Rural racism in Dorset: Why is our countryside 98% white?
Written by Louisa Adjoa Parker. Photo by Robin Mills.
The death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests may have seemed a distant reality to many people in Dorset.
In the predominantly rural county, the population is 97.9% white.
But, as some the 2.1% who do not identify as white can testify, racism can be just as much of a problem in the countryside as it is in our cities.
Jag Patel moved to Gillingham 18 years ago with his wife where they bought a newspaper shop and started a family.
But, having moved from north London, the couple said they were unprepared for the prejudice they and their three daughters would endure…