflict prone. Any attempt to segregate it off is likely to lead to urban riot. There are of course public agencies concerned with the welfare and social networks of family and neighbourhood, available to greater or lesser extents. Those who stay in the city get less dependent on their colonies as they contact these other support networks and develop wider dependencies. There is a general expectation that all individuals will compete to enter the most highly valued sub- communities, but the understanding that not all will succeed, and, indeed that some should be prevented from competing. At the same time, there is an expectation against positive discrimination, and that conflicts of interest should be managed. Individuals expect some level of emotional security. This produces a lack of balance, and that can be found at work in race relations. Prejudice is not just psychological [they blame Adorno on the authoritarian personality, and reject it on the basis that they are interested in the majority of the host community {!}]. They are also interested in the emergence of racial prejudice and how changes in the social system might produce it. They do understand social action as rational but not in the sense that 'the actor uses the scientifically more efficient means of attaining his ends', more in the sense that action is based on 'beliefs about and expectations with regard to other people' (13) -- it is 'non-rational (although not necessarily irrational)'. False beliefs about ethnic groups can produce both a belief in social justice and a strong competitive position for your own group. Prejudiced behaviour can be shown 'to fit naturally into or even to be required by' a particular structure of social interaction and conflict. Discrimination can 'follow  as a logical consequence' of these beliefs. The [then] usual approach to race relations assuming simulation or integration is clearly inadequate because there is contradiction and change in cultural variables. The host society itself is composed of groups in a state of conflict with one another. Newcomers relates on several dimensions not just the extent to which dominant culture has been accepted. Finally, immigrants have been cut off from their own native culture as well as experiencing isolation in the host culture, and often form some alternative kind of primary community [the colony structure], if only as a minimum situation. The only tie with the host communityis a contractual one. Legal citizen rights may be gained at a later stage and greater contractual ties as well. In modern Britain, the body of rights 'is fairly extensive', for citizens at least, although there may be additional problems like long waiting lists. There are market constraints as well, however and immigrants may find themselves at a disadvantage finding jobs and homes. Both buyers and sellers can unite to develop group powers and each can then restrict the opportunities of the other. It can lead to violence, but more usually, 'legitimate political power through legislation' (16), or informal collective bargaining. Any agreements might be only temporary, however. Permanent ones might lead to something like a caste system. Dynamism includes cases where class relations crosscut race relations, and tenants might come to see themselves as tenants first and ethnic minorities second, and the same with landlords. Children might move into different social worlds. Membership of groups like churches or political parties 'may serve to blur the lines of conflict' (17). In general, both the degree of involvement in the host society and the degree of conflict between various ethnic groups clearly affect the overall 'integration' of newcomers. Overall, the general openness of the society is also relevant, its degree of mobility. Detailed analysis is necessary, there are no predetermined outcomes, and rational controls might be possible. Chapter 1. Race Relations and housing in Birmingham There used to be a lot of explicit racism in the press and other public avenues, usually focused on housing. There was a long housing waiting list and anxieties about twilight zones, multi-occupied lodging houses. There was a continuing shortage of adequate housing. Segregation had occurred, but not deliberately. More than 30,000 people were living in multi-occupied houses, but there were different types of those. Many were being cleared away by slum clearance programs and replaced by local authority housing, with increasing proportions being sold for owner occupation. Neither will be very accessible for newcomers. Council houses are allocated on the basis of a points system, which requires residents for at least five years and a number of other qualities such as a lack of bedrooms and facilities, lack of natural light, broken families, poor health and war service. These criteria do not refer explicitly to colour or ethnic origin but the criteria do 'exclude the vast body of immigrants' (24), who had a five year waiting period before they could even go on the list. The only real possibility for them was lodging houses in the twilight zone. Even those applying on the grounds of homelessness faced considerable obstacles. They are often placed in hostels or substandard dwellings. The council judged the merits of the case, via housing visitors using private criteria. Hostel accommodation is treated as a deliberate deterrent for the irresponsible. Any undesirable applicants are also put in slum property, including those 'with low domestic standards' (26), causing obvious objections. There were strong perceptions of racism among West Indians, a view that the council was 'the largest slum landlord in Birmingham' (27 ), and a suspicion that having a coloured skin was the same as having low domestic standards. Those who do not qualify can either seek private renting or become owner occupiers. Large houses became popular for renting, again concentrated into particular areas. They are not yet slums but they are approaching it. They were once occupied by professionals, but gradually became multi-occupied, increasingly so by the end of the 1950s, increasingly by coloured people. There were strong economic incentives — strong demand, they were not suitable for one family, entrepreneurs could make quick profits. Immigrants themselves became landlords, despite their problems in gaining mortgages at first: Asians were particularly successful, raising bank loans by borrowing from friends and family and then letting rooms to them at a profit. The houses often deteriorated 'very rapidly' (31), and multi-occupation snowballed into whole streets and areas. Birmingham tried to develop special policies to control the spread, via inspection and other housing powers to regulate amenities and overcrowding, but these are cumbersome. There's also a problem in that the city in effect needs this sort of accommodation, because otherwise they would have to house people. Overall the system produces owner occupiers, council house tenants, private tenants in whole houses, lodging house proprietors, the tenants of lodging houses. Not everyone can be an owner occupier, or a council house tenant, obviously, and security grows as you go down the list. It is important to realise that tenants of lodging houses are not just immigrants but include 'the discharged prisoner, the deserted wife… and the prostitute' (38), and friends and kin of the landlord. Multi-occupied lodging houses are favoured by no party particularly. The left sees it is the result of slum landlordism, the right as the result of unfair restrictions. Everyone dislikes the landlords, but the role is necessary. The local authority  polices this group to maintain minimum standards: 'the city… punishes them for its own failure' (41), but not too much, because it cannot afford to drive them completely out of business. Luckily, the problem can now be displaced because 'most of the tenants and some of the landlords are immigrants', so 'poor living conditions… can be attributed to their culture or race'. Stopping the twilight zone from spreading becomes a matter of creating ghetto areas. Chapter 3 The People of Sparkbrook: the English They are two thirds of the population overall [but concentrated in two areas] but are heterogeneous in terms of social class, status, aspiration, mode and length of residence and identification with the area. They can be simply divided into older established residents and younger married ones. Some were themselves immigrants from outside the region, only 50% born in Birmingham. Internal migrants tended to cluster in the same areas as overseas migrants for the same reasons. Overall the social status of Sparkbrook has fallen considerably and there is still aspiration to work hard and move out, although a 'fantasy life of the old Sparkbrook' (60) persists, the good old days when everything was respectable and safe. The arrival of POC is associated with the rapid deterioration of the area for these people, although again individuals can be exempted. Some blame the Irish. The solution is to keep themselves to themselves, including maintaining domestic order and personal families. Some want to actively preserve Sparkbrook, stop the spread of multi-occupation, make active attempts to befriend Asian immigrants or even tinkers, but little success is reported. At the same time, campaigns have been organised to exclude tinkers from particular streets. Activists are a minority though. Stereotypes are common: Pakistanis do not work but are unscrupulous landlords with cruel animal slaughter practices; Jamaicans are friendly but have wild parties and take drugs; the Irish worst of all, drunkards and engage in fighting and vandalism. The authorities turn a blind eye. Some are potential recruits for racist movements, although sufficient channels are provided by the local press at the moment and racism is still seen as illegitimate. Contact with the researchers modified the stereotypes to some extent. Others are more passive and try to move away from problems, although they were followed by multi-occupation and Asian migrants who were noisy. They became increasingly 'depressed and demoralised (63), and would like to move now, but are unable to do so. As a result they 'have withdrawn into a private world of worry, complaint, and possibly deteriorating health… bitter but guilty racist comments increasingly tinging their views' (64). Another respondent has also withdrawn and keeps up 'continuous vituperation against coloured people, the Scots and Irish… The police, the Sparkbrook Association, the younger generation and the vicar'. He spends his days brooding over the good old days. R and M think that these responses are 'true for many of the older people' but with significant differences — these are of lower social and economic status, not property owners, and not immediately confronted with multi-occupation. In another zone, a respondent reports that neighbours have shrunk to people next door rather than the whole street and that families from slum clearance areas are moving in, including rough characters rather than local young married couples. Council policy seems inadequate. Many houses are scheduled for demolition but plans seem to keep changing, and this leads to 'vitriolic hatred of the Corporation' (65). They think they've been forgotten, and POC or Irish are favoured, 'the comment repeated by many other English people'. They talk of a strong working class solidarity in the past ['the prevailing mythology' for R and M] alongside lower-middle-class respectables. R and M acknowledge that there 'were more than superficial signs that it [actually existed]' (66), at least until the war and local authority replanning. Immigration had certain effects like  single family occupation for most of the immigrants because the houses are small, which reduces the friction. The old and isolated people as in all parts of Sparkbrook are being replaced by Irish and Pakistani families, not all of whom are 'noisy or troublesome'. Those in another (third)  zone think of themselves as a cut above, in more high status housing [built by the Barber Trust, late 19th century]. The original tenants are dying off. Neighbours are not close. They tended to have higher job status, [lower-middle-class], and socially mobile kids [lower professionals who often moved out]. There are lots of complaints about neglectful children. Changing structure and their own family lives are the most crucial. This community 'is in many ways an isolated village within Sparkbrook' (68). Turning to the younger ones. In the first zone no young couples were owner occupiers, most were in lodging houses, there were more mixed race households [and more immigrant households overall — 75%]. They were often in transit, recent residents, ambitious to move on. Those in multi-occupation tended to share with English people. In the second zone, a respondent reports that affluence and the arrival of cars have been important, and the old stagers have moved out leaving room for strangers, and this has led to an increase in street robbery [R and M confirm with some statistics], and noise [also confirmed]. She blames the Irish who were 'riddled with North – South animosities' (70). Although POC were 'occasionally dirty' there were lots of West Indians who were well liked and respectable. Competition for housing caused the older generation to feel prejudice, but the next generation were more likely to be tolerant, partly because they will benefit from improvements in the area. Street wide neighbouring declined, although next-door neighbours were still active. Family ties were threatened by the shortage of housing. There was still some residual resentments about people who had left the area during the war or who had dodged conscription! In the third zone the problem was to establish themselves in respectable areas, which meant extensive house improvement and staving off the threat of the first zone [to the reputation of Sparkbrook as a whole]. The big Barber Trust houses were seen as ideal for multi-occupation, and a residents' association was formed to stop the sale of such houses over the head of tenants. This association 'is not racist' but its policy is to maintain standards and prevent deterioration' and this 'must be a large part synonymous with keeping coloured people out' (72). They believed that only a small number of POC could achieve the standards, and mentioned one family who had. They have no faith in local political parties. R and M turned to their questionnaire survey to check the typicality of these responses. Answers show that 'there was no doubt that the majority of English would prefer not to be in Sparkbrook' (73) and then when asked why, they got lots of don't knows and uncertainties, but the most prominent one was to refer to bad living conditions. However, the aim was not to get better living conditions in this particular suburb, but to move to other suburbs or right out of the West Midlands altogether. The question is more 'why English people live in Sparkbrook at all'(74). The ties of property and kinship or loyalty to the area seem important but for most it is 'sheer inability to move'.  Most of the respondents were manual employees on fairly moderate incomes. Some data was gathered on kinship. There are many kinship links including some widespread ones — 88 % had relatives beyond Sparkbrook, 70% beyond Birmingham. It is hard to say whether Sparkbrook is more or less dispersed a community than any other. Patterns of visiting also show something about dispersal — it is quite frequent to visit relatives other than members of your own household every day [about 25%]. there is a lower level of membership of formal organisations or attendance, little interest in political party organisations, slightly more in religion. Informal groups in pubs are more important, quite often men, widowers and bachelors who have retired, some of whom want to discuss experiences in the wars. Referring to social problems 'may be a nonracist way of defining problems arising from the presence of immigrants. Conversely, immigrants may be seen as a problem because there are social problems' (79). 20% cited immigrants as a problem specifically, or made racist remarks about them [quite explicit ones like sending them home or putting them in camps]. Responses to open-ended questions about changes in Sparkbrook or problems led to quite a low response expressing 'naked hostility to immigrants' (80), although the others might be rationalisations. Something like 30% 'mention social problems without mentioning immigrants'. Social problems included decline in the physical environment and moral environment or both. Non-coloured immigrants were mentioned as responsible for the problems by 33% of the respondents who mentioned immigrants at all, and coloured people were also mentioned favourably 'even by those making adverse comments on others' (83). 'From these data we may conclude that statements about race and colour arise not simply from wrong thinking or "prejudice–in–the–head", but from an appraisal of an actual situation as seen by the locals'. They may have pre-existing racial stereotypes, but the housing situation reinforces the stereotypes. 'We would not say that a large proportion of the English are prejudiced in a psychological sense… [They] make a connection between the complex of social problems and the presence of immigrants'. The actual causality attributed 'may depend on the education, the social and political understanding, and their prejudices but none of these factors is fixed, except perhaps education in the sense of schooling'. 'Less than 1/10 of the English expressed opinions that might simply be called prejudiced [a very high threshold here though]… All the other views have at least a minimal rationale which is explicable by reference to the actual social situation in which people find themselves.' Chapter 4. The People of Sparkbrook (2) The Immigrants. These people have fewer kin although the ones who are here may be more important as our fellow countrymen in their 'primary community' (84). The Irish are the largest and longest established group, although they often disperse rather than settle. The earlier ones have 'become completely Anglicised'. The majority, have retained their Irishness, though. There are three main subgroups — Dubliners, countrymen, 'known to the Dubliners as '"Culchies"', and tinkers or '"travelling people"" as they call themselves. They may also be a fourth group, a kind of underclass living off benefit and occasional casual crime. They did not find any organised crime. Countrymen are predominant in Sparkbrook although there are 'good number of Dubliners'. There is separation to some extent in terms of pubs and churches. 'Dubliners regard "Culchies" is slow and stupid; countrymen think of Dubliners as fast talking "smart Alecs. Little love is lost between them '(86). Kinship is important, for example in gaining initial lodgings and providing support for settling in, and maybe even settling. They report unfairness with things like waiting for council housing. One respondent family talks of an assimilation process, with gradual increases in morale. Another respondent reported quite an extended family, although some dispersal. [Housing is a constant issue, and experiences of discrimination is common, even though living in England is better than staying in Ireland]. Kin networks, including those still in Ireland can 'act as a barrier to assimilation' (89) even where Irish immigrants live in Pakistani-owned lodgings houses. Sometimes there is a pull to return to Ireland, but some of the younger ones were 'glad to be free of the ties of home', including the domination of family and priests. They gathered some statistical data to support this qualitative work, including a questionnaire asking about reasons for migrating [primarily to find work and earn money, although less so than for Pakistani families. There is also an effect of population pressure, and the attraction of urban society]. There was a substantial change in employment from agriculture and handicrafts to manufacturing, and 73% of employed women had stopped paid employment altogether, although many were employed at first. 25% found their first jobs through friends or kinship links. Most of them wanted to move out of their present accommodation, expressing a desire to own a house or escape poor living conditions – less than 1/3 actually wanted to leave Sparkbrook, however and gave rather inconsistent answers [not many said that they did not like the people, although this might be a rationalisation]. There was a majority of men, and lots of bachelors. A 'surprising' number had no kin in England outside of their immediate household, a lower proportion than either the English or the West Indians, probably because there are still links with kin in Ireland. They measured this by asking about visiting, and found less of it — apparently kinship is less important than they had originally thought and in the end they found it difficult to distinguish between primary communities and other groups and associations. Other associations like sports clubs trade unions political parties or pubs were still important. Most were Roman Catholics but few belonged to church organisations. They attended mass more frequently than the English and the church remains as 'one of the most significant social organisations the Irish and the main one of the women' (97). Less than 10% intended to return to Ireland permanently, but most hoped for a better future in England. The tinkers had the worst reputation. They did not have one in the sample but observed them frequently and spoke to them and did one informal interview. Most were odd job men but they included 'an elite of horse dealers'. They are kept on the move. Some have migrated more permanently. In England they deal in scrap metal, furniture and other goods, including feathers, and have turned some houses into feather factories. Caravans are unpopular with the local authorities, but 'tinkers have been extremely destructive' in their houses, and have sometimes squatted. 'The younger ones are a constant source of trouble' especially if the population swells at weekends. They have united 'coloured and white, landlords and tenants against themselves' (98). Girls are high-spirited and unmistakable in their dress. They like streetlife despite being devout Catholics and having high family standards. Most of the community consists of 'three intermarried, large, extended kinship groups with no normal contact with outsiders' (99). They have few ties with anyone else and not come to terms with the wider community, and remain as 'an explosive element', the focus of many resentments because of their 'obviously aggressive behaviour': at least they channel some of this resentment away from the coloured population. The West Indians are heterogeneous, usually seen as Jamaicans, although there are more Barbadians, and those from St Kitts, Trinidad, Monserrat and Dominica. Some families look like Victorian middle-class families, some with stable 'common-law" marriages, some single people. Houses range from well-kept to crowded lodging houses. They are recent arrivals — 40% and arrived between 1956 and 1964. They had come to earn money find work to join relatives and for a better way of life. 60% had received aid from friends and relatives and 20% had first lived with relatives or friends. Internal divisions were found between Jamaicans and the rest. Jamaicans were 'noisy, fast talking, idle troublemakers', while they regarded the others as 'unsophisticated people from little islands, overcompensating for a sense of inferiority' (100). The two groups avoided each other. West Indians did see England as their mother country and liked the sense of fair play, expected equal treatment and no colour discrimination but had these beliefs 'almost universally destroyed after a few weeks' (101). Case studies included respondent living with his sisters, wife and children in a crowded house owned by a Pakistani landlord with whom they shared.. They were told they would have to wait a long time for council house and were angry about it, suspecting discrimination. The male was organised in the local association and is involved in current affairs. Another respondent came from St Kitts and lived in a very overcrowded house full of West Indians. She was an active Methodist. The third respondent lived with his mother's sister and baby as a tightknit family group although they were not married. The landlord was West Indian and, as is common, was seen as a particularly bad landlord. The respondent came from 'a very poor, low status peasant community in Barbados. So he has little success socially' (102). There is vague resentment about their treatment. The fourth respondent lives in a two room attic, expensively furnished. She has a good job and two kids but is not married. She prefers to mix with the English women and avoid the Jamaicans. Another respondent lives in one room sharing a kitchen, with a Pakistani landlord. They live in a common law marriage with two kids in Jamaica. Both parents are hard-working, but do not share the domestic work. They intend to stay in England indefinitely and are saving for a house. A couple from Barbados and St Kitts have three daughters and lived on the whole floor of the house in a well-kept flat. They have good well-paid manual jobs and believe that West Indians should adapt. They intend to settle permanently. The wife does baby minding which is in demand. A single man from St Kitts is in a bad relationship with his Pakistani landlord. He has accepted labouring job and spends most of his time in pubs and cafés. He left his woman and family in St Kitts but she has come to England and married. He would prefer English girls and hopes to meet the right girl. A married couple both came from Jamaica and have started to buy a house having started in lodging houses. They lost their first money when a mortgage company went bust, and struggled to get another one [one company said that 'English birth is a necessary qualification for a mortgage' (105)]. Both have jobs, with the man accepting a lesser skilled one, and both are too busy for a social life. The last two were intelligent and well read and conscious, able to explain their own misfortunes and plan for success. Generally there was a lot of instability between partners, separations and new relationships Common-law marriage is common and was until recently 'the marked middle-class status'. Female kin care for the children, often grandmothers and aunts. Children from more than one union are common, so are unsettled young men, who form primary relationships with other men in clubs or pubs. They do experience pressure towards formalised marriage and 'full English respectability' but it is not very noticeable (106) and lots of unstable relationships were witnessed, including violent episodes. One consequence of family breakup is the lack of child minders which has led to a growth of professionals. It is easier for women to return to the West Indies, whereas males who did would be regarded as failures. 43% said they had friends and relatives in Birmingham, pointing to some sort of higher concentration, even than Englishman or Irishman, and the presence of kin might well be a definite attraction. Kin are also useful in times of need, and this is shown in rates visiting. The attraction of urban living is important. There is a desire to improve social standing and move out of poverty, including to move out of Sparkbrook, but there was 'some ambivalence about moving' (110) including low expectations about getting a council house, or thriving outside of the community. 56% intended to return to the West Indies. Few were involved in formal organisations, except for sport, football and cricket, and team membership is reinforced by island of origin. Party giving is a notorious activity although the team observed few during their stay. Those that they did see were run on a commercial basis. They were attended mostly by men. They were not licensed to sell liquor. Religion was important, most of them Protestant. Overall, they are divided by their origins, not like the denser kinship networks of their home. Small secondary associations are important especially for men unstable marriage is a serious problem. However life is both 'possible and tolerable in Sparkbrook' (114) although there is still ambivalence. The Pakistanis. The smallest and most tightknit group, speaking different languages, acting often as housing entrepreneurs, 'largely unknown and widely disliked' (115) 'too silent "coming and going like shadows"'. Most immigration is the result of Empire. British steamship companies recruited cheap labour from particular districts like Mirpur and Sylhet, and many jumped ship attracted by the labour shortage in England. The Kashmir dispute displaced more, some were recruited for the army, others following displacement in a hydroelectric scheme. There has been a slow accumulation of migrants accelerating in  the 50s and early 60s. There is also a pattern of returning home and re-immigrating, sometimes with brothers, rotating. Often housing can be found with a relative or friend. Most men, but now wives and families are being brought over. There is a complex household structure. Kinship relations merged with village and district loyalties, and co-villagers are 'freely referred to as cousins'. Kinship terms are used beyond English usages (117). There are 'distinct patterns of deference' so that brothers will be consulted before answering your question. Command of the English language seems to increase difference, but age does as well. There are also factions with village, political or religious leaders, and these can block 'effective action at the community level', but this was hard to study. There is a series of relationships between patrons and clients which sometimes involve loans without charges or nominal rents, or reciprocity without market relationships. Other services require a fee, such as a signature for an official document or HP agreement. Some are moneylenders or middlemen. Some are able to 'keep some of their countrymen permanently and heavily indebted to them' 118). Kin, political and economic relationships can overlap but further studies are needed. Sometimes the team members were asked to perform roles as sponsors middlemen or mediators. Nevertheless there are similarities and 'it is possible to speak of the typical Pakistani'. Key informants spoke of two groups — those who were astute enough to get on in English society and the innocents, '"poor simple peasants who would never be out of debt and never cope with life in England"'. This was an oversimplification — for example some of the more successful shopkeepers were illiterate. Many were indeed countrymen and most were employed in unskilled manufacture. There were different languages. Islamic culture gave them 'no framework within which to handle relationships with women beyond their own kin' (119) which made them 'extraordinarily shy and unsure of themselves when they meet [English women]'. [before militancy]. They are there to earn money, but not for themselves alone. They depend on kin to find jobs and housing, but even so wait longer than other migrants for their first job. 90% send money home. One respondent was unhappy at paying bribes to avoid the worst jobs [in Coventry] and came to live with his brother to work in a car factory. He speaks poor English and seldom goes out. He is deeply religious 'which his brother takes as a sign of his mental simplicity' (121). He is happy but yearns for his wife but will not bring her 'because it would be impossible to maintain purdah here'. He thinks he will return. Another respondent owns a house and rents it to other Pakistanis and and Irishman. His family is back home and he sends money to it. He intends to return home and hand over the Birmingham house to his brother. He is in debt at the moment because he's been off work and has still not paid the loans for buying the house. He thinks of himself as a good Muslim but only goes to the mosque for the main festivals. He is an occasional drinker. He is frequently visited as are many other Pakistanis who do local visiting and occasional longer cross-country expeditions to Leeds and Bradford. They spoke to one of these as a respondent who is well qualified and was an airline official but is now a driver. He has acquired a house and will bring over his brother and both their wives. He is particularly 'class conscious and sees most of the Pakistani immigrants as low, rather dirty, unintelligent peasants and "domestic servant class"' (123), but is in demand for advice on passports and reading letters. He wants to integrate into British society. Another respondent thought that Islam will adapt to the culture, for example, soon give way on drinking, like he has himself. His wife is still in purdah however. She was the only one available for interview and was friendly with the tenants but never leaves the house except while dressed in a burkha. She has no female relatives and found pregnancy difficult and has no women to talk with. She wants to be back in Pakistan. The husband has been back many times. He works in a factory and owns his house and remits most of the earnings to finance a farm back home. He was a merchant seaman who jumped ship. He does not want to return permanently — he gives as the reason '"no pubs"' (124). He invited the team to a farewell party for his brother who was returning and it was very subdued, only men, only tea and quite religious. There are also the Pakistani entrepreneurs who 'form a distinct class'. Their shops are also meeting places and centres for gossip. They have contacts throughout the English Pakistani community all over the country. The businesses are often joint, often family concern started on loans, and have built on the earlier success of their relatives. Literacy does not seem to be relevant. It is an interesting question why they seem to have the 'entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen when West Indian and Irish peasants lack them'. They do seek help from kin, self- defined, in a crisis [the survey data shows] and have stronger ties. This sample did not intend to bring the families over to England, but it was common to return to some extent. As a result their attitudes to living in Sparkbrook were quite different. 54% of them did not want to move from Sparkbrook, mostly because they had friends and relatives there. Those who did want a move had no particular preference. In terms of associations, they included trade union meetings, welfare clubs, but low levels of activity, even though there was 50% of registry for votes. There is a pattern of attendance at pubs where Pakistanis do associate with West Indians and whites, except where they form larger groups. They are never drunk. They all say they are Muslim and had been to the mosque. They are not strict however, for example in attending daily prayers [some say 'strict religious observance [is] something from which they have escaped in this country' (129)]. They also like going to the Asian cinema, and sometimes professional wrestling. The team predict a similar future, with groups of men living without women in bleak rooms 'in a sort of male transit camp', sending money, rotating back-and-forth to Pakistan. Some will stay and settle with families outside Sparkbrook. Some will integrate. Housing again is the key and that will affect and be affected by how acceptable they become and whether they manage language and skills. Other minority groups. There are 'social misfits and deviants, socially and/or mentally inadequate people' who have been precipitated into Sparkbrook rather than deliberately migrated there. They include drinkers, prisoners, prostitutes and single mothers. There are some European immigrants, often arriving after the war — 'Poles, Italians and Greek Cypriots' they live as families sometimes belonging to national associations. The largest [other] minority groups Indians, mostly Gujaratis and Punjabis from East Africa [some have never seen India] and the Punjab. British imperialism has a role here. They live predominantly in families and tight communities, who all know each other and know all the new arrivals. They sometimes bring small sums of capital to set up their families in small houses. They are friendly and supportive among each other. Gujaratis seem particularly intent on settling, and 'most of them speak very good English'. Most of the Sikhs live in Smethwick, and occupy more skilled jobs. Punjabi women are not in purdah but are worried that their girls should not be corrupted by English life, especially at local schools. Punjabis in particular are likely to be shopkeepers. Chapter 10 the younger generation Sparkbrook might be expected to undergo social mobility especially through education and through geographical movement. There was a notion of schools as agents of socialisation and as sources of possible conflict with parental values, especially with the children of immigrants, particularly with Indian and Pakistani communities where there is no social mixing outside school. The possibility arises of 'second-generation immigrant delinquency' as in the USA (231). More generally, the issue is whether education will diminish racial friction. This turns into concerns for the attitudes and aspirations of teachers parents and children. Interviews with schools and teachers were conducted with six schools three primary three secondary. Mostly head teachers were interviewed, some class teachers. Questionnaires were given to gain data on parental attitudes. 335 children wrote short essays on the story of the lives and what they did at the weekend or in their leisure time or what they expected in their future lives. It was a (school) class-based rather than random sample, and part of their schoolwork. Finally the team visited nine youth groups for 'guided group discussions' (233). There are obvious inadequacies. Head teachers were overrepresented. Small numbers of teachers were included in the sample, especially West Indian Indian and Pakistani parents. The sample of schoolchildren was limited by the failure of one school to cooperate, and the team could not ensure that the instructions given to the teachers were followed. Youth club attendees might not be typical. The usual problems appeared — teacher turnover, class size, and inadequate buildings, but so did 'feelings of bitterness shown by staff' (235), being on the bottom rung of expenditure, having to face a cultural gap with pupils, something like the communications gap Bernstein has identified. There is a tale of slow learners [the aim of the primary schools was 11+ success]. Secondary schools had no acceptable measurable aims. There was a widespread youth culture which should widen the gap between generations and between teachers and pupils although evidence is difficult to obtain. The rewards and sanctions systems also changed, especially with the decline of guaranteed jobs, and the lack of correspondence between achievement in schools and achievement in the labour market. It is slightly better in girls' schools because 'the secretary still retains her glamour appeal' (236). Heads of secondary moderns have no particular aims and aspirations. The schools in Sparkbrook are relatively small and have percentages of immigrant pupils up to 40%, except in Catholic schools. Four of six heads were nostalgic for the old, more continuous social situations and none wanted any more migrant children. Generally they saw their role as instilling [generally Christian] values or behaviours or [generally middle-class] aspirations, all related to middle-class behaviour codes. Integration is important and one primary school had developed materials to introduce migrant child to his local neighbourhood. There is an assumption that children do not show racial prejudice and that any tension can be managed by mixing races. Incidents of racial antagonism were rare, although were more frequent outside school. Teachers were colourblind. Conflict was suspended during school hours rather than eliminated. There was seen to be no need for positive teaching. Many teachers repeated typical stereotypes about racial groups. Catholic schools tended to focus more upon Ireland as the homeland in order to preserve Catholicism and this could prevent absorption into English society. 43% of parents said they were satisfied with their education and 30% wanted kids to stay on. However job ambitions will not well articulated although they were not as low as schools imagined. Irish parents have the same profile. So did West Indian parents although two complained about the lack of discipline. All of them have little contact with school. Ambitions for kids were affected by failure at the 11+. Some coloured immigrants did experience hostility, and tensions with school ambitions for geographical mobility. Indian and Pakistani adults did not support anglicization, even in the form of dress or food preferences, independence from parents — supported by an aim of an eventual return. Sometimes they set up independent schools. West Indians are more ready to have their children accepted although there are generational conflicts about discipline and control. The children's own stories emphasise their own family, although the size of family and the movement from one house to another recur. Conditions of housing vary, and reports of overcrowding for this are common. There is some dislike of Sparkbrook which develops with age. There is a connection between sympathy and tolerance to other groups and placing in streams — 'the girls staying to the sixth form were markedly more sympathetic those in 4b – perhaps because those are likely to move out of the area have less need of a scapegoat' (247). Negative stereotypes were common, including some about tinkers or gypsies, although hostile references were not common. Leisure activities included more television watching. Racial contacts varied. Indian and Pakistani children 'keep themselves almost completely separate outside school' (249) and it is more mixed for West Indians and English. There is less frequency of visiting among older age groups. A detailed sociometric study would be ideal. Adolescents seem to have separated almost completely from the older generation, for example in youth groups, in imagining life after school [considerable gender differences here as well]. Job aspirations were 'realistic' (250), possibly even a underestimation, usually assuming the future and the working class. Less realism attended aspirations to housing possibilities — a lot of hope to live in bungalows in the country or by the sea, 'unobtainable by the majority' (251). Racial issues were mentioned more frequently in the discussions in youth groups. Tinker, Irish and Indians were more disliked than West Indians; immigrants were blamed more often for deterioration, there was a link between personal status, in terms of jobs, and dislike of outsiders especially with coloured. There was some segregation. Some West Indian boys were belligerent about discrimination, and critical of the area. Some might have been displaying '"anomie"— the gap between the accepted goals of society and the lack of a legal means of achieving those goals' (253) [with which of the five solutions?] [There is a hint of differentiation in terms of the roads you actually live in in Sparkbrook, almost postcodes, and labelling some kids as slum families. It did have an effect on self-esteem apparently. It led to a great deal of hostility about slum areas.] There was a slow acceptance that immigrants were held in low esteem and that the ambitions put forward by the teachers 'is unattainable by all but a very small minority' (254) [a lot of blame is attached to controlling parents] [she thinks it will all depend on rewards and sanctions offered by immigrant communities as opposed to the wider English society, with a reference to Cloward and Ohlin and institutional blockages producing delinquency]. Overall 'the schools inevitably undermine parental authority, especially among the Indian and Pakistani communities' (255), and schools should understand this and minimise any tensions [especially acute for Indian girls, but also a problem for West Indian boys as well and their family patterns]. There is evidence for parental ambivalence towards the adopted country with subsequent hindering of integration of the children, frustrated parental ambitions leading to overambitious this child, or the neglect of children's needs in favour of meeting parental needs. The whole model involves role conflict inherent in British social structure which become psychological conflict. Clearer definitions of aims and a focus on preparation is required.